Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Having fallen back to let Isabella and Lady Clendenen ride two abreast ahead of her on the narrow track, Adela heard a sudden shout and gasped when she turned to see Lestalric pitching headfirst from his saddle.

Only Henry's swift action saved him from falling between their horses, into the path of the horses and men behind them.

"Two of you lads, to the countess!" Henry shouted.

Somehow, one-handed, he caught Lestalric's doublet shoulder. But Adela saw that he'd grabbed only cloth. And as Henry fought to control two unsettled horses and assist a struggling Lestalric trying to right himself, the cloth began to rip where the arrow had pierced it. Seeing this all in a blink, she wheeled the gray and kicked it hard, forcing it nearer until she could catch the cheek-piece of the bay's bridle.

Holding it firmly, praying the animal would not panic, she spoke soothingly, steadying it effectively until Lestalric suddenly jerked himself away from Henry.

"Don't fight him, you fool!" she snapped. When his horse tried to rear again, she added hastily but in the soothing tone she had used before, "I can see the arrow-head and it looks to be sharply barbed, my lord. Be still, or you may injure yourself more. Good laddie," she murmured to the horse as it calmed.

"I know I hurt you then, Rob, but the lass is right," Henry said. "I'll take more care, but we must get you off your horse to have a good look at that wound."

"Get the women to safety first," Lestalric growled as he let Henry help him ease back onto his saddle properly. He sounded angry but whether at himself for revealing his pain or at the archer, Adela did not know.

"We're not going anywhere," she told him. "As you can see, two of Henry's men-at-arms are already protecting the countess and Lady Clendenen, and have moved them out of the line of fire. Surely, we're safer here with Henry's men than if we tried to ride on without them."

"Aye, she's right again, Rob," Henry said with a sweeping look around. "Your brain is muddled, lad. So listen to her unless you want a good clout."

"Spare me, Henry. This damn thing hurts like fire."

"I see that," Henry said, gesturing for one of his men to dismount and help him.

"He's bleeding badly, sir," Adela said. "We need to get that arrow out and the wound bound up as quickly as we can."

"Aye, but I'm thinking I might send a couple of my lads—"

"Listen," Adela said sharply. "Riders!"

Exchanging a glance with Lestalric, Henry signed to two other men. One turned his horse deeper into the woods. The other rode toward the newcomers.

A moment later, a shout came from the latter. "A score or more, m'lord, bearing a royal banner and that o' the Earl o' Fife!"

Henry frowned, but Adela said, "Thank heaven! Now all will be well."

Rob said quickly, "How badly am I bleeding, Henry? I can't see the wound."

"Badly enough to ruin your pretty doublet," Henry said. "But at least that dark velvet will prevent anyone's noticing from a distance."

"Please, sir, get him off his horse," Adela pleaded. "We must tend his wound."

"It may be more important to hide it," Rob said. "Are you wearing a cambric underskirt or shift, lass?"

She frowned, making him wonder if she would object. But to his relief, she caught his meaning quickly and began tearing strips of cambric from her underskirt.

"Use those to bind me up," he said. "Henry, my doublet may be dark, but the bandage will show. I'll need that splendid cape you're wearing."

"Sakes, you insolent pup, you'll be like to leak all over it," Henry said as he whisked off the cape and laid it ready across his saddlebow.

"Never mind that," Rob said, reaching into his left sleeve and extracting the narrow roll of vellum. "Take this, lass, and shove it inside your bodice for me."

"Men," Adela muttered as she held her strips, steadied her horse, and awkwardly slipped the vellum through the lacing of her tunic without asking what it was. "You know I cannot just wrap a bandage round it. That arrow must come out."

"Henry, see if you can do it without rendering me unconscious," Rob said.

"Sakes, sir," she protested. "He cannot pull it out from where he is!"

"He must," Rob said. "I'd as lief they not know I'm injured until we know why they're here. Let them believe the arrow missed me."

"I doubt the person who shot it will believe that," Adela said.

Henry did not waste time arguing but said, "Shut your eyes and try to relax, Rob. I've got to push the damned barb through to cut it off."

"Don't worry about neatness," Rob said. "Just break it off when you can get a grip and try not to leave any splinters in me. And for the love of God, Henry, do it fast. Their hoofbeats have slowed. They're nearing the woods."

He noted that Lady Clendenen and Isabella had ridden back onto the path. Like Adela, they believed all was safe with a royal party approaching. At least neither was a prattler. They would take their cues from him or from Henry.

He was not at all sure they were safe. And he knew that Henry—who understood much more than he did about the politics and intrigue rife within the royal circle—found no reassurance in knowing Fife was there.

Adela saw that Henry knew what he was doing when he pushed the shaft of the arrow through the wound until the barb was well past the exit area. But the speed with which he did it astonished her.

Calling to the man who had dismounted to help him, he held the long shaft firmly as the other gripped the barb end in one gloved fist and snapped it off.

She heard Lestalric gasp, but he remained conscious without visible effort.

Dexterously, Henry extracted the shaft and reached for one of the wide strips of cambric Adela held out. By the time he had deftly bound it around Lestalric's shoulder and upper arm, she had realized something else from the way the arrow had pierced his left shoulder and emerged through the back of his upper left arm.

"It came from above," she said. "Back there, from those trees."

"Aye," Henry said. "Tie that knot tight. I'll throw my cape over his shoulders as you do. We've time for no more, so don't get blood on your sleeve."

His voice was calm, as was Lestalric's. "Get rid of that thing," the latter said to the man who held the barb. "Stow the shaft, too, but shove it into the ground under a bush if you can. And make haste, man. They're upon us."

A moment later, they were. But before Adela recognized anyone in the royal party, Isabella said in a clear voice, "Why, Ealga, look. 'Tis your charming cousin, the chevalier de Gredin, and the Earl of Fife."

Adela was further amazed then to see Henry take from one of his men an arrow that looked like the one they had just broken. He held it and was still gazing raptly at it when the first riders in the royal party joined them.

"Your skirt, lass," Lestalric said urgently.

With as casual a gesture as she could quickly manage, she smoothed the overskirt off her knee, where she had gathered it to tear strips from her underskirt. Then she turned the gray to face the newcomers but kept it near Lestalric's horse.

Lestalric looked pale, she thought, but he was otherwise in full command of himself. He had looped his reins loosely around his left hand and chose that moment to pluck a bit of leaf off the borrowed cape with his right.

"We are glad to see you, my lord," Isabella said as the Earl of Fife approached her without bothering to doff his plumed hat.

He nodded, saying, "Good day, madam. Did you meet with trouble here?"

"How astute you are, my lord!" Lady Clendenen exclaimed, clutching a hand to her breast. "I vow, I have never been so glad to see anyone. My poor heart is still pounding. Someone was shooting arrows at us!"

"How dreadful," Fife said, shifting his haughty gaze to Lestalric. "I hope no one suffered injury."

Raising the arrow he held so the others could see it, Henry said, "We are glad to reassure you, sir. The archer's aim most fortunately went amiss. I trust, though, that such mischief does not occur often hereabouts."

"Not often," Fife said, turning back to Lestalric. "I was told you had not yet visited these estates. Had you mentioned your intent to come today, I'd have warned you we'd had reports of trouble here."

"Sakes, then I wish I'd announced it to the whole court," Lestalric said in the disingenuous manner he had employed the previous evening and with Geddes.

Adela noted, however, that his absurd accent was less obvious with Fife.

Fife replied, "'Tis fortunate that I asked de Gredin here to meet with me this morning to discuss his recent visit to France. We are looking to seek aid from the Auld Alliance if the English continue to provoke us."

"An excellent notion," Lestalric said. "One heartily commends it."

"At all events," Fife said with a cynical look, "when de Gredin said he was to join your expedition, I suggested we come along lest you encounter such rogues. He did not know your party had increased its numbers so."

"Doubtless I ought to have discussed our plan with you first, my lord," Lestalric said. "I fear I am not well versed yet in all my duties."

Adela detected a satirical note in his voice and feared Fife would hear it too, so she was almost glad to hear a shout from the woods behind them.

Henry and his men all stiffened as one and looked that way, but Fife said smoothly, "I took the liberty of sending a few of my lads to search for those rogues I mentioned. I'll wager they've treed your murderous archer for you."

Believing as Adela did that the archer had shot from a treetop and must have fled at once, and recalling that one of Henry's men had slipped in amidst the trees earlier, she hoped he was not the one they had found. She dared not glance at Henry though, lest Fife and the others suspect she knew more than they did. She sensed intense awareness in Lestalric, too, more than he had displayed before.

They heard approaching riders, and a moment later, two emerged from the woods. "We got him, me lord," one announced to Fife. "He jumped from his tree and were fleeing wi' his bow, but we took him down."

"What have you done with the fellow?" Henry asked mildly. "I own, I should like to ask him what the devil he meant by shooting at us."

The henchman glanced at his master before he said, "He'll tell ye nowt, me lord. The devil hisself ha' got his hooves in him now, and I warrant auld Clootie willna send him to trouble ye again."

"But why would such a person want to shoot at us?" Lestalric asked with uncharacteristic plaintiveness.

Fife shrugged. "Mayhap because Sir Ian neglected his people. Doubtless that will change now if you mean to take things in hand. But until you arrived so unexpectedly, the King feared he would have to take this place in hand himself."

"I am pleased to spare his grace the trouble," Lestalric said. "But although I am learning a great deal, to be sure, I believe we are keeping you from important duties, my lord Fife. Thank you most heartily for your timely assistance."

Fife nodded, then said, "Shall we see you at the Castle tonight?"

Adela stiffened but managed to avoid shooting a minatory look at Lestalric.

"Oh, aye, I expect so," he said to her profound annoyance. "I found it most entertaining last evening and look forward to repeating the experience."

Having been certain he would make an excuse to absent himself, she had to exert herself not to contradict him outright.

Fife and his men departed moments later, leaving de Gredin to exclaim at what a near miss everyone had had.

"Lady Adela, it must have terrified you out of your wits, especially after your unfortunate experience a few weeks ago."

"'Tis kind of you to concern yourself," Adela said as she urged her horse forward to meet him so he would ride no closer to Lestalric. "I am sorry you missed the earlier part of our expedition. It has been a splendid day."

When two of Henry's men fell in behind them, she knew his thoughts had matched hers. So she encouraged de Gredin to flirt with her, responding coyly to his comments and acquitting herself well, she thought, for someone whose experience in such behavior was nonexistent.

De Gredin's interest in every word she said provided novelty for one whose father dismissed female conversation. The attention proved heady until she realized his questions had moved from casual to more pointed ones about Lestalric Castle.

"I suppose you and the other ladies were left kicking your heels whilst Lestalric examined every inch of his new possession," he said archly.

"Mercy, sir, we scarcely saw more than the hall," she declared. "If Lestalric and Orkney did more than poke their heads up that musty stairwell, I'd be surprised, for the place reeks of men, dogs, and moldy rushes. I vow, we all longed for fresh air. Highlanders are much tidier."

"I'd heard the place had become a mess," he said with a chuckle. "I warrant our new baron has much work ahead. I hope you will not think me unkind if I say he does not seem likely to be a capable landowner."

Her mouth half open to insist that Lestalric was capable of anything he set his mind to do, she recognized the pitfall. Smiling innocently instead, she said, "I'm sure I do not know if it is kind or unkind, sir. I barely know Sir Robert."

"Oh, indeed, I thought it looked as if you, he, and Orkney had your heads together like old friends."

"Oh, but I do know Orkney, of course," she said. "He is, after all, my sister's brother-by-marriage. As you know, I was staying with Countess Isabella at Roslin before I came to town. But as to Sir Robert, I did not even know he existed until his grace's lord chamberlain announced his arrival to the entire court."

And that, she told herself virtuously, was perfectly true.

Remembering how fervently she had assured Lestalric that she loathed secrets, she told herself that she still hated them, but she hated villainy more. And she was coming to think she had met with villainy again. Whether de Gredin was knowingly part of it all or not, she would have to tread warily with him.

Rob gritted his teeth as he watched the lass ride ahead with de Gredin, and only a portion of the accompanying grimace was for his pain. Every step the horse took stirred jolts of agony, and if it was not the pure agony he had experienced as Henry and his man removed the arrow, neither was it the mere ache of a flesh wound. His whole shoulder and upper arm hurt, and he could barely grip the reins. Even moving his right arm hurt, which seemed decidedly unfair. Fortunately, his mount needed little direction even when Henry signed to him to fall back a little.

One of Henry's lads passed them as Henry muttered, "Damn de Gredin! I don't trust any man who keeps company with Fife, Rob, and no more should you. His only interest is acquiring power. The only reason his brother Carrick is alive is that everyone would believe Fife responsible even if another plague killed him."

"A good many folk would agree with Fife, though, that Carrick is the wrong man to be the next King of Scots," Rob said.

"Aye, sure. I'm one, and so are you and any other man who kens aught of soldiering or leadership. At the right time, Carrick might make a fine King of Scots. But not with England still trying to conquer Scotland, nor with the greedy, bickering royal family we have. They all want more power, more land, more everything, if only to spit in the eye of everyone who ever called the Stewarts upstarts."

"Enough, Henry, I'll beware of Fife. But how do you think his men knew, without a word of communication betwixt us, where that devilish archer was?"

"We'll find out," Henry said, looking over his shoulder. "As you doubtless saw, I sent one of my lads to have a look. He's coming up behind us now."

The horseman, who had managed to ease his mount up so quietly that Rob had not heard him, drew in beside Henry and said, "They went for him as if they'd a leading string on him, m'lord. Someone must ha' told him to stay put, for he were still in his tree and came down when he saw them. I'd concealed m'self when I heard them coming. And when I saw what they was about, I kept still as death, I can tell ye. I kent fine they'd leave nae witness did they see one."

Rob said, "You believe they knew him, then?"

"Och, aye, for he wore the same all-black livery they do till they stripped his body and dressed it in a ragged jack and breeks. I heard one say his lordship would be spitting fire over the business but that he should ha' sent a better marksman."

"So Fife sent the archer," Rob said. "I wonder what he hoped to accomplish."

"Thank you," Henry said, dismissing his man. "I'm wondering," he added a moment later. "Suppose that marksman did exactly what Fife asked of him?"

"By just wounding me, you mean?"

"Aye, for the search tells us someone knows something is missing," Henry said. "To have done that, they must believe it to be of great value. They must likewise believe the Logans have it or ken its whereabouts. And—"

"And a Logan has just visited Lestalric," Rob said. "You think they hoped I'd collect whatever it is they've searched for, and expected to be able to collect it when they appeared so fortuitously to aid me. So Fife, whose men all wear black as he does himself, and as the murderers did, must be involved in all that has happened."

"Aye," Henry said. "Never mind how that archer got to his perch. Think about when he must have done it. De Gredin could as easily have told Fife last night about your expedition, you know. And as I did not decide to accompany you until this morning—nor did my mother—the size of our party surprised them."

Rob nodded.

Gently, Henry added, "Your friend Tam Geddes may be in it, too."

"Perhaps," Rob admitted. "My instinct says no, and in any event, the rest of Lestalric should be with me. For all my father's faults, Grandfather was popular, and there is a long tradition here of loyalty to my family."

"Are you really going to join the royal court tonight?"

"I must," Rob said. "But I think we shall have to decline Lady Clendenen's invitation to dine. I can move everything, so I don't think that damned arrow did any permanent damage, but I doubt I can manage to eat with any grace."

"I'll tell my mother," Henry said. "She's a witch when it comes to healing, so she may know some way to aid you. And you can stop glowering at Adela," he added with a grin. "She is only doing what she can to protect you."

Rob turned his glare on Henry, but Henry only laughed.

A moment later, Rob said, "I'm sure Fife is in it. As haughty as he is, I can think of no reason but guilty knowledge to have sent his men into the woods as he did. He also explained rather too much about how he came to be here this morning."

"Aye," Henry agreed. "'Tis uncharacteristic, that. Still, I doubt he expects us to worry him. You were right to act the halfwit, Rob. As Sir Edward often said, to gain advantage in a battle, even of wits, if one is able, one should appear unable."

"And if one is disabled," Rob said dryly, thinking of the painful evening that lay ahead, "one must appear able."

Adela would have liked to tell Lestalric just what she thought of his intent to attend the royal court that evening, but she had no opportunity. Not only did she feel obliged to let de Gredin ride with her on the return trip, but he soon dashed any hope that he might have forgotten Lady Clendenen's invitation to dine with them.

"I look forward to another excellent meal," he said as they neared the house. "In my opinion, her ladyship's cook is one of the finest in Edinburgh."

"I thought you preferred the food at the Castle," Adela said, smiling but wishing the devil would fly away with the man.

"It is admirable," he said. "But the company is not nearly as admirable."

Lightly, she said, "I trust both will live up to your expectations today."

"They cannot help but do so," he said, reaching to give her hand a squeeze.

Stiffening but managing to keep her tone light, she said, "Pray, do not do that. The countess will disapprove."

"She is not looking," he said, squeezing her hand again.

Adela gave him the same look she had often directed at an annoying sister.

With a sigh, he pulled back his hand. "You are cruel, madame."

A prickling sense told her Lestalric was watching, and she had no doubt that he would soon demand to know what she thought she was doing to encourage the man to such liberties. To her surprise, the thought stimulated her. Let him scold, she told herself. She had some things to say to him, too.

But at Clendenen House, when Lady Clendenen said she hoped they all still meant to stay and dine, the countess said, "I've a fearsome headache, Ealga. If we are to visit the court tonight, I must rest first. Indeed, I am surprised you do not feel the same. After such a terrifying adventure, I vow, the day has exhausted me!"

Adela glanced at de Gredin but saw no indication that he realized how unusual it was for the energetic countess to admit weakness. He said only that he hoped she would quickly recover and that he was sure Henry meant to stay.

"Nay, I must decline, for I've a number of tasks yet to attend before I leave for the north," Henry said. "I'm taking Lestalric, too, Ealga. I regret depriving you of his company, but he wants advice about changes he means to make at Lestalric. And this may be the only time I can oblige him."

"Do not concern yourself, sir," Lady Clendenen said. "Adela and our dear Etienne will keep me entertained."

Watching as de Gredin dismounted to aid the gillie assisting her ladyship from her cumbersome saddle, Adela did not realize that Lestalric had moved his mount to the offside of hers until his bay snorted, startling her.

"Sakes, lass," he murmured. "You leap like a scalded cat, and not for the first time, either. I've never known your like before."

"You startled me," she said, reaching into her bodice for the roll of vellum he'd given her. As she gave it to him, she said, "Are you really going tonight?"

"Aye," he said, slipping the roll up his sleeve. "And I hope you will, too." "I'm sure we will," she said. "But I think you must be mad."

He began to shrug, clearly thought better of it, and said, "If we are to talk of madness, what were you about to let that scoundrel put his hand on you?"

She lifted her chin. "It can be no concern of yours if I did, my lord."

"You may hope," he said. "But I do not speak from jealousy, lass. I have no thought of trying to enmesh you in my tangled affairs, only a hope that I may keep you from doing anything foolish before I untangle them. 'Tis one thing for a young widow to visit the royal court with two powerful kinswomen as chaperones. It is another to encourage the liberties of a slithersome coof like de Gredin."

"Slithersome coof?"

"Aye, and when you say I've no right to speak, recall that you invited my concern on Roslin's ramparts when you confided in a man who was no more to you than a voice in the darkness."

His words shook her, reminding her that had the arrow struck true it would have stilled that comforting voice forever. Her throat ached at the thought, but she raised her chin. "I suppose it was foolish to be so trusting of such a voice."

"Nay, lass, nowt o' the sort," he said, smiling so warmly that she felt it to her bones and the ache vanished. "I never meant that, and you know it," he added. "I meant only that something binds us. It is as easy for me to talk with you as for you to talk to me. I don't understand why, and I know it may not be easy for you to trust me now that I've admitted deceiving you. But I do hope to know you better." He paused to draw breath, wincing. "I want to be friends, nothing more—not yet."

"I'd like that," she said impulsively, nearly reaching a hand to him as she did. Realizing he would have to move his injured shoulder to take it, she pulled it back again. Then, lest he make too much of such a reaction, she said firmly, "But do not think a growing friendship gives you leave to criticize me, sir."

"I'm not criticizing you, lass, only that jackanapes de Gredin. But see that you don't allow him to entertain her ladyship by making sheep's eyes at you."

Shaking her head at him, Adela jumped again when Henry said from behind her, "Allow me to assist you down, lass. Lestalric is presently useless in such a case, of course. And my mother must be longing for her nap."

Hiding a smile and taking care not to look at Lestalric, who doubtless knew the countess's habits as well as she did, Adela accepted Henry's aid to dismount.

"Let me escort you inside, Lady Adela," de Gredin said, approaching her.

Feeling the prickling sense of Lestalric's disapproval again, she smiled brilliantly at the chevalier and took his arm.

Lady Clendenen beamed, but the supper that followed was tedious. De Gredin talked of nothing but Sinclairs and Lestalric. Her ladyship's replies were glib enough to tell Adela that someone, probably the countess, had warned her to guard her tongue, but recalling that de Gredin was her ladyship's cousin, Adela knew it must be hard for the gregarious woman not to tell him everything she knew. By the time the meal ended, her ladyship looked as mentally drained as Adela felt.

As Lady Clendenen arose from her chair at last, she said, "This has been a pleasure, Etienne, but you must leave us now if we are to look our finest at his grace's court tonight. I, for one, want a bath." When he had gone, she confided to Adela, "Such unnatural discretion is difficult for me. Most unfair, too, I think, for Isabella to insist we not tell dearest Etienne what really occurred. He would not tell another soul if we asked him to keep it to himself."

"Can you be sure of that, madam? You said we must all be wary of Fife, did you not? The chevalier seemed quite friendly with him."

"Faith, he can scarcely appear otherwise! Fife is no one to annoy, my dear." But she seemed much struck and said no more then in defense of de Gredin.

Adela could not congratulate herself, however, because she suspected that her ladyship's own words had had more to do with that look than anything Adela had said. In any event, her ladyship proved correct in predicting that they would need all the time they had at their disposal to prepare for the night ahead.

When Lady Clendenen's coach drew up at Sinclair House two hours later, they found that Henry and Lestalric would also travel to the Castle in a wheeled vehicle. Henry's was an elegant two-wheeled, one-horse tilt-cart with a seat at the front for its driver. Henry said he was showing it off for Lestalric's benefit.

"I just got it," he confided as he helped the countess enter the coach. "But it won't take more than two in any comfort, so Mother will ride with you."

"How is he?" Lady Clendenen asked Isabella, nodding toward Lestalric.

"He'll do," the countess said confidently. "It struck hard but slid along the shoulder bone and out his upper arm. Painful, to be sure, but not crippling."

"Excellent," her ladyship said. "Then he need only rest it and let it heal."

But no sooner did the lord chamberlain announce Lestalric's name than a beautiful, dark-haired young woman flew out of the crowd toward him.

He stopped, staring at her, and thus made no effort to protect himself from the onslaught as she flung her arms around him and hugged him hard.

Rob gasped at the wave of pain that threatened to over-whelm him but collected his wits quickly, putting his right hand on the young woman's shoulder and pulling away as if to get a better look at her features. Not that he needed one. Even after nearly a decade, he recognized her easily.

"Lady Ellen?" he said, blinking as if he could not believe it.

"Aye, Robbie, 'tis I, indeed!" she replied gaily.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came with my parents," she said, gesturing vaguely toward the high table.

Catching a whiff of spirits, he suspected she had had more wine or whisky to drink than was good for her and hoped it had dulled her senses enough that she had failed to realize she'd hurt him.

Reassuming his witless demeanor, he said languidly, "I vow, madam, you do not look a day older than when I last saw you. But forgive me. In my astonishment, I forgot my manners. Allow me to present you to the Countess of Strathearn and Caithness. Madame, this is Lady Ellen, my brother's widow."

Lady Ellen turned to Isabella and, with the slight curtsy of one earl's daughter to another, said, "We have met before, but I am honored, madam."

"I, too, my dear," Isabella said. "I know you are like-wise acquainted with Ealga Clendenen, but I must present our dearest Lady Ardelve. She has also suffered the recent, tragic loss of her husband."

"Och, aye, I've heard much of you, Lady Ardelve," Ellen said, nodding. "I must add, though, that I don't believe any of the horrid things people are saying about what your dreadful abductor did to you. As for poisoning your husband, well, I promise you, I don't believe a word of that, either!"