Page 73 of Warrior’s Lady

Rhys nodded. "Bishop Berwick financed the attack. He wanted us tae take both Rhiannon and Lady Violet, but we couldn't find the little girl."

Camden smiled grimly, knowing their failure was thanks to Rhiannon's quick thinking and skill with a bow.

"I don't think the man meant tae harm the wee one. He seemed desperate tae take her unharmed. He wants her for somethin'. For some skill she possesses."

"He wants her for her power over the Charm Stone." Camden pressed his lips together into a hard line. The man would never get either Violet or the Stone while he still lived.

"She is a miracle worker." Rhys pulled up the edge of his linen shirt to reveal a pale thin line across the flesh at his side.

Camden inspected the man's side. Hardly a trace of his wounds remained. It was a miracle. "But why is he so desperate for Violet?" And suddenly it all made sense. "He cannot use the Stone without a Lockhart. And Violet's youth would allow him to manipulate her into doing all that he asks."

Rhys's eyes went wide. "A man of God who could do miracles would be seen as divine."

"Damn the man," Camden cursed, suddenly wondering if the Ruthvens had truly been responsible for Clara and James' deaths. Or had he just assumed that they were based on the circumstances the Bishop had laid before him?

He thought back to when he'd first arrived at Lee Castle and found James there. He'd been so filled with grief that he had just assumed that the Ruthvens had been the ones to betray James to the English. He'd found the Ruthven's crest on the sword in James's body. He realized now the bishop could have easily stolen the sword and done the deed himself.

And Clara. Pain tightened Camden's chest at the thought that she had died alone, without her family to at least try to save her. Had he known, he would have moved heaven and earth to keep her from the noose. And again, he had just assumed the Ruthvens had betrayed her. But he'd had no proof. And without reasoning it through and thinking of all the other possibilities, Camden had acted.

What else was the bishop capable of doing to get to the Charm Stone?

"I must go." Camden raced down the hallway to where Rhiannon and Violet would be attending the other ill men. A dark omen of doom followed him as he hurried through the shadowed half-light of the hallways. What horrors had he unleashed upon his people because of his own mistakes?

Outside the chamber where the sick men lay, Camden paused. He had no reason to suspect anything. And yet the sense of danger refused to go away.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

"No!" Rhiannon said sharply, bringing his steps to a halt. "Don't come any closer."

"What's wrong?" Camden asked, his gaze raking the three men stretched out on pallets near the hearth. His heart thundered in his chest. Had he been right to assume the worst?

"How is Rhys?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

"He's almost as good as new." Camden took another step closer.

Rhiannon's gaze shot to his. "Stop!" Her face was pale and her eyes glittered with fear. She reached over to the gatekeeper and gently lifted his bare arm. "They have all been complaining that their arms are sore, and that their thirst is great."

From the doorway, he stared at the red, puss-filled boil beneath the gatekeeper's arm. Talons of fear gripped him, chilling him to the core. The vision of Rhiannon's lifeless body in his dream passed before his mind's eye. He forced the image away. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I cannot be certain. I have never seen it before. But I have heard tales from my mother." She moved over to one of the two warriors, and pulled the blanket up to reveal his inner thigh. A black boil rested there the size of a small rock.

"Heaven help us." Camden had heard stories as well, of large boils that appeared red at first, then black. The color of death. The plague.

"What can we do?"

He had never felt more helpless. "Who has come near these men?"

"There's no way to be certain. We are all at risk." Rhiannon slumped back on her heels. "Pray to God we are wrong."

A chill racked him. "We will know one way or the other very soon. The plague kills quickly." His gaze scanned the small chamber. "Orrin and Lady Violet should have been here by now."

"It's a good thing they aren't." Rhiannon straightened. "Lady Violet must not enter this chamber. Perhaps she ought to be sent away for a time?"

He shook his head. "If we don't know who is at risk, we might be sending her off to her death. Or that might be exactly what the bishop hopes we would do so that he can snatch her easily without anyone to protect her. Nay, 'tis best she stays here, where we would know if something happens to her."

"Could she use the Charm Stone to treat water? I can give the men the charmed water in her stead."

Camden sighed. "I wish the Lockhart men had the power to use the stone, but that lot fell to the females of our clan." After a slight hesitation he nodded then backed out of the door. "I will go see if I can find her and Orrin." Just outside the door, he paused. "I don't want to leave you behind."

"I am here already." She gave him a grim smile. "I might as well stay and try to make these men more comfortable."

He nodded. "I shall return shortly with help." He shut the door, leaving Rhiannon behind in the clutches of a beast that might very well destroy them all.