You can do this, a voice said in her head. She thought about ignoring it, feeling for the silver key in the small bag she kept hidden in the folds of her dress. The feel of the key reassured her. She could leave anytime. She was in no danger.
Ducking through the sallyport, she pulled the door closed. Twisting through the thorns, she tried not to think about the poison dripping from the cruelly sharp tips almost touching her head.
Once out into the open she breathed a sigh of relief. She paused for a moment, removing her white coif. It would be too visible in the open.
There was the wood on the right, away from the besieging army. She ran across the grass, reaching the wood a minute later. Almost at once she smelled lemons.
Looking down she realized she was standing in the midst of an old herb garden. Kneeling she crushed a leaf with her finger. Lemon balm just as Natalie needed for her wound. She picked a bunch and was about to turn around when she heard voices in front of her.
Creeping forward she leaned around a wizened ash tree. There in a small clearing in front of her were two men. One she recognized at once, Keir. He had left the castle after all. The other had his back to her. “Is it ready?” the man was saying.
“I’m not sure about this, Jimmy.”
“Do you ken why they call me Jimmy the Snout?”
Keir looked pale. “Because…because of your nose?”
“Because of the way I can sniff out liars. Are you on our side or not Keir?”
“You ken I am.”
“Then go back to the castle and break it.”
“What about her?”
“Leave her to us. You clearly cannot be trusted to carry out a job properly. What’s the matter? Thought you could keep her for yourself?”
“I could not tell in the dark, that’s all.”
Jimmy raised a hand. “Enough. Time runs short. The attack will soon begin in earnest. Make sure the sallyport remains open when it does.”
“It is open as we speak.”
“Then dinnae waste anymore time talking to me.”
Keir headed Heather’s way. She turned and ran, praying he wouldn’t spot her. She needed to get to the castle fast. She thought as she ran. She couldn’t lift the heavy bar to seal the sallyport on her own. She would need help. Would it come in time?
She could hear the sound of yelling coming from the front of the castle. Was the battle beginning? Was it too late? Should she go home? Was this the perfect time to go steal the knife?
She couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be right. She had overheard the conversation between Keir and Jimmy the Snout for a reason. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were talking about but she could guess. It was lemons she could smell in the keep. It was Keir there that night. Had he come to kill her but stabbed Susanne by mistake? Was that the only reason why she wasn’t already dead?
Getting the answers would have to wait. First, she needed to find Gavin, tell him what she’d just heard.
She reached the bramble and darted through the tunnel of thorns as quickly as she could. Reaching the sallyport she dashed through it and into the courtyard.
There was Gavin standing in front of the chapel, deep in conversation with a beautiful woman she had never seen before. At once she felt a flare of jealousy. “Gavin!” she shouted. “I must speak to you. It’s about Keir.”
He looked her way but as he did so a horn sounded loudly from the top of the keep. “We are under attack,” a voice called out.
“Get her inside!” Gavin yelled.
At once, there was a roar of noise from the other side of the battlements. Heather found herself grabbed by two of Gavin’s men.
“Gavin!” she shouted but he was already climbing the steps to the battlements, arrow notching in his bow. She glanced to her left as she was caught up in a mass of people running for the keep, spotting Bruce a moment later.
“Bruce!” she called. “The sallyport is open. You must lock it!”
He didn’t ask any questions. He turned and ran. At least the attacking army wouldn’t get in that way, she thought as she was swept into the keep, the noise of the battle vanishing behind the thick walls, replaced by the sound of dozens of people talking at once.
The door to the keep slammed shut and was barred a moment later, leaving her and the rest of the clan trapped inside.
