by Quinn, Paula
Something moved above him. He looked up again, afraid to see one of them aiming an arrow at his heart.
He saw nothing.
Wait!
Those were not branches. They were planks nailed into the boughs. It took ballocks for someone to run around so high up. One wrong move…
The captain had told them that he and the other children at the stronghold were taught to climb and run in the trees. The captain had taught some of his men. Morgann and Padrig had never done it.
He caught a movement in the canopy. “Who are ye?” he called up.
Silence. And then… a kitten’s meow? What the—? Someone or something stepped over a few more of the planks and branches drooping closer.
Finally, Mac fell from the low branches and strode to Morgann. His dark eyes flashed like fire while he looked Morgann over. “What are ye doin’ here?” he asked. “Bound to a tree?”
Morgann was too afraid to tell him.
No. What’s the worst Mac could do? Kill him? He’d prefer it to what his life would be like now.
“I betrayed the captain.”
Mac stepped closer. Close enough for Morgann to see the captain’s wee kitten tucked in Mac’s cloak. “How did ye betray him?”
“What are ye doin’ here?” Morgann demanded, trying to avoid what was to come.
“Whatever ’tis,” Mac said with a smirk. “I’m not the one tied up.”
“I’m cold and hungry, Mac.”
The scarred, scruffy Highlander pulled out a knife. He hooked the blade under the rope and, with two strokes, cut Morgann free.
Morgann fell to his knees because his legs were numb. He could not rise.
Mac pulled a blanket from his saddlebag and tossed it around Morgann’s shoulders.
“We canna build a fire, but we can take shelter in the house.”
Morgann looked up at him. “Why are ye helpin’ me?”
“It canna be all that bad if the captain didna kill ye.”
He reached down by the side of the door and pushed a black rock over to reveal a metal key. He winked at Morgann and inserted the key into the door. “The captain told us aboot the keys a few years ago.”
The door opened. Morgann’s heart was racing so hard he thought it might fall from his mouth. If any of the patrolling guards saw them, they would be shot.
They entered the cottage and without lighting any candles, found the bed. Mac fell onto it, holding up his palm when Morgann would have protested. “Ye were tied to a tree a few moments ago. Be thankful ye have walls around ye and a roof over yer head.”
Morgann said nothing. He had no defense.
“Now, tell me of yer betrayal,” Mac insisted while he let Daffodil out of her shelter.
“Can we sleep and—”
“No,” the scar-faced Highlander cut him off. “Tell me what I wish to know.”
Morgann sat up on the floor and told him about his original loyalty to John Stewart and how it had moved to the captain. “I wanted to tell the men not to shoot her, Mac. I did tell them. But they wouldna listen to me. They didna care that she was a novice.”
Mac bolted up. “Silene was shot? Does she live?”
“Aye.” Morgann let him know. “Followin’ the steward’s orders, Jack MacKinny shot an arrow at her but missed.”
“MacKinny!” Mac’s gaze went dark. “That bastard!”
“Why did the steward order her death so quickly?” he asked Morgann. “How does he not know she wasna taken against her wishes and that is why she didna speak her vows?”
Morgann shrugged his shoulders. His duty was not to ask questions of his lord, but he would ask them of the captain’s close friend.
“What are ye doin’ here lookin’ over the stronghold wall. Who were ye watchin’?”
“The captain,” Mac told him truthfully. “The others and I traveled separately. I didna know whether or not he had arrived. I wouldna try to get into the stronghold at night.”
“Where are the others?” Morgann asked, afraid and ashamed to see them.
“They will be here. Enough questions. I’ll do the askin’. Tell me everythin’.”
Morgann told him about how MacKinny almost succeeded. “The captain killed him.”
“But he let ye live.”
“Aye.”
“Ye are fortunate. I would have killed ye.”
Morgann nodded. “She told me she was goin’ to pray that all goes well fer me.”
“Aye. She is thoughtful.”
“All the more reason I hate myself fer my part in this.”
“We will discuss it in the mornin’,” Mac said. “Get some sleep.
Morgann closed his eyes to the dark, cold house but at least he was warmer.
He fell asleep and dreamed of running.
The next morning, he opened his eyes to the tip of a blade at his throat and two pairs of green eyes staring down at him.
“Mornin’, Captain,” he said nervously. He looked at the kitten tucked into the captain’s neck to calm himself.
“Wake up. Ye willna sleep all day.”
“Cap,” said Mac with a plate of food in his lap. “He says he betrayed ye.”
“And her,” the captain added. Mac agreed.
“Captain, I wanted to stop them from killin’ her,” Morgann finally told him, but it was too late.
“I think he should die fer his crime.”
Mac shrugged. “Mayhap, but he is a soldier in the House of Stewart. We will have to give account before a dozen councils if we kill him.”
The captain looked at Morgann as if he wanted to kill him with his bare hands.
Morgann rose from the floor.
“Where is the food? I will prepare ye somethin’, Captain.”
“And mayhap poison me?”
Morgann shook his head. He wanted to get away from the captain before he drove the man to run him through. He could see it in his eyes. Murder, violence, unforgiveness.
“Where are the others?” Morgann heard him ask Mac.
Morgann lowered his head. He felt like the lowest worm. What would Will and Padrig say when they heard what he had done? Who would believe that Morgann cared for them all, even more than he cared for John? They had taken him in like a brother. He had fought by their sides more than once. There had been times when, before bed, he thought he would give his life for theirs.
His secret had weighed on him heavily, making him somber and serious.
He was sorry. He was sorry and he wanted to tell her.
He heard the captain and Mac moving behind him. When he turned, he saw them cloaked and hooded and leaving the cottage.
Morgann followed them. When he stepped outside, he saw Will and Padrig riding up the hill. His heart sank. He wasn’t always sure about Will, but Padrig was loyal to the captain.
The hulking Highlander was going to kill him. Morgann began to panic. He didn’t want to be here to hear his sentence, deserved or not. He wanted to run. He could run for a horse, get the—
The captain turned his head and looked directly at him as if he could hear his thoughts. The warning glint in his eyes convinced Morgann not to make the captain chase him.
He remained still and waited for his punishment.
They brought the horses to the small shelter behind the cottage. When they returned, Will greeted Morgann with a playful slap and tossed a travel bag to him. “Take that to Sister Silene later, will ye? ’Tis her clothes.”
Padrig came to stand beside his brother. “How did ye get here so fast?”
“I traveled close to the captain,” Morgann answered.
The captain chuckled with malice. “Is that what ye call it?”
“Call what?” Padrig queried.
“I…” The captain was truly going to make him confess to them. He swallowed and waited a moment more, hoping the captain would intercede. But he didn’t.
“I…I was traveling with Jack MacKinny—” They smiled. “And Richard D’Ato.” Their smiles faded. They didn
’t like D’Ato. They often spoke of him gathering information for the English king, though he was a Scot.
“What were ye two doin’ with him?” Will asked, then looked around as he walked away toward the cottage. “Where is MacKinny anyway?”
“He is dead,” Morgann told them quietly.
Padrig stared at him. Will stopped in his tracks. “Who killed him?”
Morgann ran his hand down his face. With each question he answered, he was getting closer to the pit from which there was no escape.
“The captain shot him after he tried to kill Sister Silene.”
Padrig’s eyes opened wide like twin chasms of darkness and the promise of pain. “Is she hurt?”
The captain shook his head.
“MacKinny had orders to kill her,” Will said.
“Aye.”
“Ye rode with him and that other traitor, D’Ato.”
“Aye,” Morgann heard himself confirm while he watched the captain enter the cottage. Morgann looked up to him. He was sorry he was weak.
They all entered the cottage and stood near the hearth fire the captain had prepared.
“Who were the orders from?” Will asked him, then answered his own question. “John.”
His gaze met the captain’s. “He wants her dead, though he doesna tell us this himself. That he told Morgann says much.”
Padrig nodded and stared into Morgann’s eyes, unsettling his bones. “What did ye do to stop them?”
“I pleaded with them.”
“MacKinny shot his arrow,” the captain told them, rubbing his chin on the kitten. “By God’s goodness, he missed.”
Will fell into a chair. “So, ye are the steward’s man? What else did ye do fer him?”
“I…ehm…he wanted me to report to him all that the captain and any of ye said against him.”
“Ye spied fer him. On us.” Mac, who was quiet up until now, spoke up.
“In the beginnin’ ’twas so,” Morgann confessed. “But things changed. Ye became my brothers. My reports to him were always the same. That ye are all loyal to him and havena wavered.” He looked at the captain. “Especially ye, Sir. He mostly wants to know of ye but I have never told him anythin’.”
The captain stared at him.
“What d’ye think we should do with ye?” Mac asked.
“Whatever ye will,” Morgann told him. “But I would appreciate it if after ye kill me, one of ye would tell Sister Silene that I am sorry.”
“I will tell her,” the captain said, “after I kill ye.”
Galeren pulled his sword from its sheath and pointed it at Morgann’s throat. Mac moved an inch forward. He raised his palm to stay Galeren’s hand.
“Cap, have mercy. He is but a pup.”
Aye, a pup. Galeren withdrew his blade. He wasn’t about to kill a pup. He wanted to make the lad shyte in his breeches. To let him know he would never be taken back into the fold.
“Ye may go,” he said. “Ye are free. I willna pursue ye.”
“Where am I to go?”
“To him,” Galeren answered with a streak of menace in his voice. “Tell him I let ye live because ye were followin’ his orders. Him, I will kill if he comes here.”
“But Cap—” Morgann persisted.
“Come on, lad,” Mac warned and pulled him out of the cottage.
Will laughed and closed his eyes. “Who would have ever believed ’twould be Mac who cared fer the traitor?”
Galeren swung his gaze to Will. “Ye think I should have killed him?”
“I think ye did what ye had to do, Cap.”
The door opened and Mac appeared. “He doesna want to leave.”
Galeren held up his hand and turned to Padrig. “Tell me, what did ye learn?”
“The steward is puttin’ together a regiment of men. We dinna know the purpose, fer he cast us all oot. But almost all the men refuse to fight against ye, Cap. So, he is hirin’ mercenaries. He is comin’ at this harder than we thought.”
Galeren shook his head. “He is predictable. Did ye hear anythin’ aboot the church?”
“Aye,” Will grinned. “The church denounced him, accusin’ him of trickery and lyin’, sayin’ his niece was a nun when she was a novice.”
“I see,” Galeren said, not knowing whether to be happy the steward lost his place on the council or not. “We will be prepared fer whatever John brings.”
“If he hires mercs,” Mac told him, “then we kill him. When the mercs find oot they are not gettin’ paid, they will disperse.”
“Killin’ the high steward and runnin’ will make us outlaws.”
“Mac,” Galeren said, looking at his friend through the corners of his eyes. “Ye seem bent of remindin’ me of the laws.”
“I dinna want ye swingin’ at the end of a noose, Cap. We will have to return to save ye, and ’tis likely that one of us will get caught.”
Galeren didn’t argue. He didn’t want that either.
He wanted a life, a future with Silene. He knew now how love changes a warrior. It makes him care about living and not dying on the battlefield. He hadn’t slept last night. He’d tried not to think about her in bed alone just across the hall. His body ached for her. The muscles in his arms trembled for her. They did, even now.
“Captain?”
“Aye, Padrig?”
“We also saw Lord Birchet. He was packin’ up everythin’ he had in Dundonald, includin’ his daughter, and takin’ them home.”
“Good,” Galeren said, happy to hear it. “I’m sure she will find a man who deserves her.”
He laughed briefly and the others joined him.
“Silene is a much better choice fer ye, Captain,” Will said.
“Thank ye,” Galeren answered. It meant much to him that his men thought he was deserving of her.
He wanted to see her but when he’d knocked on her door this morning, she was already gone.
He was happy she liked Father Timothy and even more grateful that Father Timothy convinced her that she’d made an acceptable decision.
He would make her his wife in four days. It was getting harder to wait.
“I am returnin’ to the stronghold,” he told the men. “Come with me and eat at my kin’s table. ’Tis big enough. The three of ye can come back here tonight and sleep. I have been told that Jamie the shepherd who lives here is off on a visit to his brother in Perth. He willna be back until next month.”
They left the cottage with him and headed down the hill, and back to level ground and the stronghold gates.
Galeren looked around for Morgann but he didn’t see him anywhere. Had he gone through the forest? Galeren hated to admit it, but he hoped not. Morgann wouldn’t make it a quarter of a mile before he set something off in the trees.
Where was Silene? He checked the church when they finally opened the gate. No one was inside. Where would Father Timothy have taken her?
“Are ye goin’ to marry Sister Silene?” Will asked him.
“Aye, I am. And dinna call her Sister. She is just Silene.”
“But,” Will challenged, “ye can have yer pick of so many lasses. A different beauty every night.”
“I only want her.”
Will finally accepted that the captain was in love with one lass and walked on ahead with Mac.
“Is yer father still the friendliest of the three brothers?” Padrig put to him as they drew near the manor houses.
“He isna the friendliest,” Galeren told him with a sly smile. “He only makes ye believe he is. That is how he brought down the most English strongholds in the kingdoms. From the inside.”
“Like our young Mr. Bell,” Mac pointed out.
“Not quite,” Galeren disagreed as they entered his father’s house.
He spread his gaze over his parents in the dining hall. Father Timothy and Silene sat with them. When he saw her, he smiled and went to her, as if pulled by unseen tethers.
She looked especially lovely today in a forest green tabard, belted
at the waist, and reaching to her knees with hose underneath and boots. Her habit was put away.
“Good mornin’, lass.” He knew he looked pitifully happy to see her. He didn’t care. “How were yer prayers?”
“Calming,” she told him, smiling, “and thankful.”
“Ye are a blessed man to be takin’ Silene as yer wife, Galeren,” Father Timothy told him happily.
“I know, Father.”
“She has to be special to have won our son’s heart,” his mother said as she beamed at Silene. Silene made a good impression then. He hoped his kin had done the same.
He pulled out a chair and sat beside Silene at the table. His men sat at the table after Galeren reintroduced them to his kin. He watched her notice his men were sitting with her. Her premonition had been incorrect.
“Thank you for retrieving my bag from Dundonald, Will,” she said with a wide smile after Galeren gave it to her. “I have a special dress in here that I did not want to lose.”
He winked when her eyes caught his.
“How is Morgann?” she asked on a low voice in case he didn’t want his parents to know about the lad.
“Free. I sent him off.”
“Oh.”
She looked off to the side and bit her fingernail.
“What is it, love?” he asked.
“I had hoped to bid him farewell.”
He blinked. Here she was, betrayed by him, and still wanting to bid him farewell.
“Silene,” his mother interrupted his thoughts. “What do you think of wee Daffodil? Is she not the most precious baby kitten you have ever seen?”
“Aye,” Silene laughed softly reaching up to stroke the kitten on Galeren’s shoulder. “I have come to love—oh!” She turned to him. “The children!”
“There were tears,” Mac told her. “But they canna care fer Daffodil now, and they know that. They unselfishly gave her up fer her own good.”
Silene stared up at Galeren. “You trained them well, Captain.”
“I worry if they will be well,” he whispered.
She made a note to say extra prayers for Alex and Margaret. “I think you will see them again,” she told him.
He smiled. “That is good news to hear, my love.”
She moved a little closer to him. “I like when you call me your love.”
He wanted to kiss her, but he thought it would make her uncomfortable in the sight of everyone. He dipped his mouth and kissed her shoulder instead. “Have I told ye how beautiful ye are to me, my love,” he whispered near her ear instead.