The master-at-arms’s mouth tightened, goading her to further defend her stepbrother.
“At times Blar may appear to be arrogant,” Elspet admitted, her voice but a whisper beneath Cailin’s hard gaze, “but ’tis confidence in his abilities that guides his actions.”
“I find it odd that since Blar’s supposed arrest,” Sir Petrus said, “he now serves with the earl’s guard. An interesting position for a man whodespisesLord Dalkirk.”
Body trembling with fury, Elspet took another step closer. “’Tis rubbish. Blar, and I, were brought to Tiran Castleas prisoners.”
“Aye, but you escaped.” Pride flickered in Sir Petrus’s eyes. “An outrage that festers in the earl like a burr beneath a saddle. As for your stepbrother—” His expression darkened. “I canna tell you what convinced Lord Dalkirk to add him to his men’s ranks. Whatever the reason, Blar now rides on patrol with the guard and practices daily with the othersas if his due.”
Nausea swirled in her gut. “Itcanna be true.”
He gestured toward the opening. “Look for yourself. He is inthe lists now.”
Pulse racing, she moved forward. The master-at-arms admitted he didn’t like her stepbrother, but if Blar indeed trained with the earl’s men, she assured herself ’twas due to his being threatened with imprisonment or death. That he’d voluntarily join the earl’s guard was unthinkable.
Elspet peered out. Sunlight struggled to break through the dense overcast, leaving the hard, snow-encrusted ground suffocated withina murky gray.
A gust whipped past, then another, hurling snow through the air as if another layer of gloom as she gazed past the bailey toward where the knights trained.
The clang of blades rang out as two men sparred tothe far right.
She studied both, the distance making it difficult to see their faces. Frustrated, she slowly scanned the other fighters, searching for anyone resembling her brother. On a relieved breath, she stepped back. “I see nay one who resembles Blar.”
Sir Petrus walked over, peered out. “Look by the well.”
On an unsteady breath, she again moved to the opening, stared at several men standing around the well taking turns drinking from a ladle.
Heart pounding, she slowly scanned each one. At the third fighter, she stilled.
Blar. Laughing at something anotherman had said.
Relief coursed through her so swiftly that she almost swayed. She’d prayed, had even resorted to thievery to try to save him. Though Sir Petrus thought poorly of her stepbrother, at this moment she was grateful the earl had spared his life.
She turned. “Blar is out there, which proves little more than that, by some miracle, he is alive and has been successful in hiding his disdainfor the earl.”
The master-at-arms’s mouth flattened, but he remained silent.
Cailin crossed to the hidden viewpoint. “Which man is Blar?”
She crossed her arms. “The third from the left at the well.”
Cailin peered out. After a long moment, he stepped back, and as his eyes met hers, his expression cool.
For the first time, doubt seeped through Elspet. Shaken, she lowered her arms. Had Blar betrayed her? Had he turned his back on his family, on the bond they’d forgedover the years?
She wanted to dismiss her misgivings of a man who was like a brother to her, but a question haunted her. “Sir Petrus, after my escape, do you know if Blar tried to find me?”
“He rode out several times with a band, searching for you.”
Proof that he was trying to find her, but because he rode on the earl’s orders, the master-at-arms wouldn’t see it that way. “Do you know if he ever slipped out to look for me?”
“He did not.”
The hardness of his tone set her on edge. “How can you be sure?”
“He is beneath my command. Had he left his post, departed during the night, slipped away from the band, I would havebeen notified.”
Far from the answer she wanted, but she refused to give up hope. “There must be a sound reason for Blar’s actions,” she insisted. Her stepbrother’s loyalty to the earl was surely a ruse as he plotted a way to find her. And once he’d earned the earl’s trust, his actions wouldn’t be under scrutiny. Then, when he did slip away to search for her, after his brief time as a guard, they would havecoin to escape.
