The Recruit Read Free

soldiers she feared finally arrived?
A cage …
    The two women raced to the window of the peel tower, a square-shaped defensive structure
     that was common in the borders. It was dark and still pouring rain, but Mary could
     just make out the shadow of three riders approaching. It wasn’t until they entered
     the circle of torchlight below the gate, however, that she saw the familiar arms and
     her lungs released its vicelike hold on her breath. She heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
     “It’s Sir Adam.”
    But the relief was short-lived. If Sir Adam was here at this time of night, there
     was a reason, and given her current circumstances, it probably was not a good one.
    Her husband’s seneschal admitted him to the Hall a few minutes later. She barely waited
     for the door to closebehind him before she rushed forward. “Is it true? Has Atholl been taken?”
    Obviously surprised that she’d heard, he frowned. But noticing her sister behind her
     at the table, his surprise faded. “Lady Janet,” he said with a nod of his head. “What
     are you doing here?”
    Before her sister could answer, Mary asked him again. “Is it true?”
    As he nodded, his rough, battle-weary face sagged. Sir Adam was only forty—the same
     age as Atholl—but the war had aged him. As it had them all, she realized. She was
     only three and twenty, but sometimes she felt as if she’d lived twice as long.
    “Aye, lass, it’s true. He’s being brought to Kent for trial at Canterbury.”
    Mary sucked in her breath. In choosing Kent as the place of trial, King Edward was
     leaving little doubt of the outcome. Like many Scot nobles, Atholl had significant
     lands in England, including vast estates in Kent. As such he’d been forced to do homage
     to Edward for those lands. It was as an English subject that the Scottish earl would
     be tried.
    She crumpled, knowing that the charming Earl of Atholl would not escape the noose
     this time.
    She saw the knowledge reflected in Sir Adam’s face. But she also saw something else.
     “What is it?”
    His gaze slid to her sister’s. “You shouldn’t be here, lass. You can’t let them see
     you.” He looked back and forth between the sisters. “If I didn’t know you so well,
     I’d have a hard time knowing who was who.”
    “Can’t let
who
see me?” Janet said, echoing Mary’s thoughts.
    Sir Adam sighed and turned back to Mary. “That’s why I came. I rode ahead to prepare
     you. Edward has sent his men to collect you and David.”
    Mary froze. She could barely get the words out. “We are being arrested?”
    “Nay, nay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. The king merely wishes to see
     that you and Davey are provided for.”
    Janet made a loud scoffing sound. “ ‘Provided for’? That’s an interesting way of putting
     it. Is he ‘providing for’ our niece Marjory as well?”
    Sir Adam could not hide his repugnance. “Edward is in a rage right now, but he will
     reconsider when he has calmed down. I cannot believe he would see a young girl put
     in a cage.” His eyes met Mary’s. “The king does not blame you and David for Atholl’s
     actions. He knows you have been a loyal subject to him, and David is like a grandson
     to him, after the better part of eight years in Prince Edward’s household. You and
     the boy will not be in danger.”
    “But what if you are wrong?” Janet said. “Would you bet my sister’s life on the whim
     of Edward Plantagenet’s temper?” The monarch’s apoplectic fits of rage—a legacy of
     his Angevin ancestors said to be descended from the Devil—were well known. Janet shook
     her head. “Nay, I’ve come to take her home.”
    Sir Adam looked sharply at her. “Is it true, lass? Are you fleeing England?”
    But Mary didn’t answer his question. She looked up at him, silently begging him to
     tell her the truth. “Does the king mean to make my son a prisoner in another English
     household?”
    She saw the flicker of uncertainty