Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
That revelation brought a worry to Cavell and no doubt to his wife as well. He didn’t waste time to see what he could find out what the leader knew, if anything, about Elsie and her sisters.
He hurried to ask, “Who searches for her?”
“That is not your concern,” Frewen said with an arrogant tilt of his head.
Cavell stared at him as if in contemplation, then moved with such speed, that it sent a rush of air at Elsie causing her to gasp, though it caught in her throat, when she saw her husband reach up, grab the young man by his shirt, rip him off his horse, and shake him senseless.
“You will speak to me with respect, or I will cut out your tongue,” Cavell threatened.
Frewen looked terrified, and his situation worsened when the Gallowglass warriors began laughing and Elsie saw why. The young leader had peed himself.
Cavell shoved the man away from him, sending him tumbling against his horse. “Now you will tell me what I asked, for I will not ask it again.”
“I do not know, sir,” Frewen said and quickly continued. “I was given orders by my commander to go to Dundren Abbey, the last known place of the woman and begin my search there and return with the young woman once I found her.”
“Do you have a name or description of this woman at the abbey?” Cavell asked, his concern growing with his wife standing right behind him.
“I doubt she is referred to by her given name, Eudora, and by now she probably has gray hair and an aged face. Would you know if anyone fitting her description survived the fire or the massacre of those at the abbey?”
Edith.
Why would they be searching for Edith, now Ann?
Cavell knew what he had to do. “A woman you described perished in the fire.”
“Do you know where she is buried? My commander would want it confirmed.”
“I thought Lowlanders considered themselves intelligent,” Cavell said.
Frewen drew his shoulders back, taking a defensive stance that did little good since the front of his garment was stained wet. “We are, sir.”
“Then what did you not understand when I told you she perished in the fire?”
The Lowlander looked confused, then his eyes widened. “The fire left little of her.”
“Bones were all that were left,” Cavell confirmed.
“Then how can you be sure it was the woman I look for?” Frewen asked as if his query somehow proved Cavell ignorant.
“Her bones were found in the cell where she was kept,” Cavell said and watched the Lowlander’s spark of confidence deflate.
He regained it for a moment when he asked, “Were you told this or did you see it for yourself?”
Cavell stepped toward the Lowlander. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Frewen pressed himself against his horse, anxious to keep distance between him and Cavell. “Nay. Nay, sir. I ask a question of you that I know will be asked of me.”
Cavell began to admire the young Lowlander. As frightened as he was, he still attempted to accomplish the task he was sent to do.
“I was there and saw for myself, and I also spoke with Brother Emanual, the monk in charge of the abbey. Will that be enough for your commander, or do we have to suffer another visit from Lowlanders?”
“I do hope it will be enough, sir, for I have no desire to return here.”
“I am glad to hear that, though you are welcome to spend the night on the outskirts of the village and take your leave tomorrow at first light,” Cavell offered.
“I am grateful for the offer, but we will be on our way.”
“Be careful, Lowlander. There is a rogue group of warriors lurking in the woods and attacking whoever they wish and leaving few alive.”
The Lowlander paled. “Is it Gallowglass?”
The warriors around him laughed.
“Do you know anything of the Gallowglass?” Cavell asked.
“I was told they are cruel and soulless warriors who would die rather than surrender and that they carry long-handled axes and use them with exceptional skill and—” Frewen stopped talking suddenly, realizing several of the warriors surrounding him held such a weapon.
Frewen barely got the words out. “You’re Gallowglass.”
“That we are,” Cavell confirmed and with pride he had not felt in a while.
Frewen quickly offered an apology. “I meant no offense to your kind.”
“Our kind? Cruel and soulless warriors?”
“It was what I was told,” Frewen said.
“You are better off seeing and deciding for yourself before you judge someone,” Cavell advised.
“I will consider that, sir, and now I will take my leave.”
Cavell nodded to one of the Gallowglass warriors as he watched the Lowlander and the man with him ride off.
“Take a few men and follow him and his troop to the clan’s border. I do not know how they have managed to survive the Highlands since arriving here.”
The warrior nodded and went to carry out his task.