Page 5 of Highland Flame

“Yvaine is too upset to stay in town, so she will be goin’ to live with another of her brathairs for a while,” Ian spoke up.

“I see,” said Cam with a nod. “Where is it he lives, and where I will be escorting her?”

“Brathair Gillies lives across the border,” said Callum.

Cam thought at first that the old man just meant Gillies was the lass’ brother. That is, until he heard the rest of it.

“She will be residin’ at Lanercost Priory,” Storm finished explaining.

“Lanercost Priory?” Cam’s head snapped up in surprise. His eyes roamed back to the girl again. Damn, it figured. She was going to be a nun. Why did he have to be escorting a beautiful woman to a priory, of all places? Just his luck. He realized that, sometimes, this is what a widow did when she couldn’t continue on alone after the death of her spouse. Bid the devil, he didn’t like this at all.

“I thought Lanercost Priory was in ruins,” stated Gavin with a confused look upon his face.

“No’ anymore,” Storm remarked. “It has been under repair over the past few years, and is now a fully functionin’ priory.”

“Our brathair, Gillies, is abbot there,” Keithen explained. “I thought it best our sister joins him since she is in such mournin’.”

“But it’s over the border. I dinna think it’s safe for just one man to be escortin’ the lass,” protested Cam. “I mean, with the English right there, ye never ken what will happen.”

“We agree,” Storm answered. “That is why North, Nash, and Gavin, will be accompanin’ ye.”

“What?” all three men said at once.

“Me?” Gavin’s jaw dropped and he shook his head. “Nay. I just got married, my laird. I also just got accepted back into the clan. I shouldna be away from my bride right now. Or the clan.”

“Ye are a Highland warrior, Gavin,” Storm pointed out. “Ye are also one of the best with a sword. Ye’ll go with them, but to the border only. We’ve sent a missive to Lord Rook at Naward Castle. He will meet the travelin’ party at the border with some of his men to escort them to the priory safely.”

“Rook? One of the Legendary Bastards of the Crown?” Cam, as well as everyone else, had heard about this legendary man who was a triplet and a bastard of King Edward III of England.

“That’s right,” said Storm. “He once lived in the catacombs of Lanercost Priory, but is now laird of Naward Castle where he resides with his wife.”

“Well, this shouldna take long then,” said Nash, shrugging his shoulders as if it no longer mattered. “North, we’ll be back in time for supper.”

“I was talkin’ about Gavin only,” Storm announced.

“Well, what about Nash and me?” asked North. “Do ye want us to go all the way to the priory before we return?”

“Hah!” spat Callum, seeming to enjoy this a little too much. “Nash and North, ye willna be comin’ back until Cam’s sentence is finished.”

“Why no’?” asked Nash, making a face.

“Ye’re outcasts of the clan now and canna stay here,” Ian reminded them. “Ye are lucky we allowed ye to attend Gavin’s weddin’.”

“Wait a minute,” said Cam, raising a finger in the air. “Do ye mean that I have to stay there? At a priory?” Just the thought of residing within such pious walls was already making Cam feel quite uncomfortable. “With monks and nuns, and prayin’ and all?”

“That’s right,” said Ian. He’d been ill lately, and still looked quite pale. Cam and his friends never did find out exactly what was wrong with him. “Yvaine will be movin’ the chandler’s business to the priory for now. Cam, ye will help her make candles or soap and whatever else she does. Ye will be her assistant.”

“Me?” This sounded horrible to Cam. Next thing he knew, they’d be insisting he join the Order and become a monk while he was there. “I dinna ken how to make candles, and neither do I care.”

“Well, I didna ken how to make shoes either, but I learned,” remarked Gavin under his breath, speaking of his own past sentence.

“Yvaine will teach ye everythin’ ye need to ken,” Keithen assured him. “The wagon with all the supplies is waitin’ just outside and ready to go.”

“How long will I need to be there?” asked Cam, hoping for a short time only. Being away from eligible females for too long would drive him insane.

“Ye’ll stay there until ye get a guid report from Brathair Gillies and he tells ye it’s time to come back,” snapped Callum. “Stayin’ a spell away from the women should cure that uncontrollable lust of yers,” he said smugly.

“Or make it worse,” mumbled Cam under his breath. Running a hand through his long, blond hair, he couldn’t even comprehend all this. He’d never been away from women for long, and neither had he ever stepped foot in a priory. Brothels and taverns were where he had spent most of his life. This was truly going to be the worst punishment of all.