Page 25 of The Knight’s Reward

“I’ll take him,” Burns said as she dismounted her horse.

Kathryn handed the reins to him. “A boon for my win?”

Even Aylmer chuckled at her little jest.

“Aye, my lady,” Burns bit back, though he was still smiling.

They’d taken to calling her such at Neill’s insistence. At Brockburg, there would be others around, and so she’d be sure to correct them. For now, she was happy for them to make her feel like Kathryn, the young woman who’d been trained by her father and educated by royal tutors, rather than Kathryn the bar wench.

Sighing, she followed the men into the woods, the thicket likely one of the reasons Neill had chosen to stop here. But then she spied the other reason.

“What is that?” she asked him. “It looks like a farmhouse made of stone.”

“Bryce told me of it, an abandoned bastle house so old none know its name or origin.”

Actually, two tall but narrow stone buildings stood side by side in a clearing only large enough for the two structures. What might have once been open field around them was now overgrown with trees and bushes.

“Early reivers built them, likely. Though now they house travelers like us.”

“And reivers too?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

While they spoke, the men walked past them with the horses, which meant a river or stream must be nearby.

“Aye.”

He studied her much as he had these past days, as if trying to learn something of her without asking. And there was something else to his expression. A certain interest Kathryn could not afford to explore.

“If you want to wash—”

“I’ll follow the men,” she finished, suddenly feeling awkward. She didn’t look back, though she wanted to see his face. Those serious eyes. That mouth that could transform his face with a simple smile. Instead, Kathryn put the handsome knight out of her mind as she followed the men to the stream. Slow-running with more rocks than water, it would do for her purposes. She bent by the side and started to wash her face.

“Where did you learn to ride like that?” Aylmer asked from over her shoulder.

She’d expected someone to ask and had prepared an answer.

“My father was once a stable master, before he passed.” She looked up to the heavens. It had gotten dark so quickly. Standing, Kathryn took the rag she’d brought to dry herself with and wiped her face and hands.

Aylmer merely grunted, but it must have been enough to pacify him since he didn’t press her.

“Will Burns hear of this for some time, then?”

She couldn’t tell in the waning light of dusk, but Kathryn swore she spied a smile. A small one, aye, but she’d count it as progress. She knew Aylmer had not been pleased to bring her along on their journey.

“A question you could have asked,” Burns said, approaching them, “before trouncing me so thoroughly.”

The way he grinned at her, teased her, made her feel like one of the men. Even so, she couldn’t help but wonder what these men thought of her. Surely they knew how unusual it was for a lady to accompany a group of men on such a journey. She reminded herself that didn’t matter.

Like the previous nights, she sat with the men around a fire, listening, not saying much. They talked of being graced with good weather for the journey—though she would disagree—as well as the upcoming council meeting. Kathryn had learned much about what was to come, including Neill’s part in the final effort at peace.

It was no small thing to force a king’s hand, but apparently that was what he had done by asking for Caxton’s removal as his boon. A bold, brave move that seemed so indicative of the man she knew.

It was Lord Caxton’s underhanded dealings that had prompted the Scottish wardens and clans from attending the Day of Truce. Because of Neill, the borderlands would see the removal of a warden Kathryn knew most despised, including Magge, except for the small few who benefited from his corruption.

She watched as the fire was doused, a nightly practice, and wondered about their sleeping arrangements. She caught Neill’s eye, but he immediately looked away.

“Lady Kathryn will take the southern tower,” he announced, “further from the road.”

Looking at the two buildings standing nearly side by side, Kathryn shivered. Though she welcomed shelter, the thought of sleeping alone in the abandoned building was not a prospect she anticipated with pleasure.