“God, no, brother,” Alick hissed beside him, alarm in his voice. Rory ignored him and turned back to face the baron.
“Whatever you want,” Monmouth repeated in a raspy voice, bending to brace his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“Baron, there is no’ enough coin in all o’ Christendom to make me stay in England another night,” he said quietly. “Now get ye back inside before ye make yerself ill again. Fer I’ll no’ be staying to mend ye anew.”
Alick’s relief was plain to see when Rory swung back to continue to the stables where their horses were even now being led out.
Baron Monmouth didn’t try to follow them farther.
“I was afraid the coin would tempt ye and ye’d agree to stay to see this FitzAlan.”
Rory shook his head at Alick’s words. “Never. I’m ready to be heading home. I’ve had enough o’ this godforsaken country.”
“Aye,” Alick muttered, scowling around the bailey at the people coming and going.
Thanking the boy who had saddled and led out his horse, Rory quickly mounted and then waited for Alick to gain his saddle before saying, “Besides, we have something else we must do.”
Alick gathered his reins and glanced to him with surprise. “What’s that?”
“Collect a treasure and take it to Sinclair.”
“The message?” Alick asked, his eyes narrowing.
Nodding, Rory clucked his tongue, and urged his horse to move.
“What is this treasure?” Alick called.
When Rory ignored the question and urged his horse to put on speed, Alick cursed and rode after him. Not wanting to speak of it until they were well away from Monmouth, Rory rode at a fast trot until he’d crossed the drawbridge, and then set his beast to gallop across the frost-tipped grass of the open area outside the castle walls.
He heard Alick whistle behind him, and saw the four warriors their brother Aulay had sent with them appear ahead at the edge of the woods on their mounts. Rory immediately turned in their direction at once and rode to meet them.
“Ye’ve broken camp and are ready to head home?” he asked, reining in before them, and wasn’t surprised by their silent nods. Since they carried little when traveling and slept rolled up in their plaids, there wasn’t much to breaking up camp besides putting out whatever fire had remained by morning.
“What were ye talking about back there? What treasure?” Alick asked as he drew his mount to a halt beside him. “And who was that message from that ye received this morn?”
Rory raised an eyebrow in surprise at the second question. “Did the messenger no’ tell ye when he gave it to ye?”
“Nay,” Alick said grimly. “And he did no’ stay long enough to be questioned either. Just rode up, tossed it at Conn, said to get it to Rory Buchanan and rode off ere anyone could even move. Since I was coming to check and be sure we were still leaving today, I brought it in to ye fer him.”
Rory grunted at this news, but before he could comment, Conn suddenly tilted his head to the side and stiffened.
“Riders,” Alick muttered after a moment.
They all looked toward the opposite side of the clearing, but no one was yet visible through the trees. Even so, Rory urged his horse farther along the trail so that they would be hidden from view. The others followed suit and they sat their mounts, silent and still in the cover of the woods, to see who was approaching. It wasn’t long before a large contingent of soldiers charged out of the trees on the other end of the clearing, riding for Monmouth’s gates.
“Think you ’tis FitzAlan?” Alick asked.
“Nay,” Rory said with a frown. “There are no nobles among that rabble. They are soldiers every one.” He watched silently as half a dozen men broke off from the group and crossed the drawbridge, leaving the remaining men waiting outside. Rory then turned his horse and spurred him into a gallop again. He had a feeling the men had something to do with the message he’d received and that it would be a good idea to find the treasure mentioned in it and head north as quickly as possible. With that thought in mind, he kept up the pace for the half hour it took before they reached the point of the trail where the river ran over it. Rory crossed the shallow flow of water and then stopped and glanced around, searching the trees on either side of the path.
He wasn’t surprised when Alick immediately moved up beside him again. To forestall the questions he knew were on the tip of his brother’s tongue, he said, “The message ye brought me was from Lady Mairghread de Valance, Baroness of Kynardersley. She is Lady Sinclair’s sister.”
“Jo’s sister?” Alick asked with surprise.
Lady Jo Sinclair was their sister Saidh’s dear friend, wife to Laird Campbell Sinclair and the only Lady Sinclair they’d met.
“Nay. Lady Bearnas Sinclair. Cam’s mother,” Rory answered, his tone distracted as he scanned the woods around them, searching for the sign the message had mentioned.
“Oh,” Alick muttered. “So the message was from Cam’s aunt, and she wants you to collect a treasure and take it to Sinclair,” Alick reasoned out, and when Rory didn’t comment, he asked, “What are ye looking fer?”