Page 47 of Kilty By Association
The silence stretched, his breathing unnaturally loud. When he stepped toward the man, his booted feet crunched on old oak leaves which cushioned the bandit’s body. Blood flowed from the man and pooled beneath him.
He would die here today, as his brother had.
But there was no fear in his gaze. Nay, instead, the man grinned mockingly. He trulywasevil.
“Who paid ye to kill the boy?” Craig asked again, quieter, as his sword came to rest against the man’s throat.
“Or what?” A laugh, which turned to a cough, and blood flecked the spittle around his lips. “Ye’ll kill me?”
“Tell me yer name.”
“Osburn,” the man gasped. “Used to be three of us.”
Craig nodded knowingly, as if he’d heard of them. “The Osburn brothers, aye. Yer fame has stretched to Scone.”
As he’d hoped, the bandit’s eyes widened at this news. He tried to speak, but no sound emerged.
Craig nodded. “Aye, ye’re so villainous, the King himself sent me after ye. The stories of yer terror holding the countryside hostage have worried him.”
“The King…” the man whispered, features slowly slackening.
Craig moved his sword aside and crouched down. “I’ll tell him of yer cunning, yer wickedness, if ye tell me who hired ye. ‘Twas the same person, who paid ye gold to kill the lad and his father?”
Osburn’s nod was enough for Craig. “Who was it? ‘Twas a Sinclair, aye? Lord Sinclair, the auld Earl’s brother?”
The bandit’s life was slipping away, but his grin still sent shivers down Craig’s spine. “Nay.LadySinclair.”
As Osburn breathed his last, Craig whirled to see Elspethstanding with her arms around her son, looking as terrified as the lad was. When she met his eyes, though, there was merely anger there.
Together, they spat the name like a curse.
“Agnes.”
Chapter 10
Craig pushed openthe doors to the great hall and bellowed Agnes’s name. Elspeth, hurrying behind him, unable to release her son, winced at the way the servants all stopped to stare.
“Agnes!”
She wasn’t in the great hall; Elspeth could tell that from just glancing around. Surely, he didn’t expect the woman to come running?
“Craig, she’s likely in the women’s solar.”
In the sennight they’d been home, Elspeth noticed her sister-in-law spent many hours relaxing in that room, while she herself ran about like a chicken with its head cut off trying to fix two years of fook-ups.
As Craig strode toward the stairs, Robbie squirmed in her grip. “Mother, I—”
“I’m sorry, honeybear, I cannae let ye go, no’ yet.” God’s Blood, he’d almostdiedtoday! “I need to ken ye’re safe.”
“I’m—Mother…” His wee face was turning red.
She peered down at him. “Love, I promise once everyone kens what happened today, nae one will begrudge me holding ye.”
“I’m no’—”
“Nay, dinnae object, I love ye, and—”
“Mother!” he gasped. “Ye can keep holding me, but no’ as tightly, eh?”
