Avrielle could see that. “I will go and see,” she said. “That smaller door in the alcove—where does it go?”
Mattie looked over at the small, sturdy door. “A stairwell,” she said. “The servants use it, so it has a landing at every level.”
Avrielle moved over to it, throwing the bolts and carefully peering down the stairwell. “I do not hear anything,” she said. Then, she looked back into the room until she spied something. “Bring me that taper, my dear. I must have a little light so I do not kill myself on these stairs.”
Mattie ran over and struck a flint and stone, lighting a fat yellow taper, which she then carried over to Avrielle.
“Here,” she said, carefully giving it over. “May I go with you?”
“Nay,” Avrielle said. “Stay here until I send for you.”
“Are you certain?” Mattie said anxiously. “I can carry a dagger and protect us both.”
Avrielle grinned. “Sweet lass,” she said. “Nay, you will stay here. I will send for you if it is safe.”
With that, she slipped through the door and disappeared down the treacherous stairs. Mattie watched her go, then listened until she could no longer hear the footsteps. Shutting the door, she bolted it again and went back to the window, seeing that there was no longer any fighting, only men milling around and wounded being moved. It was clear that peace had been restored, so she moved away from the window and went to sit on the bed. Winchester, who had been following her around more or less, jumped up beside her. Absently, Mattie stroked the dog, wondering if she should do as she was told or if she should go into the hall and help. She was the chatelaine, after all. This was her home. She knew that Avrielle had meant to protect her, but by protecting her, she was keeping her from doing her duty.
She couldn’t sit around, idle.
Leaving Winchester lying on the bed, Mattie went to the main chamber door, unbolted it, and stepped through.
She had tasks awaiting her.
Be brave,Avrielle had said.
That was exactly what she was going to show Gar.
Her bravery.
*
Gar was tryingnot to feel stupid.
His grandfather had asked him if his men had checked the woods to the west and north of Gleann na Fola and he’d confirmed that his men had.
But evidently, not very well.
Thank God the army had only just cleared the gatehouse when a host of Scots poured from the trees and rushed in through the open portcullis. Gar and his men hadn’t been so far away that they hadn’t seen what had happened and had been able to turn about immediately. The offending Scots got more than they bargained for and the battle was short-lived.
Mercifully.
Still, there were many wounded because they’d been caught off guard. The wounded were mostly the soldiers left behind, men who had been unexpectedly forced to defend their castle. The best news of all was that even though the Scots had tried to make it into the keep, William had made sure both access doors were bolted, so no one was able to make it inside. The keep itself contained a small armory, purely for situations like this one, and he’d made it to the roof along with a couple of soldiers with crossbows. When the bolts started flying, the Scots beat a hasty retreat.
No one wanted to be hit by flying bolts.
Now, they had a hell of a mess to clean up.
There were eleven wounded, all of them moved into the great hall, into a warm spot by the enormous hearth, which was churning out both heat and smoke into the hall. The surgeon for the army, a man named Holt who also doubled as the castle’s ale master, was moving among the injured, the worst of which was a soldier who had fallen from the wall walk and broken his left shoulder, left arm, and left hip. Because of the height of the fall, the bones had been smashed and protruded through the skin, so it was a serious situation for him. But overall, the damage wasn’t bad.
In truth, it could have been much worse.
Gar saw his Aunt Avrielle in the great hall as the wounded were brought in and she informed him that his wife was perfectly safe and unharmed, and that brought him a huge sense of relief.When he and his men realized the Scots had been waiting for them to leave the castle, waiting for the moment when they could charge through the open gate, he’d been terrified that Mattie would somehow be injured or even killed in the rush. He’d fought his way to the keep only to realize it was locked up, which gave him the strength to fight on and not rush straight to Mattie to make sure she was well.
But now, the rush of battle was over.
Exhausted, but still feeding off a battle high, Gar stood at the top of the stairs of the great hall, watching people move about as they tended to the wounded. He could see his grandmother, mother, and aunt as they helped the men. Things they’d done a thousand times before, to a thousand different men, carefully ensuring they would live to see another day. Avrielle was particularly good at it, as Scott was an excellent healer and she’d learned a good deal from him over the years. Gar derived a strange sense of comfort watching the women of his family tend to his men as the world righted itself after the fight.
But then, he caught sight of someone new.
