Page 43 of The Trials of Neilina MacKai
“I didn’t know they had such a system.”Rhuad remarked.“’Tis good information.We must disable it before they can send a warning up to the abbey.”
“Definitely,” Raeb agreed.
“I know just the man to assign to the task.”
“Who?”Dougal asked.
“My squire James.He’s not mounted on a destrier, nor will he be wearing armor.”
“He could get killed before he does the task.”Clyne warned.
“Not with a fog this thick.He’ll be over the wall and across the bailey before any of the guard see him.”
“You are that confident in the lad?”Raeb asked.
“Absolutely.He’s been after me to assign him some special job, since he isn’t yet ready to fight.He’s always completed every other task I assigned quickly and thoroughly.Better yet, he’s smart and knows how to improvise when needed.”
“Then we’ll do it that way,” Raeb concurred then addressed the tavern keeper.“Sir, we’ve questions on another matter.”
“I’ll answer everything that I can.”
“Thank you,” Rhuad said.“I want to know if you have reason to think the abbess is not what she claims.”
“I know it.”
Raeb’s brows rose.“Can you prove it.”
“Me?No not right now, but I could.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Me sister does the woman’s laundry.Happen the witch was careless and left a small roll of parchment in a pocket.My sister doesn’t read, but I do.She brought the thing to me.I read it and saw the truth written in the hand of King Edward of England himself, for the writing matched the signature.”
“Did you keep it?”Rhuad couldn’t help praying that he would have evidence of Edward’s perfidy that could be presented to the papal court in Rome.
“Nay,” Clyne shook his head.“The abbess asked after it of my sister who admitted to having seen such a thing.Giving it back helped build trust between the abbess and the village.”
“It is a great deal too bad that it was returned.”
“Not so bad, my lord.”
Rhuad lowered his brows in question.
“I copied it out before giving it to my sister to return to the abbess.You may have the copy.You can use it to find the original when you are in control of the abbey.”
“If the abbess is smart, she will have destroyed it to prevent accusations of deceit and fraud.”
“Some folks are more concerned with keeping a record than they are with the possible consequences of those records,” Clyne remarked.
“Indeed.”Rhuad thought of his aunt who obsessed over tracking every penny spent at Castle MacFearann.He wondered now if she hadn’t hoped the castle and all with it would be handed over to her if she and the abbess had succeeded in their spying for England.
