Read Online Knight Errant: A Highland Passage Novel by J.L. Jarvis - Free Book Online Page B

him onto a stone bench.
    “We must leave here tonight,” he said.
    Violet shook her head. “No, you’re not strong enough yet.”
    He whispered, “But I will be alive—as will you. If we stay, neither of us will be for long.”
    Her eyes opened wide. Robert chuckled and cast a furtive glance toward a monk who was looking their way.
    “Smile,” Robert said. “Now lean over and whisper to me.”
    Violet did as she was asked. “You are scaring the crap out of me.”
    Robert laughed with what looked like genuine enjoyment, then he said softly, “I’m quite sure Henry knew the two men who attacked us and killed him.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “After we arrived, two monks were sent to Perth to give Henry a proper burial. They found him where we’d left him, his throat cut ear-to-ear. But before they arrived, someone had gone back and cut off his hands and his feet.”
    “Why?”
    “’Tis a Jesuit act against those who have betrayed them,” Robert said.
    “Henry?”
    “Aye. He may have been planted to spy, or to find something they want.”
    Violet nodded. “Like the scroll.”
    “Exactly.” Robert watched a monk walk through the cloisters from one arch to the next. “If he was a spy, he betrayed them when he fled with us.”
    “Then he betrayed you, as well.”
    “At some point, yes. Perhaps he had a change of heart, or he may have been spying on the Jesuits all along. All I ken now is that they’ve followed us here, and they’re watching the monastery. No doubt they’ve got spies in here, as well.”
    A wave of dread passed through her, but she tamped it down and remained still. A telltale flush burned her cheeks as her heart pounded. “Why? I don’t understand.”
    “I have the scroll. There must be something on it—or they believe that there is—that they dinnae want to be known. And since you’ve been with me, they’ll assume that you’ve seen it as well.”
    Violet looked about the quiet courtyard, unable to reconcile the peaceful surroundings with what he was telling her. “They want to kill us? People here?”
    “’Tis why I was attacked and why you’re no more safe than I.”
    Violet looked at the monks all about, carrying on with their daily activities. “But here?”
    He covered her trembling hand with his. “Do you trust me?”
    She lifted her eyes, and his gentle look bolstered her courage. “Yes.”
    “I ken that you dinnae like to be told what to do.” She inhaled, about to protest, but was interrupted when he said, “But if we’re to survive, you must trust me and do as I say.”
    “Okay, but—”
    “Without argument.”
    “Oh, c’mon!”
    “We can argue all you like at the end of the day when we’re safe.”
    She frowned.
    With a crooked smile, he said, “I should warn you though, if we make it to the end of the day, then I will have been right. If not, you’ll not have the chance to remind me.”
    “Well, that’s just not fair.” She nearly smiled, but it was a nervous and futile attempt. She steadied her gaze on him. “I don’t have a choice. But if I did, I would still trust you with my life.”
    He tightened his hand about hers. “And I will protect it with mine.”

THE LEGACY
    I n the pre-dawn darkness, a drizzle sent darkening streaks down the stone walls of the Edinburgh buildings. Arriving at last on the cobbled streets, it left a damp sheen and the smell of wet stone. The uneven rolling of pushcarts was only beginning to awaken the city. From the bell tower, the abbot watched two robed figures slip through the friary gate and make their way through the long shadows, along narrow streets and even narrower wynds. At the same time, two more monks walked through a gate in the wall, and on the opposite side of the friary, a third pair of monks set forth on foot.
    All of the monks were well on their way when dawn broke and a stable boy led a packhorse through the gate. He led his horse down the cobbled streets until he reached the edge of the