Page 31 of A Constant Blaze

“She is in trouble,” John said urgently. “When we got to Kingowan, we found the lord had arrived before us. He suspects something, and since she can’t say where she’s been, he’s locked her up.”

Halla kept her gaze on his face. “Will she be able to convince him of her innocence?” Halla inquired.

“Maybe,” John said. “But I doubt it. More to the point, the lady herself doubts it, or she wouldn’t have sent me.”

It would, Halla reflected, be the perfect trap. Having lost two MacHeths in one magnanimous act, the king could be aiming to claw in another.

“How do we know you are who you say you are?” she asked.

“Adam mac Malcolm knows me. And besides, the lady gave me her ring for him.”

“Show me,” Halla said and waited patiently while the man raked inside his clothes and then opened his fist to show a small circle of gold set with jet and emerald stones. Reaching out, Halla took it from him. He let her, watching anxiously as she inspected it. She glanced back to his face. “And Adam will know this ring?”

“He gave it to her, lady. Before I even knew her. Before the Lord of Kingowan did.”

On the whole, Halla was inclined to believe him. Moreover, Mairead should not suffer for all the aid she had given the MacHeths. And yet she could not allow Adam to walk into even the possibility of a trap. Neither of her sons should leave the safety of Ross until they understood if the king was keeping the secret of Donald’s escape.

She closed her fingers around the ring, then passed it to Muiredach beside her. “Keep this safe.”

John took a step nearer and was immediately hauled back by his captors. “Lady—”

“I will see what I can do for your lady,” she interrupted, then turned to the men of Ross. “Take our guest to Brecka.”

“Not Tirebeck,” one of them said carefully.

“Brecka,” she repeated. “And remember he is our guest.”

She passed on, sure that her orders would be obeyed. They always were.

Muiredach rode beside her, clearly uneasy. At last, he said, “You can’t mean to keep this from Adam mac Malcolm.”

“That’s exactly what I mean to do,” she said calmly.

“But he will know eventually anyway,” Muiredach argued.

“True. But by then, I hope to have solved the problem.”

“How?” he asked, a fascinated glint in his rather striking blue eyes.

“By freeing the lady one way or another.”

At this, his breath caught. He must have tightened his hands on the reins, too, for his horse snorted and tossed its head. “Dear God, you don’t mean to go there yourself, do you?”

“You are not obliged to come,” she said mildly. “I don’t even recall inviting you this far.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” Muiredach exclaimed. She’d never seen him so agitated before. It brought a rather thrilling vitality to his normally sleepy if perceptive eyes. “Kingowan is in the heart of the king’s undisputed territory.”

“Don’t be so grudging. I have not left Ross in more than twenty years.”

“There’s good reason for that!”

“There was,” she agreed. “I could not risk capture and allow myself to be used against Malcolm mac Aed or my sons. Now Malcolm and my sons are free and safe in Ross.”

“And your capture would still compel them to anything. You know that.”

“I know no one has laid eyes on me in twenty years. No one would possibly imagine the Lady of Rosstravelingg south with no maids, just a single packhorse, two men-at-arms, and one lady-in-waiting.”

“And a personal musician,” Muiredach pointed out.

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