He wished he’d never involved her.
Just then, the Laird of Dunlop and his small entourage appeared over the rise, returning from the Boyle keep.Even at a distance, Hew could hear the men jesting and laughing.Maybe Carenza had been right.Maybe they’d gone as much to crow over the Boyles’ misfortune as to lend assistance.
When his gaze returned to the road, Carenza had already emerged from the trees and was halfway to the keep.By all appearances, she was safe and sound.
He let out a relieved breath.His shoulders dropped.Finally he felt like he could stop pacing.He hurried down to meet her in the great hall.
When he neared, her eyes lit up briefly, as if he were the only man in the room.But he wasn’t.Servants hurried back and forth between them, preparing for supper and the return of the laird.
They couldn’t talk here.She quickly ushered him upstairs to the solar and closed the door.
He feared she meant to begin again where she had left off.Kissing him.Embracing him.Caressing him.Actually, “feared” wasn’t quite the right word for it.
But she had more important matters on her mind.
Without preamble, she said, “Father James was at Kildunan.”
“Shite.”
“Ye have to go back to the monastery.”
“Now?”
“Perhaps on the morrow?”she suggested.
“Why?”
“He wants to question ye.”
“Question me about what?”
“The same thing everyone has been wonderin’.”
He furrowed his brow.What was she talking about?
She told him.“Why an illustrious warrior o’ Rivenloch would wish to take holy vows at a Highland monastery.”
He sighed.Of course hawk-eyed Father James would want to know that.“What did the abbot say?”
“He said yedomean to join the order, that ye were only staying at Dunlop because o’ the accident.”
He nodded.That was good.But he still had to convince Father James he was sincere in his monkish pursuits and not doubling as a spy.It put him in an awkward position, keeping the abbot’s secret.Hopefully, when he uncovered the perpetrators, he would be forgiven for not being entirely forthcoming.
“Did you learn anything from the monks?”he asked.
“Aye, though not enough to completely eliminate any o’ them.Brother Michael is likely too feeble.But ’tis quite possible he’s committed previous crimes.Brother Robert is a jovial fellow.But he seems irreverent enough to sin without battin’ an eye.Brother William is quiet and tenderhearted.But he fled when Father James showed up, as if he had somethin’ to hide.”
Hew nodded.He knew all three monks, and he could guess what Brother William had to hide.Within the church, it was a sin worse than theft.But Hew wasn’t going to be the one to expose the poor man.
“So what’s next?”she asked.
“I return to the monastery.”
She placed a hand on his chest and looked up at him with her wide violet eyes.“I don’t want ye to go.”
He enfolded her hand in his.“I don’t want to go.”
But Carenza knew better than to argue with him.She was bright enough to recognize it was a matter of safety.
