“Send him back to Kildunan.Ye can stay for supper and return on the morrow if ye like.’Tisn’t every day we get a renowned warrior at Dunlop.Ye could regale the clan with tales o’ Rivenloch.”
The last thing Hew needed was to be the center of attention.No one was supposed to know he was here.
“I’m grateful for the offer.But I promised the abbot I’d return this eve.”
“Perhaps another time then?”
“Perhaps.”
“Well, ye should at least meet my daughter, Carenza.”He began to scour the hall.“Where’s she gone?”
Hew was saved from that unthinkable ordeal when the prior returned with the physician.
As the prior had warned, Peris was as skittish as a dove loosed among hawks.He licked his lips.Darted his shifty eyes.Clasped and unclasped his hands before him.
“Peris,” the prior said, “this is Sir Hew.He wishes to ask ye a few questions.”
“Peris,” Hew said by way of greeting.
The physician’s eyes flitted to Hew’s weapon.He visibly gulped.Hew wondered, if the man was so bothered by the sight of an axe, how he managed to do surgery.
“Sir Hew wants to ask ye about your visits to Kildunan,” the prior said.
The laird was still casting about for his daughter.“I’ll leave ye to your questions then.I’ve got to find out where Carenza’s gone.”With that, he left.
“’Tis loud in here,” Hew told the physician.“Is there someplace we can be alone?Perhaps the wall walk?”
Peris gave the prior a panicked glance, as if he thought Hew intended to push him from the battlements.
The prior assured him, “I’ll come with ye.”
They climbed the steps to the top level of the keep, where a single guard patrolled the wall.There, the only sounds were the rippling of the banners and the distant chatter of the bustling courtyard below.
“I did all I could, sir,” Peris volunteered out of nowhere.“I swear.It must have been God’s will.”
“O’ course ye did,” the prior said.“No one is blamin’ ye for his death.”
“Right,” Hew agreed.“I want to ask you about the others.”
“The others?What others?”
The prior placed a calming hand on the man’s shoulder.“Like I said, he wants to know about your visits to the monastery, that’s all.”
“I’m not blaming you for any deaths,” Hew clarified.
The physician rubbed his chin.“All right.What do ye want to know?”
“How often do you come to Kildunan?”
“Not often.Just every time there’s a…” He paused to glance at the prior.
The prior finished for him.“Every time there’s a serious illness.”
“Right.”
“Do you come alone?”Hew asked.
“Aye.”
