Page 79 of The Dawn

Robbie looked down on the envelope. “I had a sense of the man, he wanted me tae see the message intae the Earl’s hands. I hae a reputation tae uphold.”

Liam laughed. “Yer reputation? Dost ye consider yerself of good character, Rob Roy MacGregor? Ye spend more time in extortion than gainin’ yer wages in honorable ways. Just a few months ago ye came askin’ for money tae keep the reivers fromthe Earl’s cattle, but the only reivers workin’ these lands hail from Clan MacGregor.”

Robbie chuckled. “Tis true. I keep company with scoundrels, yet... tis often the best way tae ken the measure of a man. Tis why I am here, first thing.”

Quentin returned and stood beside me.

Liam put out his hand. “Robbie, I will take the message.”

Robbie held up his hands with the envelope in it. “Liam, I am here tae be helpful, but I will need the silver I was promised. It seems fair. I need it for m’lands. That is why I drove, ye ken, because of the taxes — ye see this is fair.” He waved his hands from right to left as he spoke. “I brought ye news, ye give me the silver I am owed. I will give ye the message, and ye will ken all about the man in the tavern. I work for ye, ye are friendly with me. Dost ye agree, Raw-Bottom Cook, Black Mac, we ought tae remain friendly?”

Quentin said, “Weshouldremain friendly. I will pay you for the information.” He pulled a small bag from his sporran and passed it to Robbie.

He smiled, weighing the bag in his hand. “It has a fine heft.”

Liam said, “Theenvelope, Robbie.”

He passed Liam the message. It was pale white, the wax seal had a tree on it. Liam asked, “Recognize it?”

It might have been Asgall’s seal, but I assumed trees were commonplace.

Liam broke the seal and opened the letter at the fold. Inside was a small device, wires, and a small mic.

Liam said, “What is it?”

Quentin pressed his hands over the mic, and whispered, “The man who gave him the message has been listening to our discussions.”

Robbie backed up a step. “Tis the work of demons?”

Liam and Quentin both said, “Enemies of Magnus’s kingdom.”

I said, “Thank you for bringing it.”

He shook his head. “I canna believe I carried it.”

Quentin asked, “Was it Asgall? Is that who you got the message from?” He dropped the mic to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it under his heel.

“I think he... aye, he mentioned Asgall. Tis all I know.”

Liam said, “Och nae, what did we say, did we say anything of importance?”

I shook my head, “We said that Magnus and Lochinvar were here.”

Liam said, “So the man at the other end of the message was listenin’ in? Lochinvar returns when?”

Quentin said, “In a couple of days..” He looked up at the stars then said, “James, I want to take you and Sophie and Beaty back home, to one of the safe houses. Then I’ll turn around and meet Lochinvar here.ThenI’ll deliver the weapons to Magnus.”

I nodded. “That’s a lot of jumping.”

“I don’t mind. You know how it is. I’m worried about everyone, this gives me something to do.”

“Okay, yeah, let’s do that. Tomorrow we’ll leave. Let’s go through the boxes in the morning though, I hate leaving you with a big mess. We can do some packing in the morning, make sure you’re ready to take the load to Magnus. I don’t like the idea of jumping, but yeah, hell yeah, this dude is all up in our business around here. Should we go to Maine or North Carolina?”

Quentin said, “I think the one in Highlands, North Carolina. We haven’t used that yet, close enough to town to get supplies. Once Lochinvar and I take the weapons to Magnus I’ll meet you there.”

I said, “Beaty and Sophie will be disappointed that they’re not meeting up with the rest of the family.”

Quentin said, “Yeah, I have a feeling the rest of the family will be meeting up with us very soon.”

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