Chapter Seventeen
Watching him carefully as he read her note, Agnes prayed he would take the bait.
His brows drew in tight as he read her words, flipped the parchment to see if there was any writing on the back and then read it again.
Iron bars separated them in this cell which was used for questioning.
The guards had removed him from his normal cell which had a wooden door and one slot to view a prisoner by sliding the metal closure.
They’d placed a stool opposite the entry for her to sit advising her to keep her distance.
Once they turned their backs, she slipped him the note and waited.
The stench of the place was such that she wouldn’t be able to stay too long lest she lose her guts all over herself.
In her note she recounted some of the phrases he’d used and referred to some of the stories to illustrate her loyalty.
She signed the letter with Loyalty is Everything, Agnes.
After what seemed like an age, he looked at her and smiled with his brows raised. She nodded and forced a smile in return. She slipped quill, ink, and parchment beneath the iron door meant for food and pointed to it.
He took it and immediately sat and began his reply. He scribbled quickly, often looking up to see if the guards watched him.
“How are you being treated?” she asked him. He looked a state. His clothes were dirty and he was unkempt, which was in stark contrast to how he’d been before.
“They’re feeding me well,” he said. “But the lodgings are much to be desired. My requests for a daily bath have gone unanswered. Maybe you could put in a word for me?”
“Aye, Uncle, I will see what I can do.”
“Tell me why you have come as you know of the accusations against me.”
“I have come to plead and reason with you to cease this business and hand over the other rebels of this senseless cause.”
Of course, their talk was only for show to convince him she lied for the guards’ sake. Her letter had told him that much as well.
“You do not think me foolish enough to cease now we have come so far. I may be captured, but they will never find the rest for we are spread far and wide.”
“My husband has been injured, and they will not stop until I am as well, or worse. Do you not have any sense of loyalty to me and to our family?”
“It is to honor our family that I will not back away from this cause. Not for you nor anyone else. I will see this through ’til the end.”
John’s eyes narrowed as he lifted the folded parchment to hand it to her. A moment of hesitation and he withdrew his hand. “You are not being false with me, are you, niece?” he asked in a low voice.
“Whatever do you mean? I am come to plead with you to withdraw. There is nothing false in that.”
He took out the letter she’d given him again and read it once more. Then looked her up and down. “You do not look like you’ve been mistreated,” he murmured.
Agnes could see her plot unraveling before her. She had to think of something and quickly for she could hear footfalls approaching. This might be her only chance. She had to get the letter he’d written as she was convinced it contained vital information.
Rushing to the bars she held on to them and whispered, “Someone is coming. I am out of time and need your help. Please, Uncle. That information is vital to my safety. I won’t live without it.”
He hesitated and then passed her his note. Agnes took it and tucked it into the pocket in her skirt and then retreated to the stool.
“I take it you will not bend, then, Uncle? You will not order your rebel friends to cease their traitorous activity?”
“I will not.”
“My lady,” Fin said. “The king orders you away from the prisoner now.”
She had to keep up the act for just a few more minutes.
“Very well, Fin. I will go with you. But I insist my uncle be treated better than he has. He has requested fresh water to bathe, and he should be permitted that much as he is my relative.” Then to John she said, “Farewell, Uncle. I am disappointed I could not make you see reason. Your fate is now out of my hands.”
With that she walked past Fin, past the guards, and onward toward the end of the hall to make the turn.
When she did, she ran straight into William’s chest. The stench of the prison was swiftly replaced with his scent of leather and the outdoors.
A loud “Oh!” escaped her lips to which William put his finger to his lips.
“What is happening?” John called from the cell. “What are you doing to my niece?”
“I am well, Uncle, I merely tripped over my gown.”
That he’d called out gave her even more hope that the note she carried was truthful. She’d have to pray hard and beg the archbishop for forgiveness for her actions over these past days. She’d told more falsehoods than she could count.
William took her hand and led her toward the main gated door.
The fat man was there waiting. There were no jeers this time.
She wondered if the silence was because they were in awe of William.
His presence was powerful. He would be vexed, and she would let him have his say.
If what she held in her pocket had any value, that would surely temper his mood.
Once outside of the prison area and into the garden separating the structure from the great hall, William turned to her and held her by her shoulders. “If you ever pull an act like that again, I will build you your own prison. What were you thinking?”
“I was protecting my family, as you have been without my consult.”
“There are so many ways this could have gone wrong.”
“Aye, and so many ways this can go right. I have a letter from him in my pocket.”
William’s eyes grew wide. “What does it say?”
“I have not read it as I had to maintain my deception. We must bring it to the king and read it together.”
That seemed to appease him somewhat, for he squeezed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
Agnes drew a deep breath to steady herself. Inside the king’s solar the queen took her hands and led her to a thick, padded bench and passed her a goblet of something warm.
“Drink this,” she said. “’Twill steady your nerves.”
William sat beside her and placed his arm around her shoulder. “Do you need a few minutes?” he asked.
She was grateful he did not try to take her experience and inform the king without her involvement. Somewhere along the way, he’d understood that she had a voice as well.
“Nay. I am well enough to inform Your Majesty that I have a letter here written by my uncle.” She reached in her pocket and withdrew the parchment.
“Well, Lady Montrose,” the king said. “Read it out.”
Agnes stood before them all and read.
“The letter reads, I confess your letter surprises me, for you did not appear to be interested in my stories on our journey to Stirling. But yet here you are reciting those words precious to me and our brethren. You will find aid with them if you choose. But I will not give them up so easily. You must convince the king to release me. I will find you and bring you with me to somewhere safe. I know they won’t let you see me again, so you can slip your notes to the servant named Archie.
He is sympathetic to our cause and will ensure I receive them safely. ”
Agnes looked at the king. “Archie?”
“Is loyal to me and has been warming up to John since he was imprisoned. We have been gleaning our own intelligence that way.”
The king paced and stroked his beard. “What to do,” he said.
“I know what we are not doing,” William said as he stood. “We are not allowing my wife to be placed in harm’s way one second longer. This business was folly from the start, and she will not be involved any longer.”
“You do not get to make that decision, husband,” Agnes said. “I will continue to assist His Majesty. In any way he deems necessary.”
William scowled at her. They would argue this out, of that she had no doubt, but she would not do it in front of the king and queen.
“Now if it is all well with you, I should like to avail of a bath to wash away the stench of that place.”
It would appear she would remain at Stirling Castle for the day at least. The king drew William into a conversation about the letter after Agnes passed it to him.
The queen called for servants to attend Agnes and she was brought to her chamber.
Not long after, as she sat in the tub with the hot water soothing her, she heard the door open and close softly.
She’d sent away the servants, wanting only solitude.
She didn’t have to turn her head to know who’d entered the chamber.
Let the battle begin.
*
William pulled a chair over to the tub to sit by his wife.
He reached out to brush a stray strand of hair off her shoulder and to the back of the tub.
For a few moments he sat there brushing his fingers over the soft skin of her arm, staring into her eyes.
His very existence was tied to her now. What happened to her happened to him as well, and nothing in this world could change that.
His anger had stemmed from fear, but how could he express that in such a way that would not offend her?
“You are troubled by my participation in this business,” she said after a time.
“I am,” he said, not knowing how to best acknowledge his fears.
“Do you know what it was like to watch you almost die?”
Her words cut deep. He had not considered that side of it. It was his job to protect her, not the other way around.
“Then tell me,” he said.
“I watched the life force all but drain from your body. Were it not for your healer’s quick action, you would not be here right now.”
“I am sorry you had to witness that,” he said.
Agnes sat up and took his face into her hands. She gazed at him intently. “I could not sit around for the next attack. Do you understand that?”
“I do.”
“But you are still vexed.”
He took her hands in his and kissed them. It wasn’t easy to be vulnerable with another person, to reveal his darkest fears.