There Your Heart Will Be Also (7 page)

Sarra went back to the keep. Inside the study she found a chair and sat down
. H
er
fingers
were
tapping out a rhythm upon the arm when Charism came in.

“Ye sent for me?”

“Aye, I did,” a sigh escaped, as Sarra spoke,
“Charism
,
something is wrong.
”

Charism sat. “Aye?”

Sarra shared what Cedric had told her in the lists
, expressing her concerns aloud.
“
How could
this stranger
possibly have known about the head?”

“Mayhap he doesn't know.
He might have heard about it somewhere and
thought
the sight of such
would scare him
,
”
said Charism.

“No, I tell you
.
H
e knows something.”

“Does it matter if he does?
From what you've said
,
the young man
is a commoner
who
has come to the keep.
Do
ye
know why he is here?”

“Nay.”

“Did ye
ask him?”

“
Of course not.
What possible reason would I have to ask him such questions?”

“Ye are the mistress.
Ye have a right to know who is in
yer
keep and for what purpose.”

“Aye.
That's true.
But he doesn't know I'm…”

“Ye didn't tell him?
Why not?
Who does he think
ye
are?”

“All he k
nows is my name is Sarra.”

“I see.”

“What am I going to do?”

“Ignore it.”

“But—“

“Tell Sir Henry to have him watched
or t
ell the
man the
truth.
There is nothin
'
else ye can do
,
”
stated Charism
matter-of-factly
.

“But what if—
”

“Sarra, ye have to give up and let God help ye.
I know ye don't like the idea of
H
is
L
ordship the King choosing ye a husband
,
but what if God picked ye a man
?
Would ye be willing to accept
H
is choice?”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm sayin' ye do what ye need to do.
But remember honest
y
is always the best way to go.
Tell this man who ye are and maybe he'll tell ye who he is.”

The rest of the day, Sarra thought on Charism's words.
The elderly woman was full of wisdom.
And
almost always
right.
Sarra needed to pray, pick a course of action, and
carry it out.

Walking through the village, Sarra felt a renewing of purpose.
Her plan was
to find Cedric MacNeil and discover exactly why he was in Greenbriar.
Even if she had to ask him directly.

****

A piece of wood rested in his hands.
The wood took shape as
Cedric
shaved and carved.
As a place to work, Cedric had settled himself on a large rock outside the keep walls.
The rock was in plain sight of the estate and offered a certain amount of privacy.

In his own keep,
to leave
his back exposed
could lead to death
.
H
is family
could
not
be trusted.
I
f
his demise
benefitted them
, it would be done
.
But here he felt safe.
No one in Greenbriar knew who he was beyond his name.
They had no reason to want him dead
.
Y
et.

Cedric
felt
a
presence long before
a noise was
heard.
Quickly
tucking
the
carving
into his sporran
,
h
e waited patiently for the intruder to make
himself
known.
A twig snapped behind him.
He resisted the urge to pick up his sword in a defensive posture and instead
slowly turned to
face
his visitor
, a scowl on his face
.

Fear lit
Sarra's
eyes
.
She
appeared ready to
run back to
the keep
and bolt herself
within
.
Her
throat
move
d
as
the young
lass
swallowed back her fear.
Instead of running
,
s
he
surprised him by
thrusting
a
heavy basket
toward him
.
“I thought you might be hungry
.
”

Cedric
jumped off the boulder and took the basket from her weighted arms.

“Thank you.
”

“
Where would ye like to set the food?”

“Doesn't matter, any spot will suffice.”

Cedric picked a
place
in front of the huge rock.
In his opinion
,
this gave them a rest for their backs and a break from prying eyes.
He took the quilt stuffed in the basket and spread it upon the ground.
While
Sarra settled herself
,
Cedric
relieved
the basket of its contents
.
Always vigilant
,
h
e spotted movement in the trees
.
Several
knight
s
stood
in the bushes.
So the
village
lass wasn't alone.
Why would knights be following the
maid
?
Perhaps she was in some sort of trouble
?

Ignoring their
uninvited companions, Cedric
continued with his tasks.
Inside the basket was
a block of
cheese, black bread, a couple
of
legs of mutton, and a jug of ale with two goblets.

Cedric poured them both a goblet and handed one to Sarra.
She
picked up a loaf of the fresh
-
made bread
and searched
the basket
until
she found
what
she
sought
.
Breaking
it
in half,
she
slathered each side with the butter, and handed Cedric a piece.

They ate in silence.
Sarra seemed like she wanted to say something.
Instead of allowing her to speak first
Cedric
s
aid, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Sarra wiped her mouth clean before answering.
“I thought since you were new to the keep
,
you might not be eating well.
I had some leftovers and thought I would share.”

“These are ye
r
leftovers?
Who are ye feeding
at ye house
?
A
n army?”

Sarra
's avo
ided his question
by asking one of her own
.
“Do you like the food?”

“Aye, I do.
Thank ye kindly.”

“What were you doing when I walked up?”

“Nothing important.”

“Oh.
”
Cedric sensed hesitation.
Then Sarra
asked
,
“
Do you mind if I ask why you've come to Greenbri
a
r?”

“
Aye
, ye may ask.”

Confusion knit her brow as he
failed to
continue with an answer.
Sarra
's
expression was one of frustration when she spoke
.
“Well, I'm asking.
Why have you come to Greenbriar?”

“I've come for land,” he blurted.

“Land?”

“Aye.”

Sarra appeared uncomfortable.
When she spoke
again
it was with a
n
uncertain
voice.
“I don't understand.
As far as I know there is no
available
land anywhere near
here
.”

“Aye, that's true.”

“Oh, this must be a stop along the way.
I'm sure w
hile you are here
the mistress would want you
to enjoy the fruits of Greenbriar's labor.”

“I fully intend to, lass,”
Cedric
said, with
a
smile spreading across his face.
Sarra shifted
around
as h
is eyes
started at her toes and roved all the way up
,
stopping at her face.

The rest of the meal was completed in silence.
When they were finished Cedric gathered the food
and placed it
back in the basket
. S
ide by side
they headed b
ack
to the keep.
They walked through the gate
and Cedric handed her the large container
.
Their
fingers brushed across
each other
in an innocent gesture, but Cedric's pulse raged.
H
e
jerk
ed his hand away
quickly
,
not wishing her to see the reaction she'd caused
.

Turning his face away,
he said,
“Thank ye for the
fine
meal.”

“
You're
welcome.”

“Maybe I'll see ye around the keep again sometime
,
”
Cedric added with hope in his voice.

“Perhaps.”

“Tell the mistress of the Greenbriar I appreciate the food.”

“What?”
asked Sarra.

“
Y
e are headed to the keep's kitchen
,
”
stated Cedric.

“Aye.
I was.”

“A
re
ye
the mistress
'
maid?”
he asked, noticing how the lass seemed thrown off guard.

“The m
istress
' maid?”

“Aye.
Tell her thanks for the food and the welcome.
If all ye
r
strangers receive the same type of treatment
,
I can see wh
y
no one would want to leave.”

“Oh,
aye
.
Of course.
I'll be sure to tell her.”

Cedric bowed in Sarra's direction
,
turned on his heel and left. T
he
heat
of her
lingering
stare
was
felt
all the way across the yard.

In the
afternoon, Sarra changed clothes
and
headed for the main hall.
The dinner table was full upon her arrival.
She took her seat
at
the
head
, and
gazed
around at the others in attendance.
T
he two housemaids
,
Ella and Shelly,
sat
along one side of the table. Opposite them
were
Sir Henry
and
the keep
knights
.
Charism
took the seat next to her
.

Cook walked around the large table making sure the food was all in place.
Sarra couldn't help but smile.
She felt blessed just to share her bounty with others.

When he finished
,
Cook
took his own seat
.
Sarra said,
“Cook, would you mind
saying grace tonight
?
”

Cook
nodded and began.
Once
he'd
finished,
S
arra
watched as the others served themselves from the heaping platters of food
.
This brought back memories of
the lunch consumed earl
ier
in the day.
Cedric had made sure she was served first
, e
ven waiting until her first bite
was taken
before he touched his
own
food.

Looking at the crowd of people sitting around her, all of them from a different station of life
,
she
was struck with loneliness
.
How was it possible to be surrounded by people yet feel
completely
alone?

Her mind
wandered
back to the way she felt earlier.
Even in their silence
she
had felt at peace.
Cedric was an unusual person.
Huge in appearance yet soft spoken, thoughtful, gentle.
When asked why he was visiting Greenbriar, h
is
answer
was
startl
ing
.
The more
the
conversation
came to mind
the more
she realized
h
e'd never explained what land he was after.

As
she
took a bite of
the fresh
bread, a thought crossed her mind
.
C
ould he be after Greenbriar?
Why Cedric might be inside to scout out the keep and its weaknesses
?
Could a
group of men
be
waiting in the wings to attack
?
How stupid she
'
d been
!
She
had
walked right into his trap
!
The perpetrator of this plan knew exactly how to
affect
her.
Send in a handsome man and have him pay her the least bit of attention and she would fall right into his arms.

As soon as the afternoon meal was complete
,
she
would need to speak with Sir Henry.
The countryside needed to be combed to make sure no one was set to attack.
They would need to be more observant.
S
he
wouldn't sleep easy until Cedric MacNeil was gone from her keep
and her life
.