Chapter 36
KAITLYN
THE EARL’S SON ARRIVES
Amoment later there was the sound of the pulleys at the gates, the sound carried on the wind, creaking through the courtyard, coming to us through an open window. Magnus went to the opening and looked out, his face lit by a torch on the wall that was barely flickering in the dampness.
I stood next to him watching. Through the deluge a dark carriage drawn by two horses pulled into the courtyard, followed by four men on horseback.
Magnus’s brow raised. Squires opened the door on the carriage and helped John, the Earl’s son out, then helped Henrietta, his wife, emerge from the carriage.
She rushed under an archway to get out of the rain, but John stood there looking around the courtyard.
One of the men who had been on horseback climbed from his horse and approached and stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder they whispered, rain pouring down on them, and looking around at everything.
Squires and pages, gathered their luggage from the carriage and took horses to the stables.
John raised his eyes and swept the upper floors and his eyes caught Magnus, peering from the window above him. His brow raised. He seemed to scoff. The man beside him was big, his eyes followed John’s and landed on Magnus in the window too.
Magnus’s breath quickened, he was seen, he wouldn’t move, his face was frozen, it was a tense stare off.
Finally John yelled up. “Young Magnus, tell yer mother I want tae see her in the Great Chamber, assemble the family, nae one else.”
Magnus gave a small nod. And he took my elbow and turned me away from the window.
I said, “Damn, that was stressful.”
“Aye, I need tae find Sean, and Lady Mairead, they need tae be warned.”
We walked fast down the corridor toward the stairs.
“I need to grab a wrap, it’s cold. And I need to check on Jack and Isla again, my nerves are jangled.”
“Aye, do that.”
His eyes were on the floor ahead of his feet. He was deep in thought already, I had seen this look, his battle-ready mood.
He turned left and walked me to our chamber to grab a wrap, and then he walked me down the corridor to the stairs to meet Hayley.
He and Fraoch nodded.
Fraoch asked, “Ye saw him?”
“Aye, I think he will be trouble.”
And they both walked away, with Magnus saying, “Meet us there!”
Hayley put her hands on her hips and watched them go. “I was trying to argue that I didn’t want to go, but now I need to see what’s happening, their mood turned fast.”
I said, “Yep, I agree. I don’t really know what happened, but something about John freaked me out. Magnus took it as a threat, I think.”
“Fraoch said it was the man who was with him, something about him put Fraoch on edge.”
“So, we’ve got our shawls, because it’s getting cold as a witch’s nut as James would say, and we’ll check on Jack and Isla and then head up there?”
“Yep, you couldn’t keep me away.”