Candace Robb - The Fire In The Flint

He shrugged, nodded half-heartedly. ‘Not often enough to occupy me.’

‘And you have Janet.’

‘Aye. She’s a treasure.’ He forced a smile.

Margaret did not trust herself to say much more. ‘I must find Celia, ready our packs.’ She opened her arms to embrace her uncle. ‘I’ll miss you more than I can say.’

‘And I you, lass.’ He gathered her up and kissed her on the cheek.

She almost wept at the familiar scent of him — sea, smoke, sweat, ale, and stable. ‘God bless you for all you’ve done, Uncle.’

‘God will bless me for some things, condemn me for others. We’ll none of us ken till Judgement Day where we stand with Him.’ He stepped back, releasing her. ‘Now go, see to Celia. And to James. He wouldn’t take it well to hear you’d gone without a farewell.’

Margaret had forgotten about James. How she wished she were riding to Perth with him. She understood him — he wanted to restore his kinsman to the throne of Scotland. But Roger was a puzzle to her, his allegiance to the Bruce vague and his insistence on a quick departure frightening. Though it had been her idea to return to Perth, now she felt as if she were being wrest away from all she held dear. What had been her journey had become Roger’s, and she no longer knew the goal.

Ashen-faced, Celia gazed down at the clothes spread on the bed. ‘That one has a stain on the bodice. And there’s a tear on the hem of the gown you’re wearing.’

Margaret heard the echo of her own confusion in Celia’s voice. ‘As travellers we’ll not be expected to be tidy. Rest a while, and I’ll help you later.’

Celia regarded Margaret, her eyes dark beneath the heavy brows. ‘I see by your expression this haste is not your doing.’

Margaret told her of her uncle’s theory. ‘So it is for our own good.’

With an expressive sigh, Celia folded a corner of a gown and sank down on to the space so cleared, her small hands on her knees, studying the plank floor. ‘Tell me again what your house is like.’

Celia had never been to Perth. Margaret recalled how uneasy she had felt as a child travelling to Dunkeld to see her mother’s parents. Her keenest memory was how the alien smell of everything made her lose her appetite for a few days. Celia had not been interested in food when they’d first arrived in Edinburgh last spring, and though tiny the maid usually had a healthy appetite.

‘Are you certain you wish to come with us?’ Margaret asked. ‘I’ve just told you of the danger.’

Celia’s thick, dark, almost joined brows bunched beneath her broad, pale forehead. ‘I am in danger whenever I encounter a soldier in this town. I think nowhere is safe at present. Tell me about the house. It will give me something pleasant to think about.’

‘It’s larger and tidier than this, you can be sure,’ Margaret said, forcing a smile. ‘It is the second house from the market cross, near the river, but not too near. There is a large kitchen in the backland, and two small chambers over the far side of the hall. We have few furnishings, but it is solidly built to withstand the fiercest winds and the hall sits over an undercroft to protect us from the floods.’

‘Floods?’

‘Sometimes the mountain snows melt so quickly the Tay runs over its banks,’ Margaret said. ‘But the canals on three sides of the town catch most of the flood to turn the mill wheels and carry barges,’ she hastened to add, noting Celia’s apprehension. ‘And there are water meadows around the town, full of birds.’

‘You never want for water, then,’ Celia said, with an uncertain laugh.

Margaret thought it better not to speak of how floods might contaminate wells. ‘You’ll like my friend Ada. She is my mother’s age, but nothing like her — she’s practical and clever — in faith, she’s educated. She was the mistress of a great, generous lord. He bought her the home in which she lives on Northgate and the costliest silks.’ She was glad to see Celia’s eyes light up at that. ‘I have missed her good counsel.’

But the day would soon fade. ‘I must see James and Father Francis.’ She regretted deserting Celia when the maid needed reassurance, but there was so little time.

James guessed Margaret’s errand by her boldness in coming to his home, something she had not risked since Roger’s appearance. He was not surprised by her news, understanding the need to depart when the time was right. More interesting was Margaret’s distress. She looked ready to burst into tears, or to scream, neither of which he cared to witness.

‘It is what you wanted,’ he reasoned, offering her a chair.

Margaret ignored his offer, choosing to pace between the hearth and James, cupping one fist with the other, then reversing, as if warming her hands, though the room was actually stuffy. ‘Is it what I wanted, or have I walked into a trap?’ As soon as she said it, she pressed a hand to her mouth and shook her head as if arguing with herself. ‘I did not mean that.’

‘You did, I believe,’ said James. ‘What has happened?’

She turned away and bowed her head. ‘I caught Roger in a lie.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘I asked what had happened between here and Dundee last summer.’

James heard with interest Sinclair’s tale of the Brankstons, how it was because of them that he’d gone to the aid of Edwina of Carlisle.

‘But he’d brought her to Edinburgh before he returned to Perth,’ Margaret said. ‘Before he knew of the Brankstons’ tragedy.’

‘Ah. She did come in summer. Did you point that out?’

‘He said he tells me “half truths” for my protection.’

James merely nodded. ‘I should be able to learn more of the Brankstons for you.’

‘You are a good friend. I wish …’ She stopped. ‘I’m making little sense. I decided to leave Edinburgh without thinking how I would miss my uncle. I might never see him again.’

James found it an odd shift in subject, but Margaret was overwrought. ‘If it is any comfort, I’ll shortly be travelling north. I’ve been summoned by Wallace. He’s meeting me near Perth. I’ll find a way to get word to you about how you might find me if you need to.’

James had expected Margaret to look relieved, but she disappointed him. She groaned as she halted a few paces from him and her eyes were dark with tears.

‘I counted on you to watch after Uncle Murdoch.’ The last word caught in her throat.

‘Your uncle is his own man,’ James reminded her. ‘I have no influence over him. And you’d get little thanks from him for assigning me as his caretaker. You should not worry about him.’

‘But of course I’ll worry about him.’ Her voice was almost shrill. ‘He’s not a young man.’

‘Calm yourself, Margaret.’ James set the chair behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and pressed her down on to it. He felt the heat of her agitation through the thin cloth of her summer gown.

Margaret folded into herself, wrapping her arms about her middle. ‘God help me, my mind is full of such noise I cannot hear my thoughts.’

‘You must take some ease.’ Calling his servant, James ordered watered wine. He often forgot these days how young Margaret was, not yet twenty, and as the daughter of a merchant brought up to marry a merchant her background had ill-prepared her for her role in this contest of kings. As a Comyn he’d been born with a taste and a stomach for intrigue. His sister Eleanor could outwit the craftiest courtier. It was in their blood, and feuds between families had been their bedtime stories.

The servant delivered the wine and was dismissed. Crouching before Margaret, James offered her the cup. ‘You have a long journey ahead of you, exhausting enough without the added torment of worries and regrets about those you’ve left behind. Our king needs you to hear what he cannot be there to hear himself. He needs you alert and calm to observe all that happens in Perth.’