“No, My Lady. We need to get back to his lordship.”
I nodded. The desperation of the situation was painfully apparent. Moray would be won or lost in this battle. Gillacoemgain needed every man he had. And even that would not be enough. I had to try to do something. After all, if he died…no, I would not think of it.
“May the Great Mother see you safely returned,” I told him.
“And you safely delivered,” he replied with a smile. “Be safe, Lady Gruoch,” he said, a serious expression on his face.
“Thank you. And you.”
He nodded.
With that, the Moray men headed out of the castle and back to Gillacoemgain.
“What can I get for you?” Madelaine asked me as she rubbed my back and shoulders. “Do you want a bath? Something to eat?”
“All I want is sleep.”
“I have a room prepared for you,” she replied, motioning to a serving girl.
“You’ll see to Ute and Thora?”
Madelaine nodded, lent me her arm, then we headed upstairs. I exhaled deeply. It felt good to be back in Madelaine’s care.
Upstairs, I entered a chamber already warmed by a cheery fire. Madelaine helped me re-dress then lowered me into bed, covering me.
“No fever,” she said, checking my forehead.
“No, I’m only tired.”
“Sleep, little raven,” she whispered, gently kissing my forehead. A moment later, I heard the chamber door close behind her.
I closed my eyes. My thoughts sprang at once to Gillacoemgain.
“Dark lady, protect him,” I whispered as I fell asleep.
Just as I drifted off, I heard a reply come in a whisper. No.
Chapter 24
We rose early the following morning and headed out. The sun had barely risen over the horizon. Fat snowflakes fell. The ruby red of the sun cast a rosy blush on the snow. Kelpie’s deep breaths cast clouds of fog as we headed into the woods. We rode slowly. My body was already sore from the long ride, and I felt a terrible strain in my groin. I rode wincing at every bump. If I had waited in Moray even another day, I would not have made it on time.
As was our habit, we stopped at the stream to bid Tavis farewell.
“My thoughts will be with you,” Tavis told me.
“Thank you. Please, stay warm. You’ll send Uald to check on him?” I asked Madelaine who nodded.
“I have my bear fur,” he told me.
I nodded, but as I looked closely at Tavis, I recognized that he wasn’t the young man he once was. His days of sleeping on the cold ground should come to a close.
Madelaine and Tavis embraced, kissing goodbye, then my aunt and I headed deep into the forest.
Our slow pace made the ride cumbersome. Finally giving up, I asked Madelaine to help me dismount. Thora, too excited to wait, ran ahead.
“It hurts,” I told her, wincing as a terrible ache gripped me.
“Too much riding. It wasn’t safe,” Madelaine said, the look of frustration on her face evident as she helped me slowly slide off.
“It could not be helped. I wasn’t safe in Cawdor.”
“But Gillacoemgain’s forces are riding north.”
“And Macbeth’s and Thorfinn’s are riding south.”
Madelaine frowned, worry marring her features. “Was Moray…doesn’t Gillacoemgain have the support he needs? Isn’t Malcolm sending reinforcements?”
I stopped to catch my breath, wincing as I pressed my fists into my lower back. I gazed at the snow-covered limbs hanging over me. The forest really did look beautiful. The morning light had given way to soft slants of light. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of pine and snow.
“Did you ever stop to wonder how Macbeth escaped?” I asked Madelaine.
“Macbeth?”
“How could Malcolm’s ward slip away so easily? How is it that Macbeth was able to find his way home and rally those opposed to Gillacoemgain? When my husband sought his allies, he found many were already arming to cut him down. How could that have happened? How could a single man, without a father, an army, or an estate—save that ruled by Gillacoemgain—manage it?”
“Do you think Malcolm…that Malcolm sent Macbeth north? Against Gillacoemgain?”
“I think that Malcolm wants what he wants, when he wants it, and he is apt to change his mind. Malcolm told Gillacoemgain to send me to Aberdeen.”
“But that would put you on the coast.”
“Easy pickings…for Duncan.”
Madelaine shook her head. “My half-brother…he is nothing like Boite and me. We will pray to the Goddess that Gillacoemgain survives. I see in your eyes that you’ve come to love him. For your sake, for your children’s, and for Scotland, we’ll pray for his victory.”
I reached out and squeezed Madelaine’s hand. Snowflakes fell on her red hair. How like a fey thing she looked in the winter woods. “Where do you get that red hair?” I asked my aunt, dusting the snowflakes away.
“My father,” she said. While Madelaine, Boite, and Malcolm had all shared a mother, Aelfgifu, Madelaine’s father had died young, freeing up her mother to marry Kenneth II. “I remember him just a little. I was very young when he died. But I remember his big red beard.” She smiled wistfully, lost in her thoughts.
“What was your mother like?” I asked her as we moved forward once more through the snow.
Madelaine smiled. “When she was young, she was full of laughter. From what I remember, she was very happy married to my father. But Malcolm’s and Boite’s father, Kenneth, was not an easy man. I think some of the light went out inside her when she married him.”
“As it does for many women,” I said.
“Yes,” Madelaine said absently. “But not with you, my little raven. It seems, despite your apprehension, Gillacoemgain and you found your way.”
“He was not the man many thought he was.”
“Then we shall pray all the more for him. Come,” she said, taking my arm. “Let’s get you settled before you birth your little ones in the snow.
It was not long after that I saw Thora darting through the woods, Uald following behind her.
“When I saw Thora, I thought I’d better check on you,” she told us. “Corbie, are you carrying a litter?” she asked with a laugh.
“Perhaps I carry a babe of the high hills. Such great men have not been seen in a thousand years. I thought it was time to rekindle their blood.”
Uald chuckled then took Kelpie’s reins. Working slowly, we finally made it to the coven by midday.
The little space was covered in a blanket of snow. Smoke puffed out of the small chimneys—including Sid’s. I was happy and relieved to learn she was there.
The sound of the horses and Thora’s happy barks caught everyone’s attention. No sooner had we arrived than Epona and Sid emerged from Epona’s house.
Sid smiled at me, shaking her head. “Looks like my bed is the only one that will fit her. Might as well put her stuff in there,” she told Uald.
“Oh Cerridwen,” Epona said, looking worried. “How are you?”
“Tired and achy.”
“The ride from Moray?”
“Kelpie did his best. It was a long ride, but we made it.”
“Once Uald gets your things settled, I’d like to examine you.”
I nodded wearily.
“Sweet friend,” Sid said, setting her hand on my stomach. “Come,” she said, leading me to her little cabin. Madelaine followed behind us. The moment I stepped into the little cabin, it was like I’d stepped into liquid heat. The room was bathed in the cheery orange glow of the firelight. The logs on the fire popped and crackled. I was relieved to be out of the cold. Once inside, I could also see that her cabin was already ready. She had a cot made up for herself, and the bed ready for me. She’d been expecting me all along. With a heavy sigh, I sat down on the bed and started peeling off my heavy riding clothes. My body hurt. The little ones were pressing down so hard I felt like they were going to come out at any moment. At the same time, I could barely breathe.