I’ll overtake you, lad!” bellowed Sir Henry as if he were a kindly man, and not a vile butcher of Scottish subjects.
James’ chest burned. How dare the murderer of Hew’s wife take the lad and pretend to be his mentor? He wanted to smash his fist in Sir Henry’s face. Challenge him man to man.
But such bravado would bring on the English army.
As Harris entered the copse, the lad slowed his mount, threw out his hand, and touched the standing stone, reining his horse into a turn. Two lengths behind, Sir Henry’s eyes widened as he caught sight of James snapping the rope taut.
Percy’s mouth flew open, but he made no sound as he galloped into the trap, the thick cord slicing into his throat. The knight’s head snapped backward as he flew off his horse and smashed into the ground with a bone-crunching thud.
“Harris!” James boomed.
The lad’s horse skidded as he stopped, his eyes as round as coins. “Sir James?”
“Haste!” he shouted, snapping a lead line onto the pony’s bridle. Kicking his heels, James demanded a gallop. “There’s no time to explain.”
As they sped away, he caught sight of Sir Henry, flat on the ground and motionless. God willing, the strike had made a clean kill and there was one less tyrant in Edward’s arsenal.
***
After James’ recovery, Ailish busied herself by helping in any way she could, and today they’d set her to task, kneading bread in the kitchens. The monastery wasn’t as large as an abbey, but fifty-or-so Trinitarian monks resided there, quietly tending to their daily worship and chores which meant the bread oven was never idle.
It was easy to take out her ire on the dough, thrashing, and kneading as if it were Sir James’ face. Of course, she would never try to pummel the knight, but that did not allay the fact that she was fit to be tied. Yesterday, he had ridden off without so much as a goodbye and all Davy would say was that the knight had something of grave importance to attend and he’d return this day.
Where had he gone, and why had he not trusted her enough to tell her? After sitting by his sickbed for days, had she not proved her loyalty?
How could he have ridden off without saying a word after being at death’s door? What if the fever returned and James was now lying unconscious by the wayside?
Moreover, remaining at Fail was far worse than residing behind the walls of Lincluden Priory. At least the nuns hadn’t taken vows of silence. And at the nunnery, she could see Florrie and Coira. And she had her friend Sister Louisa with whom she shared confidences.
Ailish slapped her dough into a ball and draped a piece of linen over it.
“Sister!” cried an unmistakable voice from the direction of the door.
Not believing her ears, she whipped around. “Harris?”
The lad dashed across the floor. No matter how much her hands were caked with flour, she wrapped him in a tight embrace and twirled him in a circle. “How did you find me?”
“’Twas Sir James. He found me.”
The Black Douglas stood in the doorway with an enormous grin on his face. “He has become quite a horseman.”
Ailish didn’t know what to say. On one hand, she was still angry with the man, and even more so because he hadn’t told her he’d set out to rescue her brother. Then again, at last the Earl of Caerlaverock was in her arms. Still staring at James, she set Harris on his feet. “You went to Lochmaben alone?”
“Ah…” His gaze shifted as he tugged on his earlobe. “After I received word from Caelan that the lad took daily rides with Sir Henry, I felt our best chance to recover the lad was to slip in quietly and set a trap.”
“And you did not see fit to tell me your plan?”
The corners of James’ mouth tightened. And there was no question as to why. In his eyes, she had twice disobeyed his orders. He no longer trusted her. And after all she’d done to help him recover. Even after suffering in the Lord Warden’s prison, he was too bull-headed to realize she was one of the few people in all of Christendom whom he could trust.
But her rift with James mattered not at the moment. Harris had been returned and, for that, the man deserved a hero’s praise. “Thank you, sir,” she said, curtsying deeply, while her stomach sank to her toes. It seemed the end of