Page 52 of Highland Slayer
They hadn’t seen her coming. The three of them turned to her and Estevan smiled as their eyes met. Seeing his smile made Anaxandra want to smile, but she didn’t want anyone toseethat she was smiling at him, so she struggled not to smile.
It made her look like she was grimacing.
“Good morn tae ye, m’lady,” Estevan said. “Did ye sleep well?”
God help her, but her cheeks flushed a dull red at the question. She stood here, proud and strong, prepared to be of assistance, but his smile and kind question had her melting like snow under the sun.
She was an idiot.
“Well enough,” she managed to say. “May I help with what you’re doing?”
Estevan nodded, a smile still on his lips. “I’m sure ye can,” he said. “But let me introduce ye tae these men. I dunna think ye know them. Tae my right is Titan de Wolfe, who will one day be the Earl of Warenton. And the man on my left is Rodion de Velt, from the House of de Velt. Ye’ll never meet more important men in yer life, m’lady. And they’re not only my good friends, but also my kin. Good knights, this is Anaxandra. She’s the best archer I’ve ever seen.”
Anaxandra looked at the enormous, dark-haired man who was gazing back at her rather judgingly, though she had no ideawhy. She had no idea that he knew a little secret about her birth involving people he knew and was related to. But he nodded his head politely at her. She bobbed her head in return, nervously, before turning to the other man. He was fair, with dark blond hair and eyes that had green centers with darker outer rings. They were very unusual eyes. But the smile on his face was more genuine as he greeted her.
“You are a fine marksman, my lady,” he said. “I saw it for myself.”
Anaxandra was quickly falling into embarrassed ineptitude. She had no idea how to respond to a compliment, from a man, no less. Estevan and Rodion were smiling at her while Titan, the big one, was simply watching.
“I… I am well trained,” she said. “It is my duty.”
“And ye do it well,” Estevan said. He could see from her expression that she was uncomfortable and overwhelmed by the attention, so he took pity. “Ye can indeed be of assistance. Since ye know this place so well, in yer opinion, where are the weaknesses in the defense perimeter? May we discuss that with ye?”
He was diverting the conversation to something she would know about, something to take her mind off being in front of three men at once. As he’d hoped, she immediately turned to the wall and began heading toward the gatehouse. In fact, she seemed overly eager about it.
Perhaps to get away from all of those appraising male eyes.
“St. Margaret’s was a castle many years ago, so it was built to withstand an attack,” she said, pointing to the wall walk overhead. “Long ago, it was called Whiteside Castle. You’ll note that the walk encompasses the entire wall. There are no blind spots or gaps.”
She was on a subject she knew, so her confidence was apparent. Estevan, Rodion, and Titan followed her, lookingup at the wall, which was in good condition considering only women lived here and probably didn’t have much experience in repairing masonry.
“I seem tae remembering hearing that it was a castle once,” Estevan said. “It certainly looks like one. The woman who lived here turned it intae a foundling home, did she?”
Anaxandra nodded. “Legend says that St. Margaret appeared to Lady Agnes Herries, the widow of Lord Herries, and told her to establish an order of fighting nuns in her name,” she said. “Lady Herries turned her castle into what you see today, but I believe the point is that it was built to withstand an attack.”
They had reached the gatehouse by that time. Titan and Rodion went to inspect the portcullis, which was lowered. The gates were on the outside of the portcullis, to be closed in case of attack. Even if the gates were burned or destroyed, the portcullis would be there as a second layer of protection. Estevan could see Titan picking at the portcullis, testing it.
“Are there any other ways in or out?” Estevan asked.
Anaxandra nodded. “The postern gate,” she said. “It is back by the garden, where we were yesterday.”
“We’ll need tae see it.”
“As you wish,” Anaxandra said. “I assure you that it is a strong gate.”
He glanced at her. “I believe ye,” he said. “But if we are tae help defend this place, then it’s a good idea if we know as much as we can about the defenses.”
Anaxandra watched him as he watched his friends inspect the portcullis. They were tugging on it now, trying to feel the strength of it.
“Do you truly think they are coming?” she asked softly. “We have watches in the countryside, you know. More will be sent out this morning. If they see something, they will come back and tell us.”
Estevan puffed up his cheeks, blowing out a hissing breath as he considered what she’d just said. He was hesitant to say anything about a patrol because he suspected that was part of their normal routine, but he didn’t think it was a good idea. Not at this time.
Not with an escaped queen in their sanctuary.
“Why do ye send out a watch?” he asked. “What are ye looking for?”
Anaxandra shrugged. “Anything that could be detrimental to us,” she said. “Anything out of the ordinary. That is how we saw you and your men.”
