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“Well, I would ken it if I had seen him, Sire, but we get the ruffians, nae the lairds.”
Torin said, “He answers tae Max, if ye hae heard that name, he may hae come through lookin’ for us.”
She shook her head before he had finished. “And who are ye?”
“I am Torin Elphinstone, Clan Campbell, tis m’wife, Alexandria.”
“I haena seen such a man, not this week. Not that I hae seen.” Finished filling our cups, she left.
Torin got the attention of the other patrons of the inn. “Hae ye seen a stranger in these parts? We are lookin’ for a man.”
One of the men spit on the floor and shook his head, he looked too drunk to have heard the question.
Another man asked, “Ginger?”
“Nae, his hair is dark… but ye hae seen a stranger? Was he lookin’ for someone?”
He shrugged and said, “I haena seen nae strangers.”
Torin said, “Och nae.”
I stared into my ale. I had told myself that this would be the answer but still I was very disappointed. I sighed and drank more ale.
Torin put his hand over mine on the table. “Twill be okay, mo leannan, we daena need him tae be here now, we will get comfortable and wait.”
I pouted, “I don’t like waiting, I’m a princess.”
“God daena care. This is life and death, Princess. The time of the world turns and we hae tae be a part of it, we might hae loosened its grip on us, but tis still there, the wheel of time goin’ around. We canna make it go faster, we just need tae raise our glasses and say, ‘slàinte’ and hold on.”
“That’s lovely, slàinte!” I raised my glass.
“Good, I hae a bit of a buzz, I ought tae slow. Finish yer cup, and we will go walk the lane afore the light goes. If he is in Clackmannan or environs, someone will hae seen him.”
“It’s not raining anymore?” I drank down the rest of my ale.
“Nae, the rain has ended. Our fortunes keep rising.”
40
ALEXANDRIA
1308 - A STROLL THROUGH THE MARKET SQUARE
Torin and I strolled down the lane into the market square, which was more of a small lot at the intersection of two lanes. There were a few people out, looking bedraggled and damp from the rain, cleaning things up before nightfall.
Torin spoke to a few in Gaelic, I could tell by his gestures that he was saying basically what he had said back at the inn, ‘have you seen this man, he has dark hair and acts like a laird?’
Everyone shook their heads.
We walked farther, and I glanced back to see Dude trailing behind us like our family dog. “You are a good boy, Dude.”
Torin said, “He is, he is the best boy.”
Down at the end of the village we turned and began walking back as there was no one else to ask.
Torin bought some cheese and bread from the last market stall as the farmer’s cart was rolling by. “I ken we hae food at the inn, but I think I want more.”
“If only we could order a pizza. That would be a dream. Is it dinner time yet?”
