Page 29 of A Flawed Scotsman

Catriona shrugged. “I do not know.”

“Come with me.” Esme got up and hurried to the center of the courtyard where guards were gathered. She ignored the twinges of pain when her injuries protested the fast movements.

She walked to a guardsman she’d known her entire life. “Timothy, may I have a word?”

The guard nodded and walked to where she and Catriona stood next to a well. “What can I do for ye, Lady Esme?”

“Oh, stop that,” Esme said, waving away his words. “Ye know I do not require formalities. Did anyone who lives here travel away from here in the last few days?”

The gate guard was used to her being overly curious, so he wasn’t surprised by her question. Timothy’s eyebrows moved low as he considered her question. “Several. Two guardsmen went to help at the Munro farm. One went north to visit his ailing mother.”

“Who was that?” Esme asked, the skin on the back of her neck prickling.

“Edgar.”

Esme had never cared for the man, but she did not know him well since he’d only joined the guard late the prior year. “Anyone else?”

“Nay. I do not believe so.”

“Thank ye.”

Catriona studied Timothy and then Esme. She looked to the gates as if pondering movements people made throughout the day.

Catriona was curious by nature and quite intelligent as well. The daughter of the village miller, she had taught herself to read and write. “People can leave without it seeming odd. Many live outside the keep. Tracking where they go upon crossing the gates is impossible.”

“Very true, but I have to know who almost succeeded in killing me,” Esme said.

“What are ye thinking?”

“I have more questions to ask. If my suspicions are right, we have a spy in our midst.” Once inside the keep, Esme went to the kitchens. The head housekeeper, Eileen, looked up from a pot she was stirring. “Do ye wish to finish eating, Lady Esme?”

Esme motioned for the woman to come out to the corridor.

“What is it?”

“Eileen, do ye know the guard, Edgar? Is he from north of here?”

The housekeeper was known for her keen memory. The woman gave Esme a questioning look, but then replied, “He comes from a fishing village south of here. He came with two men, do ye not remember? The trio showed up in the dead of winter.”

Esme shook her head. “I do not recall.”

“He and two others said they had come from a village where everyone was slain by the marauders.”

Esme and Catriona exchanged looks.

“Did something happen?” Eileen asked.

Catriona replied, “If someone’s village in the south is overtaken, then one would suppose his mother would be included in those slain. Why would Edgar say that he would have to travel north to visit his mother?”

Eileen shook her head. “Men tell lies for all sorts of reasons. If we try to figure out why, we’d go mad.”

Back in the great room, her mother sat alone at the high board. She had a full plate of food which she picked at. Her eyes brightened at seeing them. “Esme, ye should not be traipsing about. It has not been long enough that ye will not injure yerself again.”

Esme hurried to the high board. “Mother, I am worried about Ruari Ross. I think he may have been taken by the Mackenzies.”

“Sit down. There is little we can do by worrying. I am sure yer brother and father have the matter well in hand.”

“I have learned something interesting about one of the guards. Perhaps he is a spy.”