nuns was nothing like this. The cave was rocky, dank, cold, dark, and full of spiderwebs. There wasn’t a single chair, let alone a table. And the stench of men was only tempered by overtones from the wood burning in the firepit.
Many wore their beards thick and long, sweeping chests. Some even had matted hair—possibly where a few of the spiders had taken up residence.
Ailish shuddered. Of course, the nuns at Lincluden Priory were fastidious about cleanliness. Though the priory was small, there was a bath house. And Ailish and her siblings always washed at the bowl morning and night.
She turned to Seumas. “Do you have many opportunities to bathe?”
The lad made a sour face. “Only when Hew makes me.”
“Do you wash in the river?”
He scooped a bite of stew with his eating knife. “Aye.”
“Well, at least you do not smell like a heathen, nor does Friar John.”
“I suppose some of the men are a bit rank,” said the monk. “I’ll mention bathing to James. It wouldn’t be good if the English found our camp on account of the stench.”
She chuckled. “After being blindfolded and having it take ages for the guard to lead me here, I doubt we’re likely to be raided any time soon.”
“Aye, that’s why Selkirk makes an ideal hideaway. We’re close to our enemies, yet if the blackguards attempt to set foot in the forest, they’d never leave.”
Seumas used his teeth to scrape a morsel of rabbit from his eating knife. “We have spies in the trees as well as around the perimeter.”
“Well then, I will sleep soundly this night.” Honestly, Ailish most likely would sleep through an all-out siege as soon as she found the alcove James had promised.
At the moment, he was across the cave, deep in conversation with his inner circle of men.
One of the others who had been standing guard when she was preparing beans stopped by and tossed his trencher in front of her. “I thought with a woman here, the fare might have a bit of flavor, but I was wrong.”
“Haud yer wheesht.” Blair lumbered to his feet. “I prepared the pottage, and you ken we’ve naught but what God sees to provide around us and any kind donations the men may bring.”
“Well, if she cannot cook better than the likes of you, what good is she?”
Heat spread across her face as Ailish lowered her gaze. She had never cooked a meal in her life, though she’d helped a great deal in the kitchens at the priory. “I’m sure Friar John’s cooking is far better than mine.”
“Is that so?”
“Is there a problem here?” James asked, coming up behind the ungrateful fellow.
No one said a word, including the grumbler who’d just insulted the friar’s cooking abilities. Ailish gave him a hard glare before she smiled at Sir James. “This gentleman was just telling us how much he enjoyed the beans.”
“Pshaw,” Seumas blurted with a snort.
James looked to Blair. “Is that so?”
The friar gave her a wink. “Aye, one of the new recruits brought a bushel along. I reckon they added some flavor.”
Seumas licked his lips and rubbed his belly. “It was delicious. I could eat rabbit stew every meal.”
“So, Graham,” James said to the man. “Why is it I sense these three are feeding me a line of drivel?”
The man shrugged, looking about as innocent as a dog who’d stolen a leg of mutton from the kitchens. “Not certain, sir.”
“Let me make it clear. You are not to speak to Her Ladyship unless spoken to—”
“But I wasn’t just speaking to her.”
James grabbed the man by the collar. “Did you understand what I said?”
Growing red in the face, Graham sputtered. “A-aye, sir.”
“Good. Then we’ve no quarrel.” James pushed the man away and offered his hand to Ailish. “Would you like me to show you to your quarters, m’lady?”
Seumas laughed. “Aye, as if there’s a castle within fifty miles.”
“Keep the smart-arsed comments to yourself, ye wee pup,” said Friar John.
Ailish said nothing and took James’ hand. But after they were several paces away, she turned her lips toward the knight and whispered. “I wasn’t certain how much longer I’d be able to hold my head up.” Her insides might be roiling with worry, but if she didn’t sleep soon, she’d risk falling on her face.
“I noticed. Even from across the fire, you looked as if you were fighting to keep your eyes open.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Aye,” he said, stopping outside an opening covered by deer hide. He pulled the shroud aside. “When we