Page 72 of The Knight’s Reward

“And the other two men who haven’t yet returned?”

“Will hopefully make their way back or be found by Gerald and the others.”

She stopped when the portly maid, Faye, walked toward them with a bundle in her arms. Sara held out her hands and Kathryn stepped closer. The newborn babe was a sight to behold. She marveled at his tiny features, his mouth a little rosebud, and caught Sara looking at her.

“Would you like to hold him?”

She hesitated for the briefest moment. She would, but Kathryn did not have much experience with babies. Or children at all, for that matter. She’d been raised mostly at court, where children were discussed but rarely seen.

“Aye,” she said, watching precisely how Sara held him. When she took him into her arms, she attempted to do it the same way.

He smelled clean, as if freshly washed.

“Can you tend to him while I find the other wee one?” Faye asked.

“Find?” Sara laughed. “Is Hayden lost, then?”

“Nay, my lady. Hugh has been trainin’ him again.”

“Hugh believes ’tis never too early to learn the sword,” she explained. “Go,” she said to Faye, while Kathryn tried desperately to appear as if she were not terrified.

“He is heartier than you would imagine,” Sara said with a small smile.

Apparently she hadn’t been hiding her discomfort overly well.

Kathryn stared at the babe, wondering how she’d not given any thought to having children of her own. For the last year, such a thing had seemed impossible, but now . . .

The thought faded as she remembered what had happened today. An innocent man was dead. Others had been hurt.

Sara herself had admitted it was because the Day of Truce had fallen apart.

“The man who died today—” she looked up at Sara, “—does he have children?”

Sara’s shoulders sank, her answer plain enough.

“We cannot do this.”

She said it more to herself than Sara, but her new friend heard, and understood.

“Do not say that,” she admonished. “We shall see what happens in Edinburgh. We’ll devise a plan when Neill and Reid return, and not before.”

Sara’s tone did not invite an argument from her, and so she didn’t give one. Even so, Kathryn could no longer dismiss her doubts or pretend they didn’t matter. She suspected whatever happened with Bothwell might not improve their situation.

Where is he now? Is he thinking of me?

Does it matter?

Kathryn wanted to believe it did.

But she could not dismiss the image of the blood on Gerald’s armor and the riderless mount that accompanied him south.

Chapter 23

“What did you discover?”

Neill and Reid had been at the Fiddler’s Inn in Edinburgh for nearly a sennight. They’d stayed away from court, knowing their presence would raise suspicion. Even Alex, who was in town as a guest of Emma’s husband, Garrick, had not known they were in Edinburgh those first few nights. Garrick, the Earl of Clave, was housed in the King’s Tower with his sister, and while the king did not actually reside there, it was within the walls of Edinburgh Castle. Too close to Bothwell for comfort.

They had since been in touch with both Alex and Clave, although they had not yet met them in person. That would change tonight. They were meeting to share knowledge and decide on a path forward.