“Islay.”
The king nodded again and pushed some papers away from another map, this one was quite large and showed the entirety of Scotland and the northern half of England. The king circled Islay with his finger and drew an imaginary line toward Dublin.
“How did you achieve this?”
“I approached the Chieftain and negotiated a contract. We have an ally.”
“But.”
“But we have a problem.”
The king smiled. “Of course we do.”
“My wife was attacked.”
“Makes sense,” the king said. “I cannot imagine your clan approves.”
“She was not harmed by any of mine.”
“Then who?”
“I do not know. When I left Islay, my alliance with Gunnar was solid, though he has his own territorial issues to deal with and I trust your allies in Dublin are still sound.
“They are.”
“Excluding mine and her kin leaves a rather large question mark, does it not?”
“Aye, it does. Tell me about the attack.”
“Poison tipped darts. Two attackers gained access to the castle and there was one puncture on the side of my wife’s neck.”
The king’s eyes widened. “Assassins.” He stood and moved to the window to push open the shutters. “This place smells like my dungeon. Too long have I barricaded myself behind these walls.”
The king walked to the door and flung it wide. “Have my bath prepared and a proper meal.” He turned back to Giric and grinned, then back to the guards. “And assemble my council. We have work to do.”
Giric noted the surprise on Luther’s face before the door closed again.
“You know who is behind this?” Giric asked.
“I have a thought or two. Now go to tell the guard to find you a chamber and a meal. We will convene with my council and unravel this new threat together.”
Giric bowed low and left the chamber. The king’s response was more than he could have hoped for. He prayed Saga was recovering well and he prayed they could ferret out the instigators and executors of this crime.
Chapter Twenty
Three days after the attack, Saga devoured the stew Freydis placed before her. She would have sworn it was a month full. And the fussing from Freydis and Lady Fraser was enough to drive her to madness. She wanted to see her attackers and examine them herself, but these women fawned over her as though she were a new babe.
“Another bowl?” Freydis asked.
“A bigger one. I will be out of this bed today and you will not keep me in it.”
“Under any other circumstance, I would agree with you; however, you are not yet at full strength and I am certain I could restrain you.”
Saga grinned. “Is that a challenge?”
“I may be weaker than you, but I am not daft,” she said and grinned.
For all she had endured since coming to this place, losing her strength was by far the most difficult to accept. “How long before I am at full capacity again?”
