Page 16 of Unforgotten
“They’re working late,” Ella observed.
“It’s the coolest time of day,” Gavin replied, “and with the harvest moon almost upon us, the farmers want to reap what they can before the weather turns.”
Ella understood that; the weather of their isle could be capricious. This spell of fine weather wouldn’t last.
Reaching the guard house, they rode up a pebbly incline and under the portcullis. Twin crenelated towers flanked the arched gateway, where the men of the Scorrybreac garrison resided. Spears bristled against the dusky sky overhead, and the gazes of the men taking their turn at the watch tracked their path up the causeway.
The outer bailey within was a hive of activity this eve. Guards were sparring with blunted swords to the right of the guard house, their grunts filtering through the warm air, while nearby fowl pecked in the dirt. A group of lads were playing knucklebones on the dusty ground in front of the stables, only to be told off by a stable-hand who was pushing out a barrow of stinking manure.
Ella drew up Monadh once more and looked about her. All was exactly as she remembered. A number of stone buildings flanked the wide space: the stables, armory, stores, and byres. The square stone keep rose to the back, protected by a high stone wall and a second, smaller, guard house.
After the quiet of the abbey, Scorrybreac’s outer bailey seemed chaotic. At this hour the sisters would have entered the Great Silence, a ritual she’d come to appreciate over the years.
Upon seeing that their chief had returned, the guards sparring with swords ceased their practice and called out to him. Gavin swung down from his mare’s back and responded to their greeting with a warmth and familiarity that didn’t surprise Ella.
One glance at these men’s faces and she could see that Gavin MacNichol was loved by his people.
“Ye took yer time … I was about to send out a search party.”
Ella’s gaze shifted to where a tall man with short blond hair strode toward them.
Blair MacNichol, Gavin’s younger brother. The family resemblance was startling, although Blair had a heavier stature, a more florid complexion—and his mother’s sharp grey eyes.
Gavin snorted, handing his horse’s reins to a stable lad while he unfastened the saddlebag he’d brought with him. “I told ye I’d be away a few days.”
“Aye, but since ye insisted on traveling alone, I’d assumed ye had been set upon by thieves.”
Ella stiffened at these words. She wondered if Gavin would tell his brother what had befallen them on the way here—or would reveal that she carried a number of blades on her person and knew how to throw them.
But moments passed, and Gavin said nothing.
Blair’s attention shifted to Ella then, his grey eyes widening. “Lady Annella?”
“Sister Annella now, Blair,” Gavin replied.
“Of course.” Blair nodded to Ella, his gaze turning wary.
Ella favored him with a subdued smile. She was used to such a response. Her black robed appearance was a daunting one. Most men no longer saw a nun as a woman—Gavin was the only one who looked at her as if she was.
Checking herself at this thought, Ella swallowed. “Greetings, Blair. I hope ye and yer wife are well?”
“Aye,” Blair replied with a nod. “Forbia and I have four strapping lads now … the eldest has just reached his sixteenth summer.”
This news took Ella aback. When she’d left Scorrybreac, Blair and Forbia had only just wed. To think that his eldest son was on the threshold of becoming a man made her feel old.
She glanced over at Gavin, whose face was inscrutable. Did he and Innis have any children? Innis had never spoken of them in her letters, and Gavin hadn’t mentioned any on the way here. “Is yer sister still at Scorrybreac.”
Gavin’s mouth lifted at the corners. “Aye … Gordana will be happy to see ye.”
Warmth filtered through Ella then. Although Gordana was a few years her elder, she had been close to Gavin’s sister when she had lived at the castle. She looked forward to seeing her again.
Aware that a number of curious stares from around the outer bailey were now fixed upon her, Ella shifted her attention back to where the square, dun-colored keep rose to the east.
“Where will I find my mother?” she asked quietly.
“I will take ye to her now,” Gavin replied.
“We shall see ye at supper … Sister Annella?” Blair asked. His grey eyes were narrowed slightly as he continued to watch her with an unnerving intensity that once again reminded Ella of his mother.
