ye.”
“Prithee, do not mention this to any of my sisters, then. Mayhap it is from Einar Logan, if you were able to get my message to him.”
“Nay, mistress, for I doubt he can read or write, nae more than me brothers, or I m’self. When I asked them what it said, Tam said I should swallow me curiosity and remember me place.”
Adela shook her head at herself, realizing it ought to have occurred to her that a man in Einar’s position would be unlikely to read or write. A moment later, as she read the message, she was grateful that Kenna could not read either.
I’m told you need a friend. Go to the chapel when it is empty midway between Compline and Nocturne. Leave a candle lit near the archway if you are alone. Then kneel at the altar and wait. You’ll be quite safe.
The message bore no signature, but Adela needed none. He had said to let him know if she needed a friend, and she remembered saying something of the sort to Kenna, who must have repeated it to her brothers. Clearly, people at Roslin discussed each other just as people in the Highlands did. And word had reached him just as he had said it would.
Recalling the chevalier’s offer of friendship, she wondered if he might have meant to reassure her that he had received her message. But it was still hard to merge thought of him with her memory of the voice on the ramparts.
Even if they were the same, and despite his having realized she might be reluctant to visit the chapel alone after dark and taken pains to tell her she would be safe, she hesitated to go. It was one thing to visit the ramparts once on a night black with dense fog, and with fair certainty that Hugo would leave no guards there. It was quite another to cross the open courtyard an hour and a half before midnight to visit the chapel. She was not even sure it would be open.
That it would be highly improper for her to meet him there did not trouble her. Had he intended to betray her trust, he might easily have done so the previous night. She had trusted him instinctively and would continue to do so unless he gave her cause to change her mind. Nothing dreadful could happen in the chapel. The courtyard would not be deserted. She need only shout.
It occurred to her then that she might meet Hugo, Michael, or her father. Not one of them would view her solitary presence outside with approval.
She looked at Kenna and said matter-of-factly, “I want to go to the chapel later. I have neglected my evening prayers of late, and although I do not want to attend Compline with the family, I do want to make my peace with God privately after they have returned from the service. Will you accompany me as far as the courtyard and await my return, so that I need not go alone?”
“Aye, sure, m’lady. And I’ll no say nowt about it, neither.”
“Thank you,” Adela said, grimacing as she realized that she might as well have asked Kenna to help her sneak out to the chapel to meet the person who had sent the message. Clearly, she ought to have warned her “friend” that she was not wise in the ways of subterfuge.
“I’m thinking I should go lay out Lady Isobel’s night things first, whilst I can,” Kenna said thoughtfully. “She willna mind an I tell her ye want me later, especially if Sir Michael comes upstairs wi’ her as he often does. But I should tell her I’ll be wi’ ye, and I dinna want to shirk me regular duties unless I must.”
“Mercy, no,” Adela said. “I don’t want you to either, and it must be all of two hours and more before the chapel will be empty. Attend to all your chores, Kenna, and return when you can. I’ll wait for you.”
It was considerably more than two hours, but Adela did not complain. The chamber was peaceful, the fire cheerful, and when Kenna returned, she said, “I went to the kitchen, m’lady, and watched from the postern door until everyone left the chapel. If we wait a bit longer, we can be sure it will be empty o’ the priest and all. I’m thinking
“Prithee, do not mention this to any of my sisters, then. Mayhap it is from Einar Logan, if you were able to get my message to him.”
“Nay, mistress, for I doubt he can read or write, nae more than me brothers, or I m’self. When I asked them what it said, Tam said I should swallow me curiosity and remember me place.”
Adela shook her head at herself, realizing it ought to have occurred to her that a man in Einar’s position would be unlikely to read or write. A moment later, as she read the message, she was grateful that Kenna could not read either.
I’m told you need a friend. Go to the chapel when it is empty midway between Compline and Nocturne. Leave a candle lit near the archway if you are alone. Then kneel at the altar and wait. You’ll be quite safe.
The message bore no signature, but Adela needed none. He had said to let him know if she needed a friend, and she remembered saying something of the sort to Kenna, who must have repeated it to her brothers. Clearly, people at Roslin discussed each other just as people in the Highlands did. And word had reached him just as he had said it would.
Recalling the chevalier’s offer of friendship, she wondered if he might have meant to reassure her that he had received her message. But it was still hard to merge thought of him with her memory of the voice on the ramparts.
Even if they were the same, and despite his having realized she might be reluctant to visit the chapel alone after dark and taken pains to tell her she would be safe, she hesitated to go. It was one thing to visit the ramparts once on a night black with dense fog, and with fair certainty that Hugo would leave no guards there. It was quite another to cross the open courtyard an hour and a half before midnight to visit the chapel. She was not even sure it would be open.
That it would be highly improper for her to meet him there did not trouble her. Had he intended to betray her trust, he might easily have done so the previous night. She had trusted him instinctively and would continue to do so unless he gave her cause to change her mind. Nothing dreadful could happen in the chapel. The courtyard would not be deserted. She need only shout.
It occurred to her then that she might meet Hugo, Michael, or her father. Not one of them would view her solitary presence outside with approval.
She looked at Kenna and said matter-of-factly, “I want to go to the chapel later. I have neglected my evening prayers of late, and although I do not want to attend Compline with the family, I do want to make my peace with God privately after they have returned from the service. Will you accompany me as far as the courtyard and await my return, so that I need not go alone?”
“Aye, sure, m’lady. And I’ll no say nowt about it, neither.”
“Thank you,” Adela said, grimacing as she realized that she might as well have asked Kenna to help her sneak out to the chapel to meet the person who had sent the message. Clearly, she ought to have warned her “friend” that she was not wise in the ways of subterfuge.
“I’m thinking I should go lay out Lady Isobel’s night things first, whilst I can,” Kenna said thoughtfully. “She willna mind an I tell her ye want me later, especially if Sir Michael comes upstairs wi’ her as he often does. But I should tell her I’ll be wi’ ye, and I dinna want to shirk me regular duties unless I must.”
“Mercy, no,” Adela said. “I don’t want you to either, and it must be all of two hours and more before the chapel will be empty. Attend to all your chores, Kenna, and return when you can. I’ll wait for you.”
It was considerably more than two hours, but Adela did not complain. The chamber was peaceful, the fire cheerful, and when Kenna returned, she said, “I went to the kitchen, m’lady, and watched from the postern door until everyone left the chapel. If we wait a bit longer, we can be sure it will be empty o’ the priest and all. I’m thinking
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