The Raven's Moon by Susan King Page A

and be sick.
    "Answer me this at least. Why does a Highland lass ride a Border road like a thief?"
    She stood and went to the door, yanking it open to step through. The door slammed. Rowan winced at the noise, and heard the sound of the door bar dropping into place.
    He sighed and rested his head against the wall.
    Soon he heard a muffled male voice. Though he could not hear the low words, he heard Mairi's irritable tone in reply.
    One of her Kerr kinsmen, he thought. He could only wait now to see what would come next.
    The door wrenched open, and two plaid blankets and a wrapped bundle tumbled in, falling open on the floor. A few oatcakes and a joint of roasted meat rolled out. A leather flask hit the floor too. Rowan stopped it deftly with his foot.
    "My thanks," he drawled as the door slammed. The bar slid into place again. Footsteps stomped up the steps.
    Though his head spun, Rowan smiled. Looking around the small chamber, his smile widened.
    Lincraig Castle was no confinement for a Blackdrummond Scott. There were crannies and passages within the old ruin that he and his brother had discovered as lads. When his head ached less, he would explore the space until he found some way out.
    He leaned back, wadded the cloak Mairi had left behind into a comfortable pillow, and drew up a plaid for warmth. His head throbbed and the room swayed as he reached for the flask.
    When he pulled out the cloth-wrapped wooden plug, he discovered the flask was filled with hot broth. Skeptically, preferring stronger liquid, he sipped. Beef broth, hot and salty, slipped down his throat. He took more, and then settled back to rest. A nap would go far to heal his head.
    He wondered if this Mairi o' the Highlands had met the phantoms who haunted Lincraig. Then a new thought occurred.
    What did this Highland lass know about Spanish gold?

 
     
     
    Chapter 6

     
    "O gin ye winna pay me,
    I sail here make a vow,
    Before that ye come home again,
    Ye sail ha 'e cause to rue. "
    —"Lamkin"
    Thunder rolled through her dream and became the steady pounding of hoofbeats. Waking quickly, Mairi sat up. Moonlight threaded into the room, illuminating the pallet bed where she slept in Iain's house. She heard her name, and turned to see Jennet's face at the top of the loft ladder.
    "Reivers again!" Jennet whispered urgently. "Come down!" She glanced toward the door of the little house. Mairi heard the rumble of horses' hooves and the growl of men's voices in the yard outside, and the incessant barking of Iain's young hound.
    Sliding out of bed, Mairi snatched her linen shift and dressed, grabbing a plaid shawl. She felt alert, calm. Numb.
    In the weeks after Iain's arrest, she had withstood the dangers of reivers, and the risks of her own clandestine activities. Some inner, softer part of her had retreated.
    She had hardened a bit, her passionate feelings and fears encased inside the boldness that had become her armor. The reivers outside had seen that in her. Rowan Scott had it too. None of them would see the softer Mairi. Not until Iain was safe, she vowed.
    "We will face them," she told Jennet. "What of Robin?"
    "Sleeping sound," Jennet said. "But he will wake soon. And the dog is useless, just happy to see visitors."
    "What riding family is it?"
    "Heckie Elliot and his brothers, wi' English outlaws."
    "They've been here before," Mairi said. "We had best go out, or they'll break down the door." Jennet nodded and climbed quickly down the loft ladder.
    Mairi wrapped the length of plaid over her shoulders and around her waist, over her linen shift. She had no time to properly dress in the woolen gown, with its fitted bodice and lacings, that hung on a wall peg. Shoving back her tousled hair, she went barefoot down the loft ladder.
    Her foot, stretched out, was licked and she leaped down. "Stop that, Bluebell," she muttered, shoving the large, silver-haired wolfhound pup away. "When will you learn to respect proper danger? Stay!" She pushed the dog toward the