Aftyn gave him a look made of a mix of stubbornness and resignation. She swallowed and nodded to Neve. “What if ye are no safe, either? Those men beat a healer. If ye fill that role…”
“I will be well. I can stay at the abbey if need be. In fact, so could ye. Hamish already suggested it. With the work we did after the fire, we would be welcomed.”
“I want Aftyn out of the reach of those men,” Jamie insisted. “The abbey isna far enough away to suit me. Later, they willna be a problem,” he assured Aftyn. “If Braden’s men dinna find them soon and yer laird punish them, I’ll return with Lathan warriors once I see ye safe, and hunt them down.” As much as he wanted to do that, he’d seen the determination in Braden’s bearing and gaze. “But I dinna think Lathan help will be needed. Braden was determined to see them punished.”
Jamie realized it had been hours since Braden had been here, and the day was waning. His men had ridden out hours before that. And he’d instructed them to wait only until moonrise.
“Neve, ye must go back. They’ll be closing the gates soon,” he reminded her.
“Nay, the laird ordered them closed after ye went missing. The guards ken me and let me out to visit a sick villager.”
Jamie turned his thoughts to how they would escape the Keith searchers. His horse was at the Keith stable inside the keep, as was any mount Aftyn could ride. He couldn't get in and ride out. By now, surely it was known that Bhaltair and Rabbie had escaped the dungeon. He’d be suspected of that, with good reason. Who else would want them freed? The guards would never open the gate for the man their laird hunted.
“They willna find me or my men in the keep,” Jamie said. “But if the search keeps Keith's guards busy a while longer, then ’tis good.”
Neve took Aftyn’s hand. “Dinna fash for me. Hamish and Braden will see me safe. Jamie is right. Ye must go away for a while. But no’ forever.”
Aftyn met her gaze with tears glimmering in her eyes. “Ye are the best friend a lass could ask for,” she said. “I will return to help ye.”
“And in the meantime, I have good news,” Neve said, releasing Aftyn’s hand and giving her a grin. “The reason Hamish can be so helpful is that he has left the abbey and is joining us here. He had some training at an abbey hospital south of Edinburgh. He’s eager to prove his worth and to be with me. I mean help me.Us.”
Jamie hid his amusement at Neve’s flustered announcement. Aftyn didn’t seem amused.
“He was to be a priest, Neve!” Aftyn said, and Mhairi’s eyes widened.
“Nay, he wasna. We were all mistaken. He was there to help another man who hasna arrived yet start a small infirmary, like the one where he served. He would help train the priests, not become a cleric himself. He doesna have the calling. He can work from Keith for now, and care for both. With me, and when ye return, with us. Or we can go back to the abbey.”
Jamie frowned. “Does yer da ken this? If he did, he wouldna need me, and none of this would have happened.”
“It wouldha,” Aftyn insisted. “He uses what he has in reach. He doesna like to wait for something else, even something better, to come along in the future. Neve’s news changes nothing.”
Aftyn sighed, and finally smiled at Neve, easing Jamie’s concern that they would leave with a rift between the two friends.
Mhairi leaned against the cupboard behind her and crossed her arms. “It seems we will manage quite well without ye, lass. For a wee while.”
Jamie returned to satisfying his hunger and thirst.
“Will they let ye return?” Mhairi asked Neve. “If no’ ye can sleep here. There’s no’ much room, but we’ll make do.”
“They’ll let me in, never ye mind. But thank ye. In fact, I’d best be going. Hamish is waiting for me and will worry if I stay out of the keep much longer.” She wrapped Aftyn in a hug. “Bide ye well, my friend.”
Aftyn returned her embrace. “Ye, as well. Thank ye for helping us.”
Neve moved to Jamie, surprising him when she also hugged him. “Take care of her, or ye will answer to me.”
“Dinna fash, Neve. I will.”
Once she left, Aftyn returned to the pallet. “I will rest until we must leave,” she told Jamie. “Thank ye, Mhairi.”
“No thanks are needed, lass.”
Jamie put a hand on Mhairi’s shoulder, reading her fatigue. He gave her what help he could, quickly and without depleting the strength he would need to get them free to safely meet his men. When Mhairi took a deep breath and gave him a smile, he knew his touch had helped, and he nodded.
“I must go find a horse or two,” he told her. “But I’ll be back as quickly as I can and we’ll go.”
Mhairi glanced at Aftyn, whose eyes were closed. “Will she be ready?”
“She will.”
