Highland Protector (13 page)

“I dinnae think so. We had a wee talk about how she must let us all ken if ‘tis time to play that game and she has been verra good at doing so. And she isnae verra good at hiding, is she, yet me and MacBean cannae find her. And Bonegnasher cannae find her either.”

That tickle of worry flared up into a chilling fear. The dog was an excellent hunter. It should have had no trouble at all finding a tiny girl who often gave her hiding place away by giggling. The fact that the dog found nothing was alarming.

“Come along, Reid,” said Ilsabeth as she stood up, doing her best to hide her sudden fear from the boy. “We need to find your sister.”

An hour later, Ilsabeth had to agree with Old Bega. The child was not in the house. Ilsabeth was now fighting the urge to run outside yelling Elen’s name. She set Bonegnasher to tracking the child again and the dog ended up at the kitchen door, scratching on the wood and whining. Once outside, the animal went straight to the garden gate, which was wide open, and waited for her to tell him to come back or continue on the hunt. Since she could not loose the dog in the town without someone at its side, she called it back.

“She has gone awandering,” said Reid, his eyes wide with fear for his sister. “I have told her again and again that she shouldnae do that and she will be good for a wee while but then she does it again. She could get hurt. I dinnae think she understands that.”

“Aye, she could, and the verra young take time to see that there is a lot of danger out there, but we will find her,” said Ilsabeth as she hurried back into the house to change into her nun’s attire. “Bega, MacBean,” she said as she entered the kitchen, “Elen has gotten out through the garden gate. We shall all need to search for her.”

“Nay, ye must stay here,” said MacBean. “Ye cannae risk being seen again.”

“'Tis nay a risk–”

“It is and dinnae try to tell me it isnae. Ye were seen when ye went out in that nun’s gown. That means the soldiers will be looking about for a blue-eyed nun. Aye, them and anyone else who has heard the tale. We dinnae exactly have a lot of nuns about this place, ye ken. We will take the dog–”

“Ye cannae do that. Ye cannae let anyone make a connection atween Elen and Simon. He hasnae said that plain, but he hasnae let anyone ken that the children are here, either. Weel, except for Donald, who willnae dare speak of it, and Tormand, who can be trusted. I am thinking Simon fears I may have been seen when I first came here. Now that ye tell me that ye dinnae see many nuns, I can see that that is a possibility.”

MacBean cursed. “Another reason ye cannae start running about the town dressed as a nun again.”

That and the fact that she had more or less promised Simon that she would not do so, but MacBean did not need to know that. “Then I shall dress as naught but a poor maid with my hair covered as many of the wedded lasses cover theirs. Verra few people pay any heed to a poor maid.”

Ignoring MacBean’s stuttered protests, Ilsabeth hurried to her room, Old Bega at her heels. Together they got her dressed quickly, her hair braided and hidden beneath a kerchief. It was a thin disguise but, if anyone was looking for her at the moment, they were looking for a blue-eyed nun, not a servant. The disguise would work long enough for her to find Elen.

Simon was going to be angry, she thought as she headed back down the stairs. For a brief moment she considered sending him a message and waiting for him to come and help find Elen. She quickly shook that thought aside. There was no time. Elen had been missing for too long already.

Both she and Old Bega ignored MacBean’s continued complaints. He finally gave up the fight when Ilsabeth sent him and Bega off in two different directions while she and Reid went in a third one. There was a very pretty little girl wandering the streets of the town and they all knew how many dangers such a child could face.

It was growing dark by the time she and Reid saw Elen. Ilsabeth’s heart lodged in her throat as she watched the man Elen spoke to stroke the little girl’s bright hair. It could be an innocent touch but Ilsabeth’s heart and mind were both clamoring
danger.
There was something about the way the man acted with Elen that was just wrong. Elen was not smiling at the man, either, and she smiled at everyone.

Before she could think of a quiet way to extract Elen from the man, Reid started to run toward them. The hard, angry look upon his young face told Ilsabeth that he might well know exactly what sort of danger his sister was in. Ilsabeth cursed and hurried after him before he could start a confrontation that would draw a lot of attention, but feared she would be too late.

“Dinnae touch her,” yelled Reid as he grabbed Elen by the arm and yanked her back, away from the man.

“Here now, laddie, what are ye doing?” said the man, his plump face twisting into a scowl. “I was just helping the wee lass. She is lost, aye?”

“She doesnae need your sort of help.” Reid kicked the man in the shins, causing the man to howl in pain and anger. “I ken what ye are. Ye werenae going to help her at all. Ye just wanted to–”

“Reid,” Ilsabeth snapped as she reached the boy, and then she gasped as the man backhanded Reid across the face. “Dinnae touch that boy!”

“The wee bastard kicked me!” The man reached for Elen. “And he was trying to steal away with the lass.”

“That lass is his sister.” Ilsabeth pushed Elen behind her. “We have been looking for her for hours.”

For a moment the man just frowned and studied her and Reid, who now stood at her side. Then his too pale eyes narrowed and he gave Ilsabeth a smile that made her skin crawl. She knew what he saw, a woman and two children who clearly had less money and power than he did. He looked at Elen and then back at Ilsabeth. She had to wonder just how many little girls he had gotten his hands on in this way and it made her stomach churn.

“Ach, now, lass, I am thinking ye could use a wee bit of coin, aye? Too many mouths to feed and all that. Why dinnae I just make the burden on your shoulders a wee bit lighter. I will pay ye for the lass here. A wee bit of training and she will make a fine servant in my house.”

“I wouldnae sell ye a sick goat, ye pig,” snapped Ilsabeth, trying not to think of how many other little girls he had bought this way, offering a false future for a daughter to some poor mother. “Ye cannae hide what ye are. E’en the lad saw it. Ye ought to be nailed to a wall where all can pass and spit on ye.”

The man’s face went so red she thought he might collapse at her feet. Instead he swung one meaty fist toward her head. Ilsabeth ducked the blow and pushed Elen toward Reid. Out of the corner of her eye she could see several of the king’s soldiers watching them with far too much interest for her liking. At the moment all they could see was her back. If they came any closer they could see her eyes and too many people had told her they were memorable. This was not a good time to test the truth of that. She had to end this quickly and flee but the way the man began to curse her told her that would not be an easy task. Offers of money had not worked and now he was intent upon using intimidation and brute force.

Simon heard the sound of an argument even before he saw who was making all the noise. Shock brought him to a halt as he saw a woman and two children confronting a man who was doing his best to hit the woman or the boy, all the while trying to grab the little girl away from her protectors. The children were easy to recognize and that told Simon who the woman dodging the man’s flailing fists was. Ilsabeth had obviously found herself a new disguise but it had not kept her out of trouble any more than the last one had. He was beginning to think she attracted trouble the way a table attracted dust.

This time was worse for there were half a dozen soldiers watching the battle with keen interest.

Cursing as he watched the soldiers start toward Ilsabeth and the others, Simon hurried to get there first. At the moment, Ilsabeth was turned away from the soldiers and that might be all that saved her. He grabbed the man swinging at her by the wrist, halting the blow that had been aimed at Ilsabeth’s face. The man tried to wrench free but Simon tightened his grip until the man paled and stood still, finally realizing how close he was to having his wrist snapped. Then he looked at Ilsabeth.

“Thank ye for aiding my children, mistress,” he said as he held her gaze, “but I am sure ye have work ye must need to return to. I wouldnae want your charity to cause ye trouble with your mistress. I can handle it all now.”

Ilsabeth opened her mouth to argue, but then saw Simon glance pointedly behind her and recalled the soldiers. She curtsied and ran, darting around Simon and the man she hoped Simon would soundly beat. Without stopping, she wove her way through the alleys and back gardens until she reached Simon’s home. She hurried up to her bedchamber to wash up and considered all the advantages of hiding there until the anger she had seen in Simon’s eyes faded a little.

The thought of behaving so cowardly was enough to stiffen her backbone. No doubt Simon would think she had broken some promise to him by leaving the house again. Ilsabeth doubted he would be able to see all the fine nuances of what she had said. Nevertheless, she would meet him when he returned home. He would have to see that she had had no choice.

Simon looked at the man whose wrist he still held, tempted to break it even though the man was no longer fighting him. It was Colin Rose, the second son of a nearby laird and a man rumored to be very fond of young girls. He then looked at Elen, who peered around an angry Reid. It was all too clear to see that the rumors were true. There was no doubt in his mind what Colin Rose had intended to do with Elen and Simon was even more tempted to snap the man’s wrist. The thought of killing the man was even more tempting but Simon could not afford the sort of trouble that would bring him, not now.

“I didnae realize they were your bairns, Sir Simon,” said Colin. “I didnae e’en ken ye had wed.”

“I havenae,” Simon said. “These are my foster children.”

The man grew even paler and Simon wondered if Colin Rose was about to faint like some delicate woman. He could not help but think of how Ilsabeth, a woman wrongly accused, had to hide and was in fear of her life, while this man who hurt small children for his own pleasure walked free and unafraid. It was, perhaps, time to make the man taste a little fear.

“They may nay be of my blood, Colin Rose, but they are as dear to me as if they were. I would be certain to harshly punish any mon who harmed them. I have a special distaste for those who hurt children,” he added softly. “I shall be sure to keep a close watch on you from now on.”

“Ye having some trouble, Sir Simon?” asked the biggest of the five soldiers, who finally stepped forward.

“Not any longer,” Simon said, and shoved Colin Rose away from him. “I believe we have come to an understanding.” He looked at Reid and Elen. “Shall we return home while ye explain to me why Elen is out and wandering at this time of the night?”

A quick glance behind as he and the children started to walk away revealed the soldiers circling Colin Rose. The men had understood what the man was and why he had tried to grab Elen. Simon knew Colin Rose would be crawling home tonight, broken and bloody. It was tempting to go and join the soldiers in that task but Simon turned his attention back to the children.

“Weel?” He looked at Reid. “Why are ye out here?”

“Elen sometimes wanders, Simon,” answered Reid. “I always kept a close watch on her because she is apt to decide to just go for a walk. I didnae think she would keep doing it now that we have a fine roof o’er our heads and so I stopped watching.”

“What ye should have done is warned us of this. We would have been able to watch her more closely, made sure all the doors and gates were more tightly latched.”

“I ken it.” Reid started to look back as he heard a man’s cries and the sounds of fists hitting flesh but Simon put his hand on the boy’s head and forced him to keep looking forward.

“The soldiers have decided that Colin Rose needs a wee lesson in how a mon should treat children,” Simon said.

“Will they kill him?” asked Reid.

“Nay, for they dinnae think him worth hanging for.”

Simon picked Elen up after she flung herself at his legs. She was trembling and clung to his neck with a strength that surprised him. Elen might be too young to understand the nature of the danger she had just faced, but she obviously had enough instinct to know that she had been in danger. He just wished that would be enough to make her stop her wandering.

“Has anyone e’er hurt her, Reid?” he asked.

“Nay. There was a time or two when I feared it might happen but, nay, no one has. ‘Tis why I stayed in the wood though. Told Ilsabeth it was because I didnae ken where else to go and that wasnae a lie, but I also didnae want Elen in the village where she would be seen a lot and maybe taken.”

“Verra wise.”

“Are ye going to yell at Ilsabeth again?” “Ah, ye heard me yell at her that time, did ye?” “Ye were verra loud.”

Simon hoped the child had not heard much more than that. “She shouldnae be leaving the safety of the house. The lass doesnae seem to ken how easily she can be recognized or remembered nay matter what guise she dons.”

“Aye, ‘tis her eyes. I dinnae think I have e’er seen such a blue. Ilsabeth doesnae ken that there is anything special about her eyes, ye ken. But, she had to help find Elen. Ye can see why we couldnae leave her out on her own.”

“I understand but that doesnae mean I like it. If Ilsabeth is caught it willnae go weel for her. She has to remain out of sight until I can find the real killer and the real traitors.”

Simon seriously considered locking Ilsabeth in the cellars, perhaps even chaining her to a wall down there. He did understand that she had had no real choice this time. Elen was too small to be walking around the town on her own. It was not just filth like Colin Rose that the child could be in danger from. Understanding did little to ease his fear for Ilsabeth, however.

He found her waiting for him in his ledger room after he had handed the children over to Old Bega. Simon watched her, rather enjoying the faint signs of nervousness she revealed as he poured them each a tankard of cider. She had come too close to being captured tonight. The thought of just how close she had come still chilled his blood.