There was blood on the fabric.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
One week later
Edinburgh
Edinburgh was biggerthan Cathlina could have ever imagined. The largest city she had ever been to was Carlisle, and that seemed big enough, but Edinburgh was overwhelming in its size. Coming into the city from the south, they could see it spread out on the horizon like a great cloak of men, buildings, and animals. A faint haze of smoke hung in the sky above the city, indicative of its large population.
Astride a small brown palfrey that Mathias had purchased for his wife in Hawk, Cathlina had watched the approaching city with great awe. Riding with the friendly otter in a basket, now named Midgy and officially a part of their group, she had been very excited to realize they had come to one of their primary destinations. But Midgy kept jumping out of the basket and gleefully running up and down the road until Mathias would climb off his steed and dutifully chase the animal down.
Since nearly the moment she had met him, Cathlina had become very attached to little Midgy and when it came time to leave Langholm, Midgy had followed them down the road and Mathias knew he could not deny his wife her furry little friend. There was no use even trying. He had proven to be a cute little companion and had been hours of endless entertainment. For days they had simply let him run beside them as they traveled but coming close to the city as they were, Cathlina was afraid hewould be stepped on or otherwise hurt, so she kept him in the basket as much as she could.
As Edinburgh loomed, Mathias and Sebastian and Justus seemed to view the city with less awe and more suspicion, since it was a city full of Scots and they were clearly not Scots. To most here, they were the enemy. But they had to pass through Edinburgh to not only locate Sir Stephen of Pembury but also to make their way to Henry de Beaumont’s fortress north of the city. Still, they had a lot of business to conduct in Edinburgh and Mathias wasted no time in his search for the Bucket and Barrel.
At the first inn they stopped at once they entered the city limits, the barkeep couldn’t tell them exactly where the Bucket and Barrel was but he thought it was perhaps near Edinburgh Castle. Unwilling to drag Cathlina all over the dirty streets of Edinburgh in search of the fabled Bucket and Barrel tavern, Mathias sought lodgings at the present inn but was directed to a man who had a bigger inn and more room.
This foray took them down the dirty and stone avenue that was literally awash with human excrement until they came to a very large inn called the Green Pony. Inside the rather vast structure, the owner was able to provide them with three very satisfactory rooms on the third level, two big sleeping chambers and a smaller sitting chamber that were all connected together. It was high above the common room and had a great view of the city. Mathias paid for a week’s lodging up front and slipped the otter into the rooms buried under heavy cloaks.
Cathlina was thrilled with the rooms. They were cozy and moderately clean, and she and Midgy could watch all of the comings and goings from her perch in the sitting room. At one point during their first day there, Sebastian stole a big copper tub from the nearby livery and brought it up to the rooms so they could have a place for Midgy to swim. The otter was happy as a lark in his big copper tub, swimming and frolicking, but hestill barked when Sebastian came near him. Sebastian took up making faces at the animal every time he saw him. Sometimes he would even bark back.
On their second day in Edinburgh, Mathias and Sebastian had located the Bucket and Barrel Inn. It was a fairly large tavern and reasonably well kept, but Stephen of Pembury was not in residence. Day after day they returned to the tavern to sit and wait, with no luck, while Justus remained with Cathlina. To keep occupied, Cathlina had gone to the Street of Merchants early in their stay and had purchased several items including a knitting needle and yarn as well as a deck of lovely painted cards all the way from Rome. When Cathlina and Justus would grow tired of card games, he would sit and snore in his chair while she would work on a knitted tunic for Mathias. She was clever with the yarn and the garment was turning out beautifully.
The time with Justus had been well spent, however. Cathlina had come to know her father-in-law as a man with a vast amount of knowledge in many things. He was intelligent and wise, and it was very clear how much he loved his sons. They were everything to him. Cathlina would sit and knit, listening to him tell stories about Mathias and Sebastian when they were children and of the mischief they would get in to.
He told stories of them playing with sticks as very young lads and pretending they were swords, a game that seemed innocent enough until Mathias nearly blinded Sebastian. After that, their mother, the Lady Penelope, forbid them their swords but Justus would let the boys play when their mother wasn’t looking. It made for charming storytelling and Cathlina was coming to like Justus a great deal. In fact, she missed her own father less with Justus and his endless library of stories.
As the days passed, she tried not to think of her family, now left behind and undoubtedly frantic over her disappearance. She thought perhaps to send them a missive once she andMathias got settled in Henry de Beaumont’s ranks, but she hadn’t the nerve to ask her husband yet. Everything was so new and uncertain still. She even missed Roxane and she especially missed Abechail. Her baby sister was very heavy on her mind for she knew Abbie would have loved Midgy. She hoped she was able to introduce them one day.
Eight days after their arrival in Edinburgh, the day dawned misty and windy, and Mathias and Sebastian enjoyed a meal of bread with melted cheese and warmed cider in front of the fire before setting out for the Bucket and Barrel.
Midgy, having slept under Mathias and Cathlina’s bed, came slithering out of the shadows and sat on his hind legs, grunting for food. He ate fish, which wasn’t too difficult to come by in Edinburgh, and Mathias found a man who would deliver a bucket of fish to them daily but he usually came later in the morning. The innkeeper wasn’t suspicious, fortunately, because Mathias told him that his wife had a fish fetish and that was all she would eat. For someone who hated the smell and taste of fish, Cathlina put up with it for Midgy’s sake.
This morning, Midgy was impatient but didn’t want the bread and cheese the men were eating. Mathias finally gave him a smooth, round rock to occupy him, one of his favorite toys they had collected on the journey north, and Midgy ran back into the bedchamber with it. Mathias and Sebastian heard Cathlina shriek as the otter jumped on the bed and began burrowing.
“Midgy,no!” Cathlina said, her voice hoarse and sleepy. “Your nose is cold! Stop nibbling on my toes!”
Mathias and Sebastian grinned, listening to Cathlina as she scolded the otter and then evidently settled down with it. The bedchamber grew rather quiet. But then they began to hear signs of life coming forth as Cathlina got out of bed and went about dressing for the day. Midgy came rushing back out into thesitting chamber to jump in his half-filled copper tub and play with his rock.
Mathias finished the last of his cider and set his cup down. “I will bid my wife farewell before I go,” he said, grunting wearily. “Pembury had better make a show of it soon or we shall have to move on without him.”
Sebastian stood up and stretched his muscular body. “How long will you give him?”
Mathias paused by the bedchamber door. “Another week and then we leave,” he said. “I do not know what has become of the man but we cannot wait here forever. However, the armor we commissioned will not be ready for another week. We have to wait at least that long.”
Sebastian shrugged in agreement and went to finish his own cider as Mathias entered the bedchamber. There was a small fire burning in the hearth, peat that smoked a great deal. Since it was rather dark in the room, Cathlina had lit a couple of tapers as she moved about getting dressed for the day. Mathias found her bent over the basin, washing her face and neck with lavender soap.
“Sebastian and I will be leaving shortly,” he said, putting a gentle hand on her back. “I will see you this eve.”
Cathlina rinsed off her face and looked at him. “How much longer do you intend to wait for this Pembury?”
Mathias lifted his eyebrows. “Sebastian and I were just discussing that,” he said. “The new armor we commissioned will not be finished for another week, so I will give him at least that long. Then, we must move on.”
“Where?”
“To Henry de Beaumont’s lair,” he told her. “Remember I explained to you why we are here?”
She wiped off her neck. “Aye,” she replied. “You are going to pledge fealty to Henry de Beaumont and fight in his wars for the Scots crown.”
