While he worked, her gaze lit upon the dagger lying nearby.She narrowed her eyes at the button set into the haft.When she recognized the king’s insignia, she stifled a gasp.
Had Simon been stabbed by a royal soldier?Were Fonia’s attackers in the king’s army?Was this the kind of war against the Fergus clan Malcolm’s men-at-arms were waging?
It seemed too horrible to consider.And yet the evidence was undeniable.
She had to tell Adam.
He might be the king’s man.But surely he’d never approve of such senseless violence against innocent clanfolk.
She had to make things right.More than ever, she sensed that God had called her here.Led her to this place to redress those wrongs.She would find the men who had assaulted Fonia, stabbed Simon, and set fire to their alehouse.And she would see they paid for their sins.
While Fonia and Adam were distracted, Eve wiped the bloody dagger on the grass and slipped it into her satchel.
Eventually, a group of neighboring clanfolk came to seek the source of the smoke.By then the fire was mostly out, leaving the alehouse smoldering.Exclaiming in dismay and empathy, they comforted Fonia and Simon.They thanked the kindly monk and nun profusely.And they offered the homeless couple lodging and food until they could recover.
Eve and Adam bid them farewell, knowing they were safe in the bosom of their clan.
But as soon as they returned to the path, Eve confronted Adam.
“We can’t go to Darragh yet,” she said.
“Why?They’ll be fine,” he assured her.“Their clanfolk will care for them.”
She pulled the dagger from her satchel.“This is why.”She showed him the royal insignia.“King Malcolm’s men did this.We need to make this right.”
He stared down at the dagger for a long while.Then he sighed.
She was prepared for him to be resistant.After all, though she wasn’t supposed to know who he was, she knew he’d sworn allegiance to Malcolm.She expected he’d try to make some improbable excuse for the soldiers’ actions.
He’d say the dagger wasn’t proof.It could have been stolen by someone else.
Or the stabbing had been an unfortunate accident, despite all appearances otherwise.
Or perhaps Simon had attacked Fonia, and the soldiers had only been defending her.
The last thing she expected was for him to agree with her.
Chapter 20
Adam had hoped the dagger was missing.If Fergus found hard evidence the king was perpetrating violence upon his clan, it would only add fuel to the fire and make peace more difficult to achieve.
But he couldn’t explain that to Eve.She knew nothing about his identity, his fealty, his purpose.
She only knew that, like her, he believed in justice, fairness, and honor.
So what else could he do but agree?
“Aye, ye’re right.This shouldn’t go unpunished.But I fear findin’ them will be like findin’ a drop of ink in a loch.”
Of course, she knew exactly where they were.She’d spoken with the king herself.But she couldn’t reveal that or she’d have to explain what she’d been doing and why she had in her possession a document of marriage for Hew of Rivenloch.
“They must have come with the king,” she pretended to reason.“’Tisn’t an easy feat to hide a royal retinue.”
“And yet,” he argued, “have ye seen a royal retinue in your travels?”
“In the last fortnight, I’ve crossed paths with more than one royal guard in the woods.One followed me into an alehouse before I lost him.And another pair pursued me through the forest ere I gave them the slip.”
That troubled him on two counts.One, he didn’t want to think about other men trying to get their hands on Eve.And two, for someone intent on a stealthy attack, the king was giving his soldiers too long a leash.He needed to warn Malcolm he was playing a dangerous game.
