farm tools, thought Maddie. She had hoped he was settling into their life, but he was just trying to escape.
Carver didnât get a chance to talk to the farmer. Maddieâs uncle Colin the Smith returned from his journey, walking back through the grain fields. Unaware of the tragedy surrounding his dying son, the smith nevertheless had information of his own.
âThe new lordâs wife is dead,â he told those he met, and the men left their tools in the fields and gathered around. The women didnât go to funerals, not even for one of their own, but if the men werenât there to help bear the ladyâs body, they would earn the new lordâs lasting fury.
âWeâll set out at once,â declared Black Ewan. âBut without you, Colin. Your family needs you. James, Gillies, and Thomas, you come. Little Ian and Horse, you stay with Colin and finish what you can of the harvest. Donât cut any more grain till youâve stored what weâve already cut. And, Horse, look after the red mareâs injured flank.â
âBut the storms!â objected Horse. âThe harvest will take too long.â The least gifted of Black Ewanâs farmhands, he was called Horse because he had once lost the one he was riding home during a drunken stupor.
âNo storms are here yet,â replied Black Ewan. âAnd weâd best hope weâre back before they are.â He turned to his nephew. âLachlan, take care of your mother and keep an eye on the town. Donât try to chain Angus and that Englishman up to the stable wall while Iâm gone. Just leave them chained together. Angus wonât go anywhere at night with that dead weight to lug around.â
Lachlan was only twelve, and he still looked like a child. âYes, Uncle,â he said respectfully. âBut hadnât I better keep the key in case something goes wrong?â
Black Ewan looked down at the boy, hesitating. âAll right,â he answered, pulling the key from his neck and handing it to Lachlan. The boy hung the large key around his own neck, his eyes shining with pride.
âYou see?â he boasted to his prisoners that night as the pair lay sprawled in the hay of the stall. âIâm the one who has your key now.â But before another day passed, he had reason to regret it.
âLachlan wonât let Ned go,â worried Carver the next morning as he and Maddie stacked peats by the houses. He was so distracted that he was more of a hindrance than a help. He stacked one block, walked away, and then came back to stack another. âHe has to let him go, he has to,â he said, taking down the part she had just finished and restacking it himself. âI donât know what to do.â
âDid you think he would?â Maddie asked, taking advantage of his walking away again to fix the mess he was making of the stack. âLachlan knows good and well that his uncle will thrash him if he lets Ned loose.â
âNo, he said he wasnât afraid of a beating,â contradicted the wood-carver, coming back to dismantle the peats again. Maddie stood up and watched him with a sigh. âHe has to let Ned go. Just for a couple of days. Ned will be back before Black Ewan comes home.â
âDo you think Lachlan would believe that?â she asked.
âBelieve what?â demanded Carver, standing up to look at her, surrounded by mounds of peats. âMadeleine, please,â he begged, his eyes very tired. âJust for a couple of days.â
The girl frowned and stepped up close to lay her hand on his cheek. âYour feverâs back,â she announced. âI might have known. Itâs back, and itâs high.â
âI know that,â he muttered. âNo, waitââ But she was already calling her mother.
âI never should have let him do all that work!â exclaimed Fair Sarah, and she soon had the young man under piles of
Stormy Glenn
Alexi Lawless
Mimi Barbour
Jennifer Skully
Alisa M. Libby
Becca St. John
Benjamin Kane Ethridge
Hanan al-Shaykh
Anne Rainey
Nicole Baart