“Do ye smell that, Edan? Something’s on fire,” she said, looking around to see what it could be.
“Aye. ’Tis probably a bonfire. The farmers and foresters sometimes start them to burn waste at this time of year,” he replied, unconcerned.
But the nearer they drew to the castle’s environs, the stronger and more acrid the smell grew. Then, Olivia suddenly spotted something in the sky to their right that was too large to be merely a bonfire.
“Look!” she cried, pointing to a cloud of billowing smoke rising into the air. “That’s nae a bonfire.”
Edan looked where she was pointing. “Aye, ye’re right,” he said, sounding worried this time. “That’s comin’ from the village. Somethin’ must have caught fire. I need to go and find out what’s happenin’,” he told her urgently. “Take Bessie and walk her back to the castle while I go and see.”
“I willnae!” she exclaimed. “I’m comin’ with ye.”
“Olivia, dinnae argue with me. Do as I say!”
“I’m comin’ with ye,” she insisted. “If there is a fire, then they’ll need all the hands they can get in puttin’ it out.”
“For God’s sake, woman, can ye just do what ye’re told for once?” he growled in frustration.
“Because what ye’re tellin’ me doesnae make sense.”
“It makes sense to me. It could be dangerous, and I willnae let ye get hurt.”
“Well, the same goes for me. If ’tis dangerous, then I dinnae want ye to get hurt either! That’s why we should go together.”
The acrid smell was getting much stronger, and they both looked over to see that the cloud of smoke was growing and spreading across the dusky sky.
Edan made an impatient noise and said, “Look, while we’re sittin’ here arguin’, the fire’s gettin’ worse. Now, will ye go?”
“Aye, I’ll go with ye!”
“Ach, we’re wastin’ time. Olivia, I’ll nae tell ye again. I’m yer husband, and ye’re bound to obey me. Now, take the horse and get away!”
“Obey? I’ll obey ye when ye say somethin’ sensible! Ye’re the one who’s wastin’ time by arguin’,” she replied stubbornly. “I’m yer wife, and I’m nae leavin’ ye to go alone. We should show a united front.”
Under less serious circumstances, Olivia might have found the exasperated expression on his face amusing. As it was, she was determined he should see things her way, for she had no intention of letting him go without her.
After a few moments of hesitation, he cursed under his breath and said with obvious reluctance, “Ach, all right, ye can come with me. But ye must swear to do everythin’ I tell ye when we get there. I cannae have ye gettin’ hurt.”
Triumphant, she beamed at him. “I swear. As long as what ye tell me to do makes sense.”
“Christ! Ye wee minx, ye make it impossible to say nay to ye,” he muttered in exasperation, turning the horses in the direction of the smoke and spurring Hamish into a canter, then a gallop.
15
“Oh Lord! Edan, ye can hear the villagers screamin’ and shoutin’ from here!” Olivia cried as they finally rode into the outskirts of the village, where the smoke was thicker than out on the moor and immediately irritated their throats.
“Aye, I wonder what’s afire to make so much smoke,” Edan replied, reining in the horses by a field gate some distance from the main street. “This smoke is bad for the horses,” he told Olivia. “We’ll leave them here and go on foot.”
He rapidly slid down from the saddle and lifted her down, then hurriedly tethered the horses to the gate.
“’Tis a scene of chaos,” she observed as she waited for him, squinting through the smoke at the marketplace a few hundred yards away. “There’s folk runnin’ all over the place!”
“Aye,” he replied, tense with worry for her safety and that of his people, as well as suspicious as to the cause of the blaze.
He was already regretting bringing her with him.
Pulling the kerchief from around his neck, he gave it to her. “Put this over yer face. It’ll help keep out the worst of the smoke,” he instructed, then waited while she did as he asked.
Reasonably satisfied that the kerchief would help protect her, he grabbed her by the hand.
