Devlin’s gaze lingered on her a moment. “Has he been bold with you?”
She could hear hazard in the question but she was honest. “It started out quite sweetly, in truth,” she said. “He sent me notes, anonymously. But then it escalated to inviting me to walks or sitting next to him at sup. Earlier today, he tried to kiss me. I slapped him so hard I believe I left a mark.”
Devlin was fully prepared to rage at the attempted kiss until she mentioned the slap. That had him grinning. He sighed heavily, fighting down his natural jealousy. He’d never experienced the emotion in his life so it was something new, and uneasy, to deal with.
“Better you to slap him than me,” he mumbled. “I would most definitely leave a mark.”
Emllyn grinned at him. “And so you would protect me, my beauteous lad?”
“Upon my honor, I would do all that and more.”
She reached a hand up, rubbing his bearded cheek. He kissed the palm of her hand sweetly but as he did so, he caught sight of something over by the door. He paused in his kisses, his gaze glued to whatever had his attention.
“God’s Blood,” he finally hissed.
Emllyn could see that something had his focus. Lifting her head so she could see over his big arm, she could see that Eefha was seated over in the corner by the door, in the shadows. She had something in her finger she seemed to be toying with, the unlit shite pipe between her lips. She was so quiet that she had blended in with the shadows, and the two lovers had utterly neglected to remember her.
“Oh… goodness,” Emllyn muttered, looking at Devlin, horrified. “I completely forgotten she was here.”
Devlin looked at her, giving her a resigned expression. “Hopefully she will not talk and spread rumors about what she saw.”
The humor in that statement was obvious and Emllyn giggled. “She will sing out the praises of Black Sword’s prowess as he bedded the English maiden,” she said. Then her giggling increased. “She was here one day when de Noble came to call. Like a wraith, she came out of the shadows and snuck up behind him with a dirk in her hand and surely would have stabbed him had I not called her off. Truthfully, Dev, I’ve heard of protectors and guards, but I have never heard of an old woman who goes around protecting young women as Eefha does.”
He grinned, glancing affectionately over at the old woman who acted as if she had no idea that anyone else was in the room. She was truly in her own world.
“She is the best protection there is,” he said. “I am not surprised she chose to follow you here. When I returned to Black Castle and she was nowhere to be found, I suppose I alwaysknew that she had come to Glenteige to be with you. It brought me some comfort to hope for that.”
“She has been my protector since the beginning.”
“So she has. Mayhap… mayhap she sees a bit of herself in you as she was when she was young. She was quite beautiful, I was told. Mayhap she simply wants to take care of you.”
“And so she has,” Emllyn said softly, arching her head up to kiss Devlin’s cheek. “But so have you. Now, about tomorrow; we should make our plans now because we may not have the opportunity later.”
Devlin nodded, thinking on the course that the morrow would take. “It should be simple enough,” he said. “Does this complex have a postern gate? I am not yet familiar with it enough to know.”
Emllyn thought on the layout of the inner wall and the keep. After a moment, she nodded “There is a small man gate near the kitchen,” she said. “I have seen servants passing between it.”
“It would more than likely be locked in the morning.”
She shook her head. “That may be, but I know the cook,” she insisted. “I am sure she will open it for me.”
“Good,” Devlin said, relieved that he had one less detail to worry over. “I will leave through the main gate and meet you somewhere outside. There is a well towards the center of town.”
“I know it.”
“You will meet me there just before sunrise.”
Emllyn grinned. “I will be there.”
“Swear it?”
“Of course. But if I am not, know that somehow I was detained. Wait for me, however; I may have to climb the inner walls to get out of this place, but know I will be there.”
“I will wait as long as it takes for you to join me.”
Emllyn knew he would. But as she thought on that, another idea struck her. “What about Eefha?” she wanted to know. “Should I bring her with me?”
He shook his head. “Do not worry over her,” he said, glancing over at the old woman. “Eefha does as Eefha wants. If she wants to come with us back to Black Castle, she will.”
