Saving Grace

His wife took hold of one of the servants and tugged her along to stand in front of the laird.

"I ca

She spent a good five minutes praising the servant, and when she was finished, the laird stood up and smiled at Lucy. "You will be richly rewarded," he a

Joha

Bishop Hallwick captured her full attention. He stood in the center of the doorway on the other side of the hall. He was staring at her. She looked at his face for no more than a second or two, but that was long enough for her to see his expression. It was filled with loathing and disdain.

He was wearing cardinal red robes. Joha

The sight of him made her skin crawl. She would have left the hall without acknowledging the unholy man; but as she turned, she noticed the long narrow rod protruding from one of his satchels and she knew she couldn't leave without taking care of one last important duty.

She slowly walked over to the bishop. Her gaze was directed on the object of her anger. Before Hallwick could think to stop her, Joha

Hallwick took a step back. He tried to leave, but the Gillevrey soldiers blocked his exit.

Joha

She stood there a full minute without saying a word. She stared at the stick she held up. Hallwick stared at her. The hall became silent with expectation. Some might have thought she was about to strike the bishop. Gabriel knew better. He had followed her over to the old man and now stood just a foot or two behind her.

Joha

The wood was too thick, too new. Joha

And then she suddenly had the strength of twenty. Gabriel reached over her shoulders and placed his hands on top of hers. He waited for permission. She nodded.

The punishment rod snapped in half. The crack was like an explosion of thunder in the silent hall. Gabriel let go and moved back. Joha

She didn't look back.

Evening was Gabriel's favorite time of day. He liked to linger at the table to discuss the day's events and to plan tomorrow's duties with his soldiers. He never really listened to the men's suggestions or remarks, however. He pretended to, of course, but all the while he watched Joha

Nicholas and Clare had left for England over three months ago. Clare hadn't wanted to leave the Highlands, and it took Nicholas time and patience to coax her into going.

One relative had left, but another was on her way. Joha

In two weeks time he would leave to attend his first council meeting with the other lairds. He wouldn't be gone long, because Joha

Auggie and Keith had stolen the noser from the Kirkcaldy clan. Laird Gillevrey had mentioned the man and had made the comment he was the best noser in all of the Highlands. Auggie kept the noser locked up for a good long while once he'd selected the finest of the brew for them. The noser was named Giddy, and he was harmless enough. After a month or two of boredom, Auggie took mercy on him and let him try his hand at the game of striking the stones. Within a week, Giddy caught the fever. Now there were two fanatics digging holes all over the courtyard, the meadow, and the valley below, and Gabriel had the suspicion that, once the barrels had been traded and Giddy could go home, he probably wouldn't leave. He and Auggie had become fast friends; and when they weren't striking stones, they were dragging copper kettles to Auggie's cottage to convert into a more effective brewing apparatus.

Joha

Gabriel couldn't take issue with his wife. She was telling Alex the truth. It was a fact that maidens could rescue mighty, arrogant warriors. Joha

She was his saving grace.

Epilogue

England, 1210

The chamber was stale and musty with the scent of dying flesh. The room was filled with priests and students who surrounded the bed on all sides. They held candles up and chanted prayers over their esteemed bishop.

Hallwick was dying. His breath was shallow and uneven. He didn't have enough strength to open his eyes. Across the room was a round table covered with coins the priests had collected from the congregation to pay for indulgences for their bishop. They thought to buy his way into heaven, and the gold would be given to the church as assurance that any past sins the holy man might have inadvertently committed would be forgiven.

Hallwick had never tried to hide his hatred and his disgust for women. Yet the priests he'd trained didn't believe those views were sinful. They accepted as fact each and every dictate the bishop gave them and were determined to preach his beliefs to their own subjects so that Bishop Hallwick's good word would be carried down through the generations.

Yet in death the bishop contradicted himself. He died crying his mother's name.