Page 58 of The Sinner
Alex was in the stable behind the tavern getting the horses when he heard running footsteps behind him. But it was only the tavern keeper’s daughter, so he put away his dirk. She was a stout lass of seventeen or so, and it took her a moment to get her breath.
“Were ye able to find a clean gown for the wee lass with that coin I gave ye?” he asked.
Alex was relieved that Glynis had insisted on giving the child a bath at the tavern because he never would have attempted it himself. Sorcha was so filthy, however, that he had planned to dunk her in the first loch they came to.
“I found a gown, but that’s not what I’ve come to tell ye,” the young woman said between gasps. “There are royal guards inside asking for ye. I told them we hadn’t seen ye since yesterday, but they won’t leave, and they’re watching the door.”
Damn, they’d come early. The regent was anxious to lock him away again.
“Can ye bring my friends out the back without the guards seeing ye?” he asked. When the young woman gave him an earnest nod, he took her by the shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Thank ye. This is kind of ye.”
The lass blushed almost purple and hurried back inside.
A short time later, Alex and his three female charges rode out the back with the guards none the wiser.
“See how well Sorcha sits on a horse,” Alex said, as he held his daughter in front of him on Rosebud. “She must get that from me—’tis in the blood, ye know.”
Glynis gave him an indulgent smile. She was looking as pretty as could be on Buttercup.
“Relax, Bessie,” Alex told the maid because she was sitting as stiff as poker behind Glynis and holding her in a death grip.
“Ye call this enormous beast with the devil eyes Buttercup?” Bessie asked. “It tried to bite me!”
“Ach, ye are upsetting her.” He reached over and patted Buttercup.
Glynis covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
“Those are D’Arcy’s men,” Alex said, pointing at the group gathered in front of the palace gate. He wished they were meeting anywhere but here, but he didn’t think the regent’s men would try to take him in front of D’Arcy.
D’Arcy spotted him and rode toward them, his white scarf blowing in the breeze.
“I feared you would not be joining us.” D’Arcy flashed a white-toothed smile at Glynis and Sorcha. “Are these lovely ladies here to see us off?”
“They are traveling with me,” Alex said.
“What a delightful surprise,” D’Arcy said, his gaze lingering on Glynis.
Alex turned to Glynis. “I apologize for speaking in French, but I don’t know if my friend here speaks anything else.”
“Is that Gaelic you are speaking to this lovely lady?” D’Arcy said. “I can’t speak Gaelic, but I know a bit of Scots.”
“She doesn’t,” Alex lied. “Shame, but I fear ye won’t be able to speak to her at all.”
“With women, it is possible to speak with only the eyes,” D’Arcy said, his gaze never leaving her face.
Ach, Frenchmen.
“What did he say?” Glynis asked.
“He wants to know where the privy is,” Alex said. “He needs to take a piss before we leave.”
Glynis’s eyebrows shot up, and she flushed a becoming shade of pink.
“What is the lady’s name?” D’Arcy asked.
“Glynis MacNeil.” Alex begrudged him the information. But since they would be traveling together all the way to the Campbell stronghold of Inveraray, he could not very well keep her name a secret.
“Is she yours?” D’arcy asked.
