Read Online By Winter's Light: A Cynster Novel (Cynster Special Book 2) by Stephanie Laurens - Free Book Online Page B

the forests mantling the lower slopes, and had climbed to a bridle path that snaked along above the forests below the bald spine of the Rhinns of Kells.
    Turning their horses’ heads north, they’d ridden a little way, then had halted at a spot where a collection of larger rocks provided a flattish space sufficiently large to accommodate them all. Leaving the horses grazing in the rough stubble between the rocks and the upper edge of the forest, the boys lugged the saddlebags to the rock, and their company spread out for what was a rather early lunch.
    “More like late elevenses,” Prudence said, then bit into the chicken leg she held in one hand.
    “Pointless to try to keep them from food,” Lucilla dryly observed.
    “Hmm,” was all Prudence offered in reply.
    Sebastian had settled on Lucilla’s other side, with Marcus, Michael, and Christopher beyond him. With a wave, Sebastian indicated the land spread before them. “If the manor lands end where the forests begin, who owns the land we’re riding through?”
    “The Crown,” Marcus replied around a mouthful of ham. “We have logging rights in the forest, and hunting rights, too, but the land itself is the Crown’s—which hereabouts means it’s no-man’s-land.”
    “So by our English standards, it’s common land.” Michael glanced at the crest towering above them. “How far does it extend?”
    “To the west”—Marcus gestured to the rounded peaks—“it goes for four or five miles.”
    “What about to the north?” Christopher asked, squinting in that direction. “Those forests to the north of the manor—are they common land, too?”
    Glancing at Marcus and noting that his mouth was full, Lucilla answered, “Only a narrow strip—the highest and densest part of the forests. On that boundary, our lands go into the forests some way, almost to the ridge line, and our neighbor’s lands lie further to the north, beyond the strip of common land, which follows the ridge line.”
    “So where in all these forests are we most likely to find red deer?” Michael asked.
    “If I had to guess,” Marcus said, “I would say further to the north, closer to the Carrick property—they’re our northern neighbors. As with the manor’s lands, the Carricks’ western boundary lies at the lower edge of the forests, so we can ride and hunt along the ridge as far as we like.”
    “Right, then.” Sebastian gathered his long legs under him and rose. He met Marcus’s eyes, then Lucilla’s as they, too, got to their feet. “I suggest we ride north along the edge of the forests”—he inclined his head to Lucilla—“as you suggested, and keep a sharp eye out for tracks.”
    Marcus nodded. “We can ride into the afternoon and see what we find, but we’ll need to turn back in good time to return to the manor before full dark.”
    Sebastian glanced at the others, including the five younger boys. “We’re all good enough riders that we shouldn’t have a problem riding across open land in moonlight.”
    Marcus glanced at Lucilla; when she said nothing, he shrugged. “We’ll see.”
    As they gathered the saddlebags and the others started climbing off the rocks and heading for the horses, Lucilla looked up at the crests to the west. This close, they blocked her view of the western sky, yet…
    She grimaced and, echoing her twin, muttered to herself, “We’ll see.”
    After picking up her saddlebag, she followed the others off the rocks.
     
    * * *
    “A little to the left,” Helena directed.
    Claire exchanged a glance with Daniel, then obediently shifted the long branch of holly a fraction further left on the mantel of the main fireplace in the Great Hall. The cavernous room had a total of four hearths of varying sizes built into the walls. They’d already decorated two mantelpieces to the girls’—and the three older observers’—satisfaction.
    Louisa, standing back with the other three girls to observe the critical placement, nodded decisively.