“In that case, I’m taking her to her wise woman.”
“I’ve captured the runaway team,” Ulfr called as he rode toward them, leading the panting animals behind him. “They tired of their escape at last.”
Chase was already in his saddle, leaning down to take Christiana from Hall’s arms by the time Ulfr reached their side.
“Here now, what’s this? What do you think yer doing with our laird’s sister?”
Chase had no time for Ulfr’s questions. “If I stay on this path, will it lead me directly to the wise woman?”
“Yes, but...” The captain looked from Chase to Hall and back again, his eyes narrowing. “We’re no going forward now. We’ll head back to Tordenet and return with a work detail to repair the wagon.”
“No,you’llhead back to Tordenet. Christiana’s hurt. She says this Orabilis can help her, so I’m taking her there.”
Chase urged his horse forward to speed down the trail. It didn’t matter what Ulfr had to say. He was doing what needed to be done, and he’d deal with the consequences later.
“STRONG BARRELS, EH?”Halldor slapped a hand down on one, still intact in spite of the accident. Turning his back on the quickly disappearing rider, he gatheredup the reins of his own animal and climbed into the saddle. “I pray the wise woman’s healing skills are good enough to justify our lady’s faith in her.”
“Good as any, I’d suppose.” Ulfr turned his horse back in the direction they’d come from. “Though you’d no catch me putting my own self into the clutches of one such as her. Wise woman, my arse. A witch she is, plain and simple.”
It would do little good to point out that a talented witch could often be a valuable ally. Such thoughts would be wasted on the likes of this captain. They rode in silence for the next several minutes, the guilt of not having done enough to prevent the accident preying on Halldor’s mind. He should never have lost his temper.
“Unpleasant business, this,” he intoned, as much to himself as to his traveling companion. “I suppose our laird will be heartily displeased at news of his sister’s injuries.”
“Mayhap.” Ulfr shrugged. “But like as no, his ire will be tempered by the knowledge that yer brother is the one he seeks.”
Halldor tugged on his reins, bringing his horse to a stop. He didn’t care for the sound of that. “Explain yourself.”
“My lord directed that I should seek to determine which of you it is that fulfills Mistress Christiana’s Vision. It was foretold that the rightful man would see himself as her defender.”
“Visions? Of future events?”
Now there was a twist he’d not counted on. And if Torquil was so set upon determining which of them had appeared in the good lady’s visions, it seemed only wise to hinder that determination in any way he could.
“Aye,” Ulfr confirmed.
“And it was for this reason you behaved as you did to the good lady we accompanied?”
Ulfr only nodded, as if he suspected he’d already said too much. Perhaps he had.
“It’s not that I want to ruin your plan to tell your laird that my brother is the man he seeks, but I feel that I should be honest with you about one small detail.”
“Aye? And that would be?”
“The only reason it was Chase instead of me who ended up defending our good lady against your rudeness is that I was on the opposite side of the wagon at the time.”
Ulfr swung his head in denial. “No, yer brother was ready to do battle over Mistress Christiana. It’s him, no you, as I figure it.”
“Could be you’re right. Not having all the information available, I’ll be the first to admit I could be wrong.” Halldor paused, waiting for his words to lull the other man. “On the other hand, I can tell you this much for a fact. If I ever see you treating our good lady in such an accursed manner again, I’ll crush your head between my own two hands like a dried apple between rocks. You follow my meaning?”
Ulfr nodded, this time pulling his horse a few steps ahead of Halldor.
That should give the worm something to think over, and something to pass along to his laird, as well.
The silence hung over them for miles, which Halldor appreciated, since it freed him to consider more important matters.
And chief among them was deciding which he found more interesting: that Mistress Christiana frequented Skuld’s world in visions of the future, or that he and Chase Noble somehow figured into those visions.
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