and holding it, Ailish homed in on the center of the target. Slowly, she let the string slip from her fingers until, with a whoosh, the arrow flew, hitting two fingers to the left of center.
“Well done. You’re improving,” said Caelan.
She beamed, glancing over her shoulder to see if James might have been watching, but he was nowhere in sight. As a lass in her father’s keep, she had been quite a skilled archer, but she’d used a smaller bow. “Still not good enough,” she said, loading another arrow and vowing to herself that when Sir James did watch, she would hit the bullseye.
Ailish focused harder as she practiced, shooting her cache of arrows, walking to the target, and pulling them out. She hardly noticed when the others stopped for the day. By the time her fingers had rubbed raw on the bowstring, she was hitting the center of the target nine times out of ten.
There wasn’t much daylight remaining when she marched up to pull out her last round of arrows.
“Are ye aiming to join the archers when we march into battle?” asked Seumas, walking past with an armload of firewood.
Ailish gave the lad a look as she yanked on a shaft and examined the tip. “I’ll do whatever it takes to have my brother home again.”
“Do you aim to bring him to Selkirk Forest as well? Hew says the kingdom won’t be at peace until every last English soldier has scurried back across the border.”
“I’ll have to think about where we’ll go after I find him,” she said, tucking the arrows under her arm. “Come, I’m hungry. What are we having for the evening meal?”
“The Friar’s surprise.”
“Which is?”
“You do not want to know.” The lad twisted his face into a grimace. “But it helps if you’re hungry.”
Ailish followed Seumas into the cave, not worried about Friar John’s awful cooking, but wondering what she would indeed do once they rescued Harris. Only weeks before her brother was abducted, Sister Louisa had mentioned he would not be able to remain at the priory much longer. And now that the prioress had forbidden Ailish’s return, she had naught but to find another safe haven.
Sir James caught her eye, talking to someone she didn’t recognize.
What about Bishop Lamberton? He wasn’t only one of the most powerful holy men in Scotland, he had sheltered James Douglas for ten years—fostered him, too. She stowed her arrows, then marched across the cave floor and stood patiently with her hands folded until the knight averted his attention her way.
“I’ve news.”
Completely forgetting her purpose, her heart leapt. “Of Harris?”
He placed a hand on her back. “Come. We must talk.”
Ailish nearly bubbled over with excitement, and trepidation, and everything in between. Did he know where Uncle Herbert was holding her brother?
As soon as they were outside and away from the tents, she stopped and grasped his hand. “Please tell me you ken where to find my brother.”
“I have a token lead is all.”
“What is it?”
“A cohort of men wearing the Maxwell coat of arms on their tunics was seen riding south on the road to Carlisle.”
“Oh, my heavens. That’s just over a day’s ride.”
“Aye, but we’ve no confirmation of a child traveling in their midst.”
“It makes sense, though. Carlisle boasts the greatest fortress in England’s north.”
“Which poses yet another obstacle.”
Ailish paced. “The only way we’ll know how much of an obstacle we face is if we find out for ourselves. Do we leave on the morrow?”
“We?” He cleared his throat and planted his hands on her shoulders. “Both of us will ride on the morrow, but you are going to stay in Douglas with Hew’s wife, and I will be taking a handful of men south—in disguise, mind you. No matter how much I’d like to show our enemies the might of Scotland, I haven’t yet built the forces to ride across the border and attack the most fortified fortress in the north. Moreover, if they ken we are coming, they’ll move the lad afore we arrive.
Ailish scarcely heard a word after he mentioned Hew’s wife. For the love of God, she had already refused to hide. She straightened while fiery ire shot up the back of her neck. “Do you not recall I said I would be going with you?”
“’Tis far too dangerous.”
“Do you think I care?”
“Lady Ailish—”
She shrugged out from under his grasp. “You just said you need to travel in disguise. What better way than with a woman in your midst? I could pose as