Eve’s heart pounded.Maybe hewaslooking for her.She glanced around the cloister.“Comin’ where?To the convent?”
“Nay, nay.”She waved away Eve’s confusion with a laugh.“Wouldn’t that be somethin’, the king comin’ here?Nay, he’s goin’ to Galloway.”
“Galloway.”If that was true, then the presence of the royal guards must have nothing to do with her.Perhaps they were scouting the area to ensure the king’s safe arrival in Galloway.“Why?”
“They say he’s goin’ to attack Laird Fergus.”
“Fergus?Why?”
“No one knows.”
That was troubling.Galloway wasn’t far from the convent.If war broke out…
Sister Eithne’s eyes twinkled as she elbowed Eve.“Maybe we’ll get to see the king.”
Eve had already met the king.She hadn’t been that impressed.But she pretended to share the sister’s excitement.“Wouldn’t that be somethin’?”
Sister Eithne giggled and then hurried the rest of the way across the cloisters toward the kitchens.It was almost time for supper.She no doubt had preparations to make.
So did Eve.
As long as the king wasn’t looking for her, this seemed like a blessing.Now she wouldn’t have to travel to Perth to get the king’s seal.Malcolm had come to her.
She’d simply dress like a noblewoman, find the royal encampment, and request an audience with the king.
Since she’d left her red velvet gown at the byre, she’d need to procure a new disguise.Thankfully, she had enough coin left from her father to commission a fine gown in azure brocade from the village tailor, as well as purchasing a white silk wimple and veil, a simple girdle of silver chain, and a pair of tall wooden pattens to attach to her boots.
The gown wouldn’t be finished for several days.Meanwhile, she ventured forth doing charitable works as Sister Eve.All the while, she collected bits of information from alewives, crofters, beggars, and bakers, trying to determine the whereabouts of the king, but learning little.
She also performed one not so charitable act.She needed to make certain she looked very different from any other versions of Eve the king had seen.So when she happened to spy a fine white horse stabled at a roadside inn, she took the liberty of harvesting its tail hair to make a pair of braids.
After a fortnight, her gown was ready.But she still hadn’t located the king.Then, as fate would have it, on the way back from the village to the convent, she came up behind a pair of slow-traveling monks chattering on about the grand encampment they’d just passed in the forest.
It had to be the king’s.
When the monks noticed her, they stopped talking, which only enforced her belief it was indeed Malcolm’s retinue they’d seen in the woods.
There was no time to waste.She knew roughly where the king was now.But he could move his troops at any time.
Just after Prime the next morn, Sister Eve stole out the convent gates into the woods and transformed into Lady Hilda of Dunlop, the invented cousin of Lady Carenza.She slipped into the azure brocade gown, girdling it with the silver chain.She secured the horse tail braids to either side of her head, tucking them under the wimple and veil.Because Lady Hilda despised mud, she buckled the protective wooden pattens onto the bottom of her boots, conveniently adding four inches to her height.Then she powdered her face with a light layer of chalk and painted her lips with red-stained beeswax.
Lady Hilda, Eve decided, was the farthest thing from a nun.She was a proud and sultry woman with distinct power over men.Her noble bearing and strength, as well as her height and snowy tresses came from Viking blood on her mother’s side.Most important, she had a smoky gaze and a throaty voice that could charm and cajole and convince even a king to do her bidding.
She checked to be sure she had the marriage document in her satchel.Then she took a few cautious, teetering steps to get used to the pattens, which were a full two inches taller than any she’d worn before.Making her way slowly along the path, lest she twist an ankle, she retraced her steps back to the spot where she’d heard the monks talking about the encampment.
The monks must have taken a smaller side path that diverted from the road into the woods.She watched for that branching trail.
The first side trail dead ended at a large boulder fifty yards in.The second trail dwindled to nothing after a few turns.But the third trail appeared to be well traveled, and after about a half-mile, Eve could glimpse red-and-gold-striped pavilions through the trees.
The camp was already awake.The air was filled with the clinking of pots, the stomp of boots, the low mumbles of men, and the acrid scent of smoke.
She’d come early to catch the king when he was least occupied and most vulnerable.If she approached him before he was fully awake, she’d be more likely to get his cooperation.
“Who are ye?”came a sudden gruff voice behind her.
Alarmed, Eve whipped around.
But Lady Hilda wouldn’t be alarmed.So Eve drew herself up to her full height—plus four inches—and looked the guardsman in the eye with a sultry smile.
