Page 16 of The Trials of Neilina MacKai (The MacKai Brides #5)
Her fingers were raw and bleeding from repeated strokes across the stones.
When she thought the metal sharp enough, she tested it on the lower hem of her bliaut.
The resulting tear was rather jagged. A dirk or other blade might have formed a cleaner, straighter cut.
However, her handmade weapons were good enough to cut a man’s throat or wound him sufficiently to make wielding a sword or other weapon close to impossible.
All she had to do was slice her opponent where he would rapidly lose the most blood.
She hid the sharpened plate at her back, wedged between her belt and her bliaut. The tankard she placed in one of her pockets, keeping her hand on it for quick access.
Sometime past Vespers, she heard the key turn in the lock of the metal door.
Hefty entered first with Thin Man close behind. She waited for Hefty to become occupied with getting past her bodice. He stank, and she wanted to run. However, she needed him close and held in thrall with lust. Behind him Thin Man was laughing and urging Hefty on.
“Get her breasts bared, man. I want to see them.”
Hefty ignored him and attacked the strings closing the front of her bliaut.
Seona had knotted them especially tight to keep him occupied. With Thin Man engrossed watching his friend at his back, it was time to attack.
She drew the sharpened tankard from her pocket, and as Hefty bent to nuzzle her breast, she jabbed the honed edge of the tankard into his throat. A groan gurgled from the man, and he slumped against her.
She would have liked to decapitate the oaf, but she would be satisfied with disabling him.
She continued to grip the tankard embedded in his neck then screamed. “Help. What’s wrong with him? Get him off me.”
Thin man took hold of the now injured and hopefully dying Hefty. Shifting his friend in his arms, Thin Man’s jaw dropped open. “Wha....”
Seona bashed Thin Man’s head with the metal plate.
“Ow.” Thin Man dropped Hefty and put a hand to his head where blood already welled. Stunned, he pulled his fingers away to look at them.
Seona struck again, using the sharpened plate to slice open his sword arm from shoulder to wrist.
He staggered and stumbled but did not fall to the floor.
However, he was stooped over enough for Seona to wrap the chain of her manacles around his neck. She pulled with all her might, trying to deprive him of breath. Uncertain she was strong enough to kill him, all she could do was try. She would not give up, simply because of a small doubt.
Thin Man bucked and shook attempting to break her hold.
She continued to pull tighter.
Eventually his movements slowed, and he fell to the floor. Unconscious or dead? Seona didn’t care. She still had much to do before she could search out the abbess.
***
R HUAD WAS AN EXPERIENCED warrior. Though he felt the tension of anticipated battle, he had no difficulty sleeping, even on the hard ground beneath the forest trees. He slept so soundly the tavern owner had to jostle him awake.
He rubbed his eyes to clear them of fog, but the mist still curled around Mr. Clyne’s boots. “Think you this fog will vanish before sunrise?”
“It will fade, my lord. However, I cannot say when. Sometimes a fog like this will last until midday.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Our opponents won’t be able to see us, but we won’t be able to see them either. I was hoping to note the positions of their lookouts and roving sentries before we attacked.”
“I can get you that information. Eat.” He held out a plate and a wineskin. “I’ll be back before you finish.”
Rhuad took the plate but shook his head at the wine. “I do not drink spirits before a battle.”
“’Tis good sense that. This,” Clyne shook the skin. “Is filled with water. Fighting is thirsty work. I’ve made sure every other man has a skin to share with his fellows.”
“Thank you,” Rhuad said standing. “MacFearann will remember all you’ve done to help us and find some way to reward you.”
“Getting rid of that witch what calls herself an abbess is reward aplenty.”
“Perhaps.” Rhuad thought that a more permanent reward would be appropriate. Perhaps something that would benefit the entire village.
The tavern owner disappeared into the rising fog.
Rhuad broke his fast. Finished he stood and went to find Raeb and Dougal. When found, he told them what the tavern owner had said.
“If we know the sentries’ positions, we may be able to take advantage of this fog to confuse them.”
“Mayhap even the entire company of guards.”
They contemplated the possibilities.
“What think you of the tavern owner’s implication that the abbess is not truly what she claims?” Raeb said after a while.
“It is possible she is not a true abbess or a nun,” Rhuad commented. “However, we cannot prove it.”
“Perhaps the tavern keeper will be able to tell us more when he returns.”
While they waited, they gave the men orders to prepare for the coming battle and informed them of a few small changes made on account of the fog. Then they too began to ready their horses, armor and weapons.
The sky was still a pearly gray, and the fog had thickened when Mr. Clyne returned. He dismissed the helpers who had assisted him with the food and drink for the men. Then he turned his attention to Rhuad, Raeb and Dougal.
“I’ve made a rough drawing of the guard’s keep and where each sentry is placed.
I’ve also marked the major parts of the building.
This square here represents the barracks.
That circle is the area where their horses are kept.
This line marks the cliffside. The triangle in front of the line indicates the large basket and pulley system they use to send up to the abbey parcels and occasionally one or two people. ”
“I didn’t know they had such a system.” Rhuad remarked. “’Tis good information. We must disable it before they can send a warning up to the abbey.”
“Definitely,” Raeb agreed.
“I know just the man to assign to the task.”
“Who?” Dougal asked.
“My squire James. He’s not mounted on a destrier, nor will he be wearing armor.”
“He could get killed before he does the task.” Clyne warned.
“Not with a fog this thick. He’ll be over the wall and across the bailey before any of the guard see him.”
“You are that confident in the lad?” Raeb asked.
“Absolutely. He’s been after me to assign him some special job, since he isn’t yet ready to fight. He’s always completed every other task I assigned quickly and thoroughly. Better yet, he’s smart and knows how to improvise when needed.”
“Then we’ll do it that way,” Raeb concurred then addressed the tavern keeper. “Sir, we’ve questions on another matter.”
“I’ll answer everything that I can.”
“Thank you,” Rhuad said. “I want to know if you have reason to think the abbess is not what she claims.”
“I know it.”
Raeb’s brows rose. “Can you prove it.”
“Me? No not right now, but I could.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Me sister does the woman’s laundry. Happen the witch was careless and left a small roll of parchment in a pocket.
My sister doesn’t read, but I do. She brought the thing to me.
I read it and saw the truth written in the hand of King Edward of England himself, for the writing matched the signature. ”
“Did you keep it?” Rhuad couldn’t help praying that he would have evidence of Edward’s perfidy that could be presented to the papal court in Rome.
“Nay,” Clyne shook his head. “The abbess asked after it of my sister who admitted to having seen such a thing. Giving it back helped build trust between the abbess and the village.”
“It is a great deal too bad that it was returned.”
“Not so bad, my lord.”
Rhuad lowered his brows in question.
“I copied it out before giving it to my sister to return to the abbess. You may have the copy. You can use it to find the original when you are in control of the abbey.”
“If the abbess is smart, she will have destroyed it to prevent accusations of deceit and fraud.”
“Some folks are more concerned with keeping a record than they are with the possible consequences of those records,” Clyne remarked.
“Indeed.” Rhuad thought of his aunt who obsessed over tracking every penny spent at Castle MacFearann. He wondered now if she hadn’t hoped the castle and all with it would be handed over to her if she and the abbess had succeeded in their spying for England.