Chapter 15
The abbess found excuses to keep Eve at the convent for a full month more.Probably to punish Eve for her impertinence.Or perhaps in the hopes that Eve’s impulsive spirit might be tamed with several more weeks of thoughtful reflection.
Of course, Eve could have escaped at any time.She’d done it before.But if she was doomed to live a loveless life as a nun, she supposed she should accustom herself to the discipline and self-restraint the profession required.A few weeks wouldn’t make that much difference.
On the last day of her captivity, however, Eve was itching to leave.She bid the abbess a quick farewell and started out on foot just after Prime.She changed into her red gown in the woods and left her satchel with her habit behind a tree.
It was satisfying to have a Greater Purpose again.To be doing something more significant than laundering habits and polishing crucifixes.What she did today would change the course of history.She was helping mend a rift in the powerful Rivenloch clan.
Surely that was God’s plan.
And He’d chosen Eve to be a part of that plan.
At the moment, all the Rivenloch clan knew was that one of their own, Sir Hew du Lac, had stolen his cousin Gellir’s bride, Lady Carenza of Dunlop, intending to reunite her with her true love.What theydidn’tknow—what only Eve knew—was that Carenza’s rescuerwasher true love.
Naturally, they also didn’t know what had become of Hew after his mission.But Eve knew.She occasionally used the secluded byre herself as a safe haven.From the outside, it appeared to be a rotting shed tucked into the deepest part of the forest and covered with vines.But inside it was quite hospitable, clean and dry.It was possible to live comfortably there for months.
Of course, they didn’t want to be there for months.But since the abduction had arguably been a crime, they dreaded the shame it would bring upon their clans.And since the marriage had been accomplished without the king’s approval, they feared Malcolm’s wrath.Worse, they worried the king might dissolve their union.
Eve couldn’t help but smile as she sauntered through the woods, imagining their delight when she told them all was repaired and forgiven.
Now she could reveal to the couple what had happened in Perth.She could tell them Gellir had marriedhistrue love, Merraid.Merraid had been knighted by the king for her bravery, and she’d secured the king’s forgiveness of Hew and Carenza for their disobedience.
All would be set aright.
Eve took a deep breath.It was good to be out in the world again, smelling the summer flowers, feeling the warm breeze on her face and the spongy path beneath her feet, hearing the birdsong and…
She stopped.
She’d heard something behind her.The loud snap of a twig.
She turned.No one was there.
She slowly turned back and continued down the path.But this time her ears were attuned to every sound.
There it was again.The crack of a branch, as if a heavy boot stepped on it, followed by a shuffle of leaves.
This time she didn’t stop.
Someone was traveling behind her.Not on the path.Just off the road.Moving through the trees.
She kept her pace steady and began humming as she walked.
As she suspected, her air of nonchalance made her pursuer less guarded.His footfalls became careless, and she could tell he was growing closer.
Was he an outlaw?
It was likely.But she knew how to handle outlaws.She didn’t have her dagger, but she had her wits, which were almost as sharp.
Several moments passed.She got through seven verses of the song she was humming.Still he made no move to intercept her.
What were his intentions?
There was a large alehouse just around the bend.Smoke rose from the roof.A donkey and two mules were tied outside.She’d be safe inside.
She ducked under the sign of the broom above the alehouse entrance and pushed the door open.The interior was dark, but she could make out the figures of several travelers who were quenching their thirst at tables scattered about the room.
She quickly headed for a bench in the shadows.
