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in her bodice.
Once they were safely away from the inn, they would don the robes of a leper and no one, not even
thieves, would dare stop them then.
They would be home in no time.
"Are we to walk all the way home?" Jamie asked.
Callie smiled. "Just a little farther, sweeting."
"But my legs are so tired, Callie. Can we not stop for a rest? Just a little one? A minute or two before
my legs fall off and then I'll never be able to run again."
She didn't dare stop. Not when they were so close to leaving this place behind.
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Lifting Jamie up in her arms, she held him to her side and continued on. "Och, lad, you've gotten heavy,"
she said as she skirted women carrying baskets of market goods. "Why, I remember when you scarce
weighed as much as a loaf of bread."
"Did Da sing to me then?"
Callie's heart clenched at his question. Poor Jamie barely remembered their father, who had died almost
three years ago. "Aye," she said, squeezing him. "He sang to you every night when your mother would
put you to bed."
"Was he a big man like Dermot?"
Callie smiled at the mention of their brother. At ten-and-six, Dermot stood a good three inches taller
than she. "Bigger than Dermot." Indeed, her father was closer to Lord Sin's height.
"Do you think he'll be happy to see my mother while he's in heaven with yours?"
Callie arched a brow at the odd question. "Mercy, imp, wherever do you think up these questions?"
"Well, I was just wondering. One of the king's knights told me that poor servants can't go to heaven,
only noble people can. I was thinking then that God wouldn't want my mother there with yours."
Callie took a deep breath at the nonsense. Her mother may have been of royal blood and Jamie's
mother a simple shepherdess, but only a fool would spout off such rampant stupidity. And to a wee bairn,
no less.
"He was being mean to you, Jamie. God loves all people equally. Your mother is a good soul who loves
us, and the Lord in His mercy will see her in heaven along with the rest of us when, God forbid, she dies."
"Well, what "
"Jamie, please," she begged. "I'm needing every breath to carry you. Please, no more questions."
"Very well." He wrapped his thin arms around her neck and laid his head on her shoulder.
Callie walked on for as long as she could, but after a time her arms and back ached. "Lad, I need for
you to walk on your own for a bit."
Jamie got down and held on to her skirts as they headed along another crowded street.
"How many days do you think it'll take us to walk through London? A hundred? Two hundred?"
It felt like two thousand. "We'll get out eventually. Try not to think about that. Think about being home
again."
"Can I think about my mother's mincemeat tarts?"
"Sure."
"Can I think about Uncle Aster's horse?"
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"Fine."
"Can I think "
"Jamie, my love, can you please think to yourself?"
He heaved a weary sigh, as if the burden of thinking to himself were more than he could bear.
Callie pulled him to a stop as she spied a group of mounted knights riding through the city. She let go of
Jamie's hand to pull her veil around her face in case they should glance her way.
Laughing, the mounted knights paid no heed to her. But it wasn't until they had ridden past that her heart
stopped thudding and she found her wobbly legs able to continue on.
"That was close," she breathed. She reached to retake Jamie's hand, only to realize he wasn't there.
Oh, Lord, nay!
"Jamie!" she called, scanning the crowd around her. "Jamie!" Her panic gripped her anew. She saw no
sight of his brown cap. No sight of his red curls.
Where could the wee lad be?
"Jamie!"
Terror consumed her. Where was he? Where could he have gone to? He'd been right beside her only an
instant before, and she had told him a thousand and one times not to wander off. Especially not in
unknown places where strangers were about.
Oh, Lord, anything could happen to him!
Callie scanned the crowd again, seeing several small children, but none that bore any resemblance to her
imp.
Could he be in trouble? Her heart hammering, she searched all around her as fast as she could.
"Blessed Sainted Mary, where could you be, lad?" she whispered over and over as she searched.
"Please, Lord, give me my brother back. I swear I'll never again ask him to be quiet and I'll answer every
single question he asks. I'll never ever lose patience with him again. Just please, God, please let me find
him before something happens to him." Tears welled in her eyes.
He could have fallen in the river or he could have gotten run over by a cart. He could have been
kidnapped by thieves or some horrid such! Her mind played through numerous horrific scenarios, and all
of them culminated with Jamie needing her and she not being there to protect him.
If anything happened to him, she would never be able to live with herself.
The pain in her chest was excruciating. It tore through her lungs, making it hard to breathe.
She had no idea where to look. No idea how to find him in this foreign city.
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Through her panic only one clear thought emerged.
Lord Sin.
He would find Jamie. She was sure of it.
Now she just had to find him.
Sin scanned the crowd around him while he rode through the streets. He'd cornered poor Aelfa, and
with little provocation the maid had confessed Caledonia's plan. Now he just had to get to the inn before
the wench bought her horses.
With Simon behind him, they were making good time.
Out of the crowd, Sin spied a light blue veil on a woman so tall she stood head and shoulders above
those around her. Even though she appeared frantic and hurried, he recognized her instantly.
"Caledonia!" he called.
She stopped immediately.
Instead of running away as he expected, she rushed to his side. "Blessed saints and glory," she said, her
face streaked by tears as she placed her hands against his right leg. Her desperate touch shouldn't have
affected him at all, and yet it burned his skin with a throbbing heat that pulsed straight to his groin. "I am
so glad to see you."
Her words set him back. Never in his life had anyone said such a thing to him, let alone held such a
sincere look about it.
Something bad must surely have happened, for her to want to see the likes of him.
It was then he realized the boy wasn't with her. Sliding from his horse, he held her by her arms. "What
has happened?"
"It's Jamie." She shrugged his touch away, grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the street with
her as she looked all about. "He's gone and we have to find him. He was here a few minutes ago and
then he vanished. Jamie!" she shouted his name.
Several people looked at them, but no one answered.
"Simon," he called. "The boy is missing. Can you see him from up there?"
Simon shook his head and moved his horse to stand beside them. "Where were you when he
disappeared?"
She wiped her eyes with her hands and looked up at Simon. "Not very far from where we were
yesterday. Maybe one street over."
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"By the baker's shop with the stuffed squirrel in the window?" Simon asked.
"Aye. I believe so."
Sin arched a brow at the expression on Simon's face. "You think you know where he might have gone?"
"Aye." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]