As with most of his plans made in the heat of passion, Hew hadn’t thought anything through.He’d only wanted to return the smile to the lass’s face.
Now he was saddled with a huge hulking coo stolen from the local laird.A useless animal he could neither sell nor butcher.A male beast he couldn’t even claim he’d purchased for milk and cheese.Going to a monastery that had no ferme or cattle of its own.
What would he tell the abbot?
Where would he say he got the creature?
Where would he pasture it?
And where would it sleep?
He shivered.As cold as it was, it was tempting to let Hamish curl up with him in his cell.
And not for the first time, he wished he’d taken thecooto Dunlop and brought theladywith him.
Chapter 9
It was still dark when Hew roused to the sound of the normally silent monks gathering to pray at matins.Tonight, however, their soft footfalls were accompanied by a low rumble of murmurs which slowly grew into a rolling thunder of exclamations.
With a sigh, he sat up, scrubbing at his gritty, sleep-deprived eyes.He wrapped the coverlet around himself and prepared to face the mob.He’d hoped to catch a few more hours of sleep before this confrontation.But it was apparently not meant to be.The abbot would want to know immediately why on earth there was a coo in the cloister.
It was tempting to claim it must be a miracle.Clearly, God had seen how the monks suffered from a lack of meat and had gifted them with provender on the hoof.
But he’d promised Lady Carenza he’d keep Hamish safe.
So he had to come up with a different story.
Hew hated lying.It was dishonorable.Cowardly.Sinful.And it felt like a lie told in a monastery was more damning than one told on less holy ground.
But when a man was faced with the prospect of twisting the truth in order to salvage the reputation of a lady as lovely as Carenza, the price of his soul seemed fair.
The instant Hew emerged from his cell, the abbot demanded, “Do ye know aught about this beast?”
He pointed to what admittedly resembled a hulking horned demon guarding the church well.To his credit, Hamish sat in quiet compliance, looking as tame as a lady’s palfrey.
The other monks waited to hear Hew’s answer, probably glad to be distracted from their usual boring prayers.
But Hew decided the less said, the better.“I do, but…” He glanced meaningfully around at all the other witnesses.
The abbot received his unspoken message and waved the others off.“To matins.”
The prior looked particularly displeased at being excluded from the conversation, but he obediently herded the others along.
When they were gone, the abbot asked, “So what’s this about?”
“’Tis part of my investigation into the thefts.”
His brows shot up.“A coo?”
“Aye.”
“How?Do ye think a coo stole the treasures?”
“I can’t explain yet,” he said grimly.“But I assure you in time ’twill become clear.”
“A coo.”
“Aye,” Hew replied with even more conviction.
