Highland Lover: Book 3 Scottish Knights Trilogy (13 page)

Away to his left, off the road, a mounted troop waited. Some walked their horses, but most seemed to be talking. He tried to decide if one of the men might be the lass’s husband. To him, they all looked like men-at-arms or armed ruffians.

Seeing the taverner crossing the yard toward him, Jake strode to meet him.

“Ye’ve a fine place, Metlow,” he said when he was near enough.

“Suits us,” the Yorkshireman said. “Will tha be off t’day?”

“ ’Tis true the weather ha’ turned for better,” Jake said noncommittally. He would not decide until he knew more about what was happening in the area.

“Looks fine, but a man canna trust t’ weather beyond his thumb.”

Jake nodded. “Aye, that be a fact. I see ye get early custom here. ’Tis a fine site for an alehouse.”

“It is, but Ah did tell them louts on horses yonder that Ah’d no ha’ their beasts a-fouling me yard whist they wait for their friends, inside.”

“What’s keeping them?”

“The younger one’s horse coom up lame. M’ lads be seeing how bad it be, but Ah wager we’ll lend him another beast. That ’un cooms fra’ Bridlington. Ah’ll tend it till we can get it back safe and let t’ lad tak’ one o’ mine.”

“How far will he ha’ tae take it?”

“Sakes, he be a-going right across t’ border. Sithee, he carries a safe-conduct from our own King Harry. Them others will see him to the line, and then they’ll bring me beast back in good condition, or I’ll ha’ summat to say to them. The lad will ha’ to find hisself another mount on t’other side o’ the line.”

“A royal safe-conduct? Be the chap a Scotsman then?”

“Aye, sure, were he English he’d ha’ nae need o’ one, would ’e?”

“Well, he might ha’ been a Frenchman,” Jake said. “If he’s a Scot, did he come off one o’ them ships we heard sae much about last night?”

“He did, aye, and Ah’ll tell thee summat more. There be rich prize on them ships, they say. But King Harry hisself will be a-keeping of it, for they say he sent them pirates out to find it. They said ’twas because that ship were a-taking its cargo past England to France without our Harry’s say-so.”

“Sakes, what manner o’ cargo would it be, then, tae need such permission?”

“That would be tellin’, that would,” Metlow said. “For all, Ah canna say what Ah dinna ken for truth. Nor would it matter an I did.”

“Why not?”

“ ’Cause them ships be gone, is why. Put ashore yestereve long enough for Captain Hugh-atte-Fen t’ tak’ ’is supper at Bridlington’s tavern. Then off again they went without waiting even for t’ storm to pass. Men say that Captain Hugh did ha’ t’ get straightaway t’ London t’ deliver his prize.”

“But we heard he’d let their prize ship sink.”

“Aye, ’twas a pity, that. But happen that Hugh and his men dinna care. By time they get home, they’ll be tellin’ tales o’ selling her for a grand price, choose how. A Norfolk man, Hugh, and none too fine in his ways. He had nae pity for the crew from yon merchantman.”

A shiver slid up Jake’s spine. “What happened tae them?”

“That gent inside be one o’ the lucky ones. He told me the captain said o’ t’others that any who couldna pay good ransom were nobbut a nuisance. So his lads tossed them all overboard. Some might ha’ swum in, even wi’ the storm. But if any did, Ah’ve heard nowt of it. Ah saw t’ one Scotsman, is all.”

Alyson watched Jake and Metlow from her window but took care to keep to one side. She told herself she did it only so that if Mungo came out, he would not catch sight of her. She knew, though, that if Jake looked up and saw her, she would feel both embarrassed and guilty for watching him.

The two men were clearly in deep discussion. Jake had his back to her until he turned and walked back toward the inn with Metlow, still conversing.

A lad ran from the nearby barn to the taverner, said something to him, and dashed back. Jake and Metlow continued toward the front door.

A rap on her door startled her, but it signaled only Will’s readiness to go downstairs. Joining him and remembering that she had not seen Mungo leave the alehouse, she asked Will to go down first and see if there were still two strangers sitting together in the common room.

He was gone for only a minute before he reappeared on the landing at the turn of the stairs and beckoned. The only people in the common room were Jake and Mace. Mungo and the man with him had gone.

Taking the seat she had occupied the night before, Alyson found hot rolls, creamy butter, bramble jam, and a boiled egg awaiting her.

Lizzie soon entered with a jug of ale for the men and warm cider for Alyson. “Ah did see yestereve that tha didna care for ale, mistress. But me da makes the finest cider in t’ East Riding.”

Thanking her, Alyson tasted the cider and nodded approval. Lizzie hurried away, and Jake looked as if he were about to speak only to pause instead. Then, clearly as an afterthought, he said, “Will, pass me that butter-pot, will ye?”

Sensing motion behind her, Alyson glanced back and saw the alewife approaching them purposefully.

“Good day to thee all,” she said. “Ah hope tha slept well.” When they assured her that they had slept very well, she said, “Ah ha’ thy clathes dry and all. But Ah did wonder if tha means to go on t’day, and if tha do, which way tha be a-heading and if tha wouldst like a bit o’ dinner to tak’ with thee.”

Alyson looked at Jake and saw Mace and Will look to him, too.

He said, “We willna waste this fine weather whilst it lasts, mistress. Sithee, me ship will be a-looking for us soon and a-coming down the coast slow and easy tae find us. We’ll ha’ better luck meeting wi’ her an we walk along the bay, I’m thinking. They’ll ken nowt o’ that wee harbor below the Head, nor where tae find us an they do make their way in.”

“Aye, they’d see thee plain from t’ water, though, an tha walk t’ cliff path, sir. And tha wouldst see them. Nah, that coble wi’ broken strakes in t’ harbor…”

“ ’Tis too damaged for us tae use, and I canna wait,” Jake said. “I told your man he might take it in payment for your kindness tae us here, if he will.”

“Aye, he did say as much, but he wanted tae see it first. He says it will no take great fixing, sir, although it might take some few days.”

“It would, aye. So if he be willing…”

“He is, but Ah ha’ been a-thinking on summat else,” Mistress Metlow said. “Ah ken that t’ young woman here be thy sister, sir. Still, if tha and thy man mean to walk along t’ shore wi’ her, ’twould be better an she had a female wi’ her, too. Folks would talk and make up tales in their heads about her, else, if only to pass time on a winter’s eve.”

Alyson said, “Ah thank thee for thy concern, mistress. But I am quite safe with me brother and his man, and our Will.”

“Nanetheless, mistress, tha wouldst be wise to tak’ sensible counsel.”

“We would, aye,” Jake said as Alyson tried to think of a tactful way to reject what she thought was unnecessary advice. Looking at him in astonishment, she saw that he had made up his mind.

He said, “What would ye ha’ us do, mistress?”

“Why, tak’ our Lizzie along,” Mistress Metlow said. “Sithee, me sister abides on a wee farm near Filey. So if thy ship fails t’ meet thee in t’ bay, tha wouldst ha’ a place to tak’ shelter without coming all the way back here. And if thy ship does find thee, Lizzie would ha’ only a short
walk to their farm. They ha’ been after us to send her ever since her man’s accident. It would do her good, and she’d be doing thee a good turn, too.”

“Then she shall go with us, and welcome,” Jake said. “We accept your generous offer tae pack us a meal, as well, mistress.”

She nodded, satisfied, and bustled away.

Alyson gave Jake a look, but he met it with a twinkling one of his own. “If you could have said nay to her, you have more grit than I do,” he said. “It worries me that our supposed kinship does not impress her. But refusing her offer would likely stir her curiosity if she is
not
wondering about us. Moreover, they have been kind to us, and we
would
be doing them a good turn.”

“I don’t mind; I like Lizzie,” Alyson said. “I have difficulty maintaining a conversation with her, though. I find that I’m dismally ignorant of what to call things here. I can imitate accents, but I cannot pull unknown words out of air.”

“They seem to accept us as we are,” Jake said. “I do have bad news, though.”

Alyson tensed, fearing he had learned that Niall was dead.

Jake read her thought as easily as if she had expressed it aloud and hastened to reassure her as much as he could. “I ken nowt of Niall Clyne,” he said. “But Metlow did say that the pirates threw all of the
Maryenknyght
’s crew overboard. Some may have swum ashore, he said, but he’d heard nowt of any that had.”

Hesitating, Jake decided that he could not keep his own
thoughts on that matter to himself. “Metlow also said that one of the men riding through this morning told him that the captain—a Norfolk man called Hugh-atte-Fen—also disposed of anyone who could not fetch a large ransom. Would Clyne have means for such, or might anyone else pay it on his behalf?”

She swallowed visibly. Then, drawing a breath, she said, “His parents are dead, and his older brother is not fond of Niall. I doubt he has means to pay much in any event. However, Henry
may
have promised that the Sinclairs would pay for Niall and Mungo, as well as for himself.”

Jake shook his head, saying, “That would not answer, I’m afraid. The captain would likely say that if Henry’s people would pay for two others, they’d pay more for Henry. After all, they’ll expect a king’s ransom for Jamie. And from what I’ve heard so far, they won’t want to guard or feed more captives than necessary. As for Mungo…” He paused, deciding that he had said enough.

Alyson grimaced. “You need not explain about Mungo, sir. Seeing him out and about as he was, riding as freely as if he were in his own country—”

“Metlow told me that Mungo is riding to the border—apparently with royal safe-conduct. The men with him are nobbut an armed escort to see that he gets across the line safely.”

“And Will said the pirates insisted that our ship lacked King Harry’s consent to be in English waters,” she reminded him. “Do you think Harry might have wanted someone to tell
our
king that the English have captured Jamie, and so the pirates sent Mungo? Because if that is the case,” she added, “might they not have kept Niall
as a hostage to ensure that Mungo does as they’ve bidden him?”

“We cannot know what Mungo’s purpose is,” Jake said. “However, I’d think English Harry would send a well-trusted courier of his own.”

“Then why provide Mungo with a safe-conduct?”

“It is possible—sakes, it is likely—that it was part of a previous bargain,” he said. “If so, Mungo is not riding to report to his grace but to someone else.”

She frowned and then glanced at Mace and Will, each of whom seemed engrossed in his breakfast. Leaning closer, she murmured to Jake, “Then you suspect that Mungo is the one who shared his knowledge that Orkney and Jamie were on the Bass Rock, waiting for the ship. But Mungo could hardly have told English Harry.”

“He wouldn’t have to if someone else had made secret arrangements with Harry,” Jake said. “Someone, perhaps, who has spies throughout our kingdom.”

“Albany,” she muttered. “But would he truly betray his own nephew so? I know people worried last spring that he might take Jamie into his custody, but what demon could possess him to arrange for the English to capture the poor lad?”

Glancing at Will, Jake lowered his own voice more to say, “Last spring Albany’s son, Murdoch, was safe at home. But, in September, the English captured him in battle at Homildon Hill. They still hold him hostage, lass. What better ransom could Albany offer, to retrieve him, than to send English Harry the heir to Scotland’s crown to keep in Murdoch’s stead?”

“So you think that Mungo told Albany about the
Maryenknyght
, which I find hard to imagine of anyone serving
Orkney. Also, Mungo must know as well as I do that Niall would never be party to any scheme that would endanger Jamie.”

“How was the
Maryenknyght
summoned to Leith Harbor?” he asked.

“Mungo sailed to France weeks ago and returned on the
Maryenknyght
. So he knew what ship we’d be on. And the ship needed repairs, so we… we had to wait. Faith, sir, you must be right about him, and if you are, the pirates have
no
reason to keep Niall alive. Only, if Niall
were
dead or in danger of dying, I think I’d—”