Chapter Fourteen #2
“I didnae say it was a perfect plan. Howbeit, at least for a little while we will be going in the right direction and we will ken where they are every step of the way. In truth, getting around them shouldnae be much more difficult or different from what we are doing now. We already spend most of our time trying to evade them.”
“All right, we will try it. After all, ye have kept us safe thus far.”
Tavig gave a short, bitter laugh. “Safe? I have done a cursed poor job of getting us to Mungan’s. If ye had any sense ye would avidly question my judgment. I begin to do so.”
“Nonsense. Ye kept us from drowning, got us away from the fools who cried us witches because ye saved that poor child, and got us out of that other village as weel. Ye cannae foresee every trouble we face yet ye get us away from them. Aye, and for two long days ye have kept us out of the hands of Iver’s men. ”
“Without me ye never would have faced those troubles at all.”
“Weel, arenae we feeling sorry for ourselves.”
“I am stating facts here, Moira. Hard, cold facts ye ought to look at more closely.”
“Nay, ye are struggling to don a hair shirt and flog yourself for not being able to stop things that cannae and couldnae be stopped.” She adjusted Adair more comfortably in his sling. “If those curs are gone now, I think we had best be on our way.”
“Aye, now that ye have soundly rebuffed all my attempts at humility, we may as weel start walking again.”
Moira laughed softly as she moved to follow him.
Her good humor faded swiftly as they started trailing the men who hunted them so intently.
It made her very uneasy to be so close to them even though she knew Tavig was taking extreme care to keep them out of sight.
She could not fully shake the feeling that at any moment they would walk straight into the arms of their enemy.
The sun was beginning to set when Tavig signaled her to stop.
Moira was exhausted. She sank down onto the ground and wondered if they were going to spend another cold, watchful night huddled in the dark.
Moira was beginning to fear that sleeping without the warmth of a fire would soon cause Adair to sicken.
She waited patiently as Tavig crept down the trail to see exactly where their enemies were.
It was not until she felt his light touch on her arm that she realized she had begun to fall asleep.
The sunset had already faded into the gray of twilight.
“Is everything all right?” she asked in a hushed voice as he knelt down beside her.
“Aye. In fact, things are looking verra hopeful, indeed.”
“Have the men decided to give up and go away?”
“Weel, nothing that good. They have camped for the night and are obviously as weary as we are. One mon has been set out to stand guard, and, even as I left, he was falling asleep.”
“Are we going to try to go around them now?”
“Aye. Mungan’s keep is but a mile or two away.
It willnae be easy to reach it in the dark, but the moon will rise soon, and that will help us a wee bit.
At least we can be sure that if we slip by these fools unseen, they willnae be hunting us tonight.
” He handed her Adair’s goat’s milk. “If ye could see to his needs as quickly as possible, we can use the dark time before the moonrise to our advantage.”
Moira struggled to regain some semblance of alertness. The thought that they could reach the safety and comfort of Mungan’s keep in but a few hours helped a great deal. The promise of warmth, food, and a bed to sleep in provided enough inspiration to help her conquer her exhaustion.
Adair was very cooperative. Yet again Moira got the unsettling feeling that the child was aware of far more than any babe his age ought to be.
He drank his milk faster than he ever had before, did not squirm once as she changed his wrappings, and did not even make his soft, happy, noises he so enjoyed as he was fed.
It was as if he somehow understood the need to move quickly and quietly.
As she secured him in his sling she gave herself a stern scolding.
Adair was a bairn, not even a year old. She was allowing superstition to make her foolish and attribute far too much to simple good behavior.
Moira just hoped the air the child had to have swallowed as he drank his milk so hastily did not choose to come out as they tried to creep past their enemies.
She struggled to be calm as she followed Tavig down the trail. Each time she put her foot down she feared breaking a stick or dislodging a stone. Although she was confident of her ability to move quietly, she suddenly found it a little difficult to trust in that confidence.
They passed so close to Iver’s men she was sure she could hear them breathing.
She fought the urge to look. Tavig had tied cloths around the goat’s mouth, and she prayed the animal did not know how to make a noise despite the muzzle.
When the men’s horses shifted nervously and snorted, she felt her heart stop but obeyed Tavig’s abrupt signal to keep on moving.
She did not release her breath until they were well past the men’s camp.
“Ye are doing just fine, dearling,” Tavig whispered as he helped her down a sharp incline.
“I would feel a great deal better if the ground we walked over didnae hold such promise of being noisy.”
“We will be on quieter footing in but minutes, love.”
When they finally reached the rock-strewn base of the hill, Moira breathed a hearty sigh of relief.
The feel of the soft grass and moss beneath her feet made her relax even more.
At least she no longer had to fear that some misstep would expose them.
She looked at Tavig when he stopped to unmuzzle the goat.
“Are ye sure ye ought to do that?” she asked, recalling how noisy the goat could be at times.
“If Iver’s men are even able to hear the beast’s cries all the way up in those hills, they will assume he is just one of Mungan’s.
The gag was agitating him, and I decided that could prove far more dangerous now.
” He looked back toward the hills. “I will confess it now. I really didnae think we would be able to slip away, certainly not so easily.”
“I am verra glad ye didnae confess that before we tried it. I was terrified quite enough without kenning it.”
He leaned closer, brushing a kiss over her mouth. “Poor wee Moira. Just a wee bit longer, and we will be safe.”
“Will ye tell me the truth if I ask ye if ye can find your cousin’s keep in the dark?”
“Aye. And soon it willnae be as dark as it is now. Not much longer, and the moon will shed some light on our path. I fear this is all the rest I can give ye for now.”
“’Tis enough.”
He nodded and started walking. Moira quickly fell into step behind him.
She could barely see the ground so she kept her gaze fixed upon Tavig.
If she followed his steps exactly she felt she would be all right.
When the moon finally came out, she breathed another sigh of relief.
She did not like stumbling along in the darkness.
“There it is, lass,” Tavig announced a few moments later.
Moira looked in the direction he pointed and nearly gasped.
She had envisioned a small tower house. Mungan Coll’s keep was a great deal larger than that.
He had obviously taken a few lessons from the larger English and French castles.
Encircled by a thick curtain wall, it also looked temptingly secure.
“Do ye think we ought to wait for daylight so that he can see us better as we approach the walls?” she asked.
“It might be wiser, but now that my goal is in sight, I really havenae the patience to wait. There are only two of us, plus Adair and the goat. I dinnae think we will appear as any great threat. I also ken most of Mungan’s men-at-arms so there is sure to be someone on the wall who will recognize me. ”
“Let us hope so. ’Twould be verra annoying to be cut down by the mon we have struggled to reach for a fortnight.” She smiled wearily when Tavig chuckled, then fell into step at his side as he started toward the castle.
“I think I ought to tell ye a few things about Mungan ere we get to his gates.”
“Ye have told me enough for me to ken that he is an odd sort of fellow.”
“Oh, aye, he is that. He is also big, verra big, and he can look and sound as fierce as any man I have e’er seen.
Ye need not fear him. He bellows and roars, but ’tis mostly air and noise.
What I think ye need to ken is that, while Mungan can seem almost foolish at times, he can also be clever, even sly.
Aye, there are times when he is truly slow to grasp fact, but he can also play the fool to gain himself some advantage.
No matter how he acts, remember that he does have a sharp wit when he feels inclined to make use of it. ”
“Are ye sure this cousin is truly trustworthy?”
“In some ways, nay. In most others, aye, verra trustworthy. I trust him not to stab me in the back or act as Iver does and has. Do ye recall the advice Mungan gave Old Colin on how to regain Craigmoordun?” When Moira nodded, he continued.
“That is the sort of slyness Mungan can indulge in. ’Tis mostly harmless unless ye hold the thing he is after.
’Tis verra hard to explain the sort of mon Mungan Coll is. Just keep in mind that he can be sly.”
“I will remember, although I cannae see how it will matter to me. I have nothing he could want.”