gave her husband an apoplexy, then ran away with her lover—you—and he would pay in gold for anyone who brought her back. The entire town is on the lookout.”
“And how did he come to be in Wicklow?” Kyle asked.
“He’s been checking ports all along the coast, but he heard your ships,” he jerked his chin toward Keith, “were spotted here.”
Kyle glanced back at Keith before nodding at the bar owner. “The same deal stands. Protect her, and I will pay you well. Dónal MacDonnell has neither the funds nor the honor to pay what he’s promised. He’s more likely to kill you, so you can never tell the tale.”
“I know,” the man mumbled.
Kyle and Keith slipped from the tavern as silently as they entered. Stepping into the shadows, they kept their voices lowered.
“Every fishmonger, whore, and dockhand will have their eye out for Moira,” Kyle grumbled. “I’ve made her life go from bad to worse to bluidy wretched. Someone could already have her. Someone could turn her over to Dónal, and I would never know.”
Keith remained quiet, once more allowing his brother to think aloud. He nodded, prompting Kyle to carry on as Keith stood with his arms crossed, his senses on alert as Kyle focused on his thoughts.
“We need at least three men to stand watch here and two to follow Dónal when he goes out,” Kyle decided. “You and I will keep looking, but we stay out of sight and only listen. Snake Eye goes back for the other men. If he hurries, he can return with them before sunup.”
With only a nod, Keith walked back to the docks with Kyle. Kyle relayed his instructions to Snake Eye. Once his trusted crewman pulled away and rowed toward the ships, Kyle and Keith turned back toward the town but stopped before they left the harbor. Finding a place to hide beside the harbormaster’s station, the brothers watched as dockhands showed up for work. Within an hour, the quay was teeming with fishermen, fishmongers, and men loading and unloading freight. The twins listened for any gossip about their previous visit or anyone who might speculate on their return. As the early morning hours ticked by, the brothers heard various men share their suspicions that the Red Drifter and the Scarlet Blade would return to find the woman the Red Drifter lost. They heard nothing about Dónal’s presence, but they heard various outlandish theories about themselves. Some made them grin, others made them roll their eyes.
As the sun rose higher, Kyle and Keith slipped away from the harbor and went back to The Leg of Mutton. Finding his men skulking behind the building, Kyle learned that no one had seen hide nor hair of Dónal. From what they learned, the man drank like a fish, which wasn’t news to Kyle. Dónal had stumbled and fallen on the steps before reaching his second-floor chamber some time in the wee hours of the morning. They assumed he was still snoring in bed. Keith and Kyle debated the merits of splitting up, and while neither relished the other working alone, they agreed it would be more efficient and less noticeable. One redhead would catch people’s attention, twin redheads guaranteed more rumors than they created their last time at port. With a plan in place to divide the town between them, and instructions given on how Kyle’s men should track them if they had information, the twins embraced and parted.
Moira approached Wicklow on the gelding as the man, who remained nameless just as his mother and the farmer’s family had, steered his wagon along the country lane. There was more than one fork in the road along the way, so she considered it a blessing in disguise that she came with the man. Since they’d traveled in the dark and with the wagon, the journey took several hours more than Moira bargained for. But when the rooftops came into view, Moira observed the man. She witnessed his anxiousness and excitement grow. She knew he envisioned the coin he believed Kyle would give him. But Moira feared that the man would double-cross her. After all, his mother had been prepared to drug her.
“Is that Wicklow?” Moira asked innocently.
“Aye,” the man grunted.
“Do you know if the Red Drifter is in port?”
“He must be if he’s looking for you,” the man snapped.
Taking a deep breath to keep her patience, Moira continued to coerce information from the man. “I wonder if he is at the tavern waiting for someone