Her sheer pleasure at the rush of fresh air and the sensation of openness and freedom reinvigorated her.She cut her gaze to her left – limited though that freedom might be with Eoghan glaring down at her and the abbot standing in the middle of the crowd.
Eoghan slipped his knife from its sheath and held it near her neck.Her breath caught in her chest.
Was he going to kill her without giving her or her brother any chance to defend her?
“Gordon!Stay your hand!Let the abbot say his peace!”Eoghan shouted.
Ailith then noticed both Daniel and her brother had drawn their swords to threaten the abbot, who stood unmoving and looking down his beak-like nose at them.
Seocan swiveled his head, and upon seeing the weapon at Ailith’s throat, narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw.His sword arm shifted slightly.
“Drop your weapon, Eoghan.Dinna threaten the lass before we have the chance to prove her innocence.”Seocan lifted his head and looked at the small crowd around them.“Or is this what the Grants do?Slay innocent women without cause or reason?”
His accusation was a biting one, and several people bowed their heads to avert their eyes.Ailith noted Betris in the crowd, which counted fewer than had been in the village the night before.
Mayhap that meant most Grants didn’t agree with this rabid abbot and his accusations?Or didn’t care for her treatment?
Betris, unlike those clansmen and women standing next to her, did not drop her gaze.Nay, her brown gaze was sharp, a sword striking directly at Ailith.
Have I offended her so much?Ailith asked herself.Is her jealousy or the rumors about me so great that she would go this far to get back at me?Or is there something else motivating her?
At that moment, Ailith wondered if Betris had been sorely wounded in some way, and Ailith’s name had been tied to it.Had she lost a family member or a loved one at Dunnottar?That could be an explanation for her extreme actions.
Seocan and Daniel sheathed their swords as the knife left Ailith’s neck.
“Ye’ve made a horrible mistake,” Seocan continued.He wasn’t quite shouting, but the tone of his voice left no question about his ire.“If ye believe she is a pagan witch, we will pay the fine and take her home.She will never return to your lands.That I can promise.”
He said it not to discourage Ailith from ever returning, but as a warning of what would happen to the Grants if they tried something like this again.
Ailith couldn’t help herself.She cut a hard glare at Betris, a sour smile tugging at her cheek as if to saySee?All this for nothing.
Never had Ailith been so grateful to have someone on her side, especially this brother she had only known for a couple of months.He was defending her to the very end, and warm relief rushed through her chilled body.William might be absent, but at least her brother and Daniel had not abandoned her.
The thought of William struck her hard, and she hopelessly scanned the crowd to see if he had come for her.
No sign of his tall body or bright face.Her chest clenched until she struggled to breathe.
He’s no’ coming,a tiny voice in the back of her mind spoke up.
“Her punishment is no’ a fine,” the abbot intoned with his false sense of authority.
A ball formed in Ailith’s throat, and she gaped at the abbot.
What?He was going to throw her into a dungeon?
She flicked her panicked face to Daniel, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.He would not let that happen to her.
“She is far too dangerous and must be imprisoned for life to protect us all.”
The crowd tittered and buzzed with this information, and Ailith’s mind spun.Locking up pagans or witches for life?When hadthatstarted?Was the churchdoingthat in 900 CE?
Several Grants were kin to Danes and Norse and those yet unconverted to the Christian religion!Locking them up was a horrible and far-fetched solution and would only drive further divisions among the clans.No one, no clan, no chieftain with kin or connections to the Danish and Norse settlers would agree to such a punishment.
The chatter grew louder and attracted not only her attention, but the attention of her brother and Daniel, Eoghan, and the frowning, self-righteous abbot.Seocan and Daniel grabbed their swords again, stepping closer to Ailith as the crowd slowly parted.
Someone was riding into the impassioned village.
Ailith rubbed at her grainy eyes as Eoghan stiffened next to her.Surely, she had to be seeing things.
