One force that could unite them all.
One entity capable of returning peace to the realm.
God.
A sennight ago, sitting in her humble cell, packing her things, Eve had felt sure she could be a much-needed agent of change.She could bring the Lord God to these negotiations.Certainly she had the diplomacy to broker peace between the king and the clans.To be the instrument of His will.
It was what she always hoped.Spreading the word of God was her duty as a nun, after all.
Unfortunately, the abbess at the convent didn’t always agree with Eve’s liberal interpretation of God’s will.So Eve usually had to do the Lord’s work on her own, without the abbess’s knowledge.
Of course, Eve always confessed to whatever liberties she’d taken.Eventually.Then the abbess would furrow her brow, chew at her lip, and shake her head.But the large stipend Eve’s father sent to the convent was usually enough to keep the abbess from protesting too much.
It wasn’t that Eve was intentionally willful.She simply couldn’t help her sense of conviction.She got bored with the everyday charity the sisters practiced.Collecting alms for the poor.Feeding the hungry.Praying for the sick.
Eve was meant for more.She could feel that, even though the abbess warned her that was only the sin of pride whispering in her ear.
Eve didn’t believe that.She simply wanted to do good in the world.To right wrongs.To balance injustices.To take a stand for those who couldn’t defend themselves.
It was the reason she’d agreed several days ago to help an old acquaintance, Sir Hew du Lac of Rivenloch.The poor lovelorn Sir Hew had been torn from the object of his affections, Lady Carenza.Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, Carenza had been mistakenly betrothed to Hew’scousin,the illustrious Sir Gellir Cameliard.Natually, Hew was devastated.
As for Eve, she’d been more than happy to help untangle the star-crossed hearts.Praying for God’s blessing on her good deed, she’d stolen the bride-to-be right from under the bridegroom Gellir’s nose and spirited her away to the convent to marry Sir Hew in a clandestine wedding.
Had her intervention been a wee bit daring?Aye.
Had abducting the bride of a Rivenloch warrior come with risk?No doubt.
But Eve didn’t mind danger when it came to steering the course of fate.Especially when it was clearly God’s intention and in the best interests of everyone.When it came to the Lord’s good works, Eve felt it was her calling to help Him carry them out.
As was this.
After all, God couldn’t possibly intend for King Malcolm to be welcomed home from France by six irate lairds with drawn swords.
Obviously what was needed here was divine intervention.Proving to both parties that there were more important things at stake than who owned what or who was friends with whom.
They just needed to be convinced that God favored the Scots and smiled on King Malcolm.
That all parties wished for the same thing—peace in the land and harmony among the clans.
That God meant to bless the Scots with health and wealth and prosperity.
It wasn’t exactlyuntrue, though Eve suspected God left men largely to their own devices.He was too busy moving heaven and earth to care much whether men warred among themselves.
Still, it was certainly true that a people at peace were more productive and happy.So she was certain God would approve.
Before she could make her way toward the gathering lairds, however, a skirmish broke out.Caught up in the clamor, Eve was elbowed aside as warriors rushed forward with their weapons drawn.
Peering between the crush of bodies, Eve was astonished to glimpse a familiar figure.It was the groom she’d disappointed by stealing his bride.The magnificent Sir Gellir of Rivenloch.What was the great knight doing here?
He appeared to be wielding his mighty sword.In defense of the king.And against the lairds.
All six of them.
Singlehandedly.
Her breath caught.One man against six?The Rivenloch warriors certainly got embroiled in some perilous undertakings.
Then she noticed Sir Gellir wasn’t quite alone.An odd-looking monk battled at his side with surprising expertise.
