Hamish could not bear to think of it.
“We must find him.” He put a hand to the hilt of his sword, reassured by its presence. Thank all that was holy that he’d had the foresight to divest Alaric of his weapon last night. “Though first we must check the sleeping barn.” He thought of the stash of knives and blades that they had brought with them from across the border.
Siegfried nodded toward the sideboard. “I already recovered our weapons.”
An untidy pile of metal shone brightly in the growing light of the fire. Hamish checked them over, relieved to find all were present. “Yer a great man, Siegfried.”
His Seneschal inclined his head. “’Twas the first place I went when I discovered him gone.”
Hamish folded his arms beneath his cloak, warming his hands and ordering his thoughts. “His horse?”
“Still in the stables.”
“So he is on foot and unarmed.” Hamish paced before the fire, which had now taken hold and was burning brightly. He reflected that this high stone fireplace had borne witness to much of this soul-searching since they arrived at Ember Hall.
Siegfried stepped nimbly out of his way. “And the weather is set to stay foul for another day at least.”
Hamish did not waste time asking Siegfried how he knew this. The man was born and raised in the highlands and could read the signs of nature better than anyone.
“Then the odds are against young Alaric.” He tried to take comfort from this, but could not forget the menace of the warrior’s final warning. “But we must still take heed.”
“He has taken against the Lady Isabella.” Siegfried put into words what Hamish struggled to articulate.
Words which turned his chill of foreboding into ice.
“Exactly so,” he managed.
Siegfried lifted his greying head and fixed Hamish with an unflinching stare. “And what of the Lady Isabella herself?”
Hamish turned away so that Siegfried could not read the truth in his eyes. The question made him feel like a green youth. He could only answer by ignoring the layers of meaning Siegfried had laced into it.
“She is sleeping.”
He walked briskly to the nearby shutters and opened them enough to allow a shaft of winter sunlight into the hall.This room needs light and warmth and gaiety, he thought.All we have brought in is darkness and doubt.
“Will she help us?” Siegfried demanded. “Or are we to leave?”
“Both.” Hamish put his hands on his hips and swiveled back around to face his ally. Dust motes danced in the sunlight. With a swell of unease, he noticed how the feasting hall stretched about them, vast and empty. Some months prior, he had been Laird of Greenock and commanded an army. Men-at-arms, many of whom he had trained himself, had awaited his every command. Until that dreadful day when he commanded them to leave him.
Now, he had but one loyal follower from his homelands.
“The lady will speak to her brother. He has influence with the King.” At Siegfried’s look of skepticism, Hamish opened his arms. “He is the best chance we have.”
The only chance we have.
Siegfried considered this. “You will go with her to Wolvesley Castle?”
“Ye and I both will.” Hamish was firm. “We will take a proper leave of this place, just as soon as the thaw sets in.” He knew that Siegfried would sooner return to Scotland. Neither of them had planned to spend so long south of the border. But with a vengeful Alaric on the loose and no telling how long negotiations in Wolvesley would take, Hamish did not wish to risk anyone’s safety.
Siegfried stood still, his face impassive, but Hamish knew by his silence that the older man was thinking hard.
“Ye ken that I will serve ye until my dying day?” he said.
Hamish swallowed his instinctive qualms. “Ye have said it so oft ’tis all but engraved across my mind.” He softened his words with a smile. “And right grateful I am.”
“I dinna wish to travel to Wolvesley,” Siegfried said simply. “I canna explain the misgivings I have. But I ken my place is in the highlands.”
“As is mine.” Hamish fought to keep his voice even.
