wounds and sewed the angry gash along the earl’s torso. Battle-hardened though he was, Myles blanched at the sight of the thick needle and cord jerking though his father’s skin. When the surgeon set the broken arm, Cedric jerked awake and cried out. But after a long pull of whiskey from a metal cup, he passed out cold again. Mercifully, the head wound was minor compared to the rest, and a bandage soon covered it.
“If you’re willing to travel with us to see to this man’s well-being, I’ll make it worth your while,” Myles told the physician as he gathered up his tools. “We’ll pay well for your service and discretion.”
The little man eyed the money purse Tavish dangled in front of him. He licked his lips. Myles could nearly taste the man’s craving for ale.
“Where are you traveling to?” Drummond asked.
“Sail with us down Loch Ness as far as Invermoriston. Depending on how our man fares, you could return then or go with us farther. I cannot say to where. Too many ears in a thin-walled inn.”
The doctor nodded. “I’ll think on it. Let me tend to your other wounded first.” He picked up his bag and stepped toward the next room, where several injured Campbell men awaited his attention. He hesitated for a moment, then reached back to the table and grasped the bottle of whiskey. He nodded at Tavish with a wink. “’Tis the finest medicine.”
After the surgeon left, Myles stared at his father lying so still in the bed. The earl’s breath was shallow and fast.
Tavish turned away, scratching his beard. He sat down heavily in a chair near the fireplace. “That doctor had some mighty interesting tools in that bag. Just the kind of implements to bring forth truth from a man’s lips.”
Myles wiped a hand across his jaw, whiskers scratching against his palm. His eyes felt full of sand when he blinked, and it seemed he had not rested in a month. He had no taste for torturing men, but they had a prisoner to question, currently bound and gagged and guarded in a stable next to the inn. He’d told them nothing of use during their ride to Inveraray. “Find out from him all you can. If we have enemies so bold, I need to know who they are.”
Tavish nodded. “Leave it to me, lad. I can be very persuasive. In the meantime, you might try asking your wife once more.”
Myles’s mouth went dry. Fiona was in another room, hands tied to a bedpost and two men on guard outside her door. She’dnot once pleaded her innocence while they traveled from the ambush site to the inn, nor had she spared a glance at the prisoner. Whoever he was, she was not in the least concerned over his well-being.
“’Twas no secret who I married, Tavish. He could have known her name without being a Sinclair,” Myles said.
“True enough. And he knew nothing about her brother’s hearing.”
Myles scoffed at that. “Nor do we. She could be lying. Do you know if either of her brothers has a bad ear?”
Tavish cleared his throat. “I’ve heard the younger son, John, took a blow to the head as a lad and lost half his hearing then. And then there is the maid. I cannot think even the Sinclairs are so brutal they’d kill off their own maid.”
“Especially one wearing my wife’s cloak. And they would have known to send more men. They could not plan on Fiona being able to divide our group, and Benson said they were attacked by a dozen. Sinclairs would have sent a larger force.”
“True. I had not thought of that. But one thing is for certain. If they were not Sinclair, they took great pains to convince us that they were.”
“So it would seem. Perhaps an enemy hoping to draw us back into conflict with them? Someone opposed to the truce, perhaps?”
“That hardly narrows it down. Half the Highland chiefs have issue with us, and the other half despised Hugh Sinclair.” Tavish stood back up. “I guess I’d best be visiting our guest in the stables while you question your bride.”
She might survive this journey, but
“If you’re willing to travel with us to see to this man’s well-being, I’ll make it worth your while,” Myles told the physician as he gathered up his tools. “We’ll pay well for your service and discretion.”
The little man eyed the money purse Tavish dangled in front of him. He licked his lips. Myles could nearly taste the man’s craving for ale.
“Where are you traveling to?” Drummond asked.
“Sail with us down Loch Ness as far as Invermoriston. Depending on how our man fares, you could return then or go with us farther. I cannot say to where. Too many ears in a thin-walled inn.”
The doctor nodded. “I’ll think on it. Let me tend to your other wounded first.” He picked up his bag and stepped toward the next room, where several injured Campbell men awaited his attention. He hesitated for a moment, then reached back to the table and grasped the bottle of whiskey. He nodded at Tavish with a wink. “’Tis the finest medicine.”
After the surgeon left, Myles stared at his father lying so still in the bed. The earl’s breath was shallow and fast.
Tavish turned away, scratching his beard. He sat down heavily in a chair near the fireplace. “That doctor had some mighty interesting tools in that bag. Just the kind of implements to bring forth truth from a man’s lips.”
Myles wiped a hand across his jaw, whiskers scratching against his palm. His eyes felt full of sand when he blinked, and it seemed he had not rested in a month. He had no taste for torturing men, but they had a prisoner to question, currently bound and gagged and guarded in a stable next to the inn. He’d told them nothing of use during their ride to Inveraray. “Find out from him all you can. If we have enemies so bold, I need to know who they are.”
Tavish nodded. “Leave it to me, lad. I can be very persuasive. In the meantime, you might try asking your wife once more.”
Myles’s mouth went dry. Fiona was in another room, hands tied to a bedpost and two men on guard outside her door. She’dnot once pleaded her innocence while they traveled from the ambush site to the inn, nor had she spared a glance at the prisoner. Whoever he was, she was not in the least concerned over his well-being.
“’Twas no secret who I married, Tavish. He could have known her name without being a Sinclair,” Myles said.
“True enough. And he knew nothing about her brother’s hearing.”
Myles scoffed at that. “Nor do we. She could be lying. Do you know if either of her brothers has a bad ear?”
Tavish cleared his throat. “I’ve heard the younger son, John, took a blow to the head as a lad and lost half his hearing then. And then there is the maid. I cannot think even the Sinclairs are so brutal they’d kill off their own maid.”
“Especially one wearing my wife’s cloak. And they would have known to send more men. They could not plan on Fiona being able to divide our group, and Benson said they were attacked by a dozen. Sinclairs would have sent a larger force.”
“True. I had not thought of that. But one thing is for certain. If they were not Sinclair, they took great pains to convince us that they were.”
“So it would seem. Perhaps an enemy hoping to draw us back into conflict with them? Someone opposed to the truce, perhaps?”
“That hardly narrows it down. Half the Highland chiefs have issue with us, and the other half despised Hugh Sinclair.” Tavish stood back up. “I guess I’d best be visiting our guest in the stables while you question your bride.”
She might survive this journey, but
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