“I’ll get going too, then,” Alistair said.
“Take my horse,” Sloan told Alistair.
Alistair nodded his agreement and mounted Sloan’s horse. Sloan approached Alistair once he was mounted and said, “Perhaps you should take my gun as well.”
“Perhaps I should,” Alistair agreed, sliding the revolver offered to him into the saddle holster. “Thanks,” Alistair said, nodding briefly, and nudging his horse into flight.
Sloan stared at the castle, then looked at David. “Naturally, David, I’ve quite a clear idea of what occurred in the past, since James McGregor had the whole of an ocean voyage to tell me about your days as convicts together. He worships the ground you walk on, by the by. Says you saved his life when a sadistic guard was about to beat him to death.”
David shrugged. “Few men could watch such an injustice without becoming involved,” he said.
“By God, David, it’s indeed good to see you alive, but what is going on here? How did Sabrina end up in such trouble?”
“Perhaps my Lady MacGinnis could best answer that question.”
Shawna stared at David, wondering what could have caused his furious mood toward her. She looked at Sloan. “Sabrina seems to have got caught up in whatever evil scheme is being carried out here. People dressed in hooded black cloaks are trying to kill other people, and that is all that I know. Perhaps David is much more aware of what is happening than I am. Especially since he himself is so very good at deceiving people.”
“Perhaps we’d best hurry back to the castle,” David said, “and learn what we can from Sabrina. Shawna, keep ahead of us, so we can watch your back.”
Shawna stepped ahead of the men, walking quickly. Fog still misted near the ground, but the moon rode very high and clear as they made their way from the cemetery, stepping around old and new stones, tall ones, broken ones, and all manner of funerary art. The brick entry loomed before them and, just around the corner from it, the chapel entry into the castle, closed and gated unless the chapel was in use. The main gates remained far around the curve of the stone edifice.
“How is it that you’ve managed to come here?” David asked Sloan as they walked just slightly behind Shawna. “I understand that the situation in the Dakota Territory is far more grave than ever.”
“Yes, it is that, and it grows worse, more and more of the whites determining that ‘the only good Indian is a dead one.’ And many of the commanders who favored crushing tactics during the war are making decisions in the West.”
“Sherman?”
“Alive and well and ruthless as ever.”
“But you remain in the cavalry?”
“I’ve taken a leave. I served through the war, and I’ve kept my commission since, and I’ve done what I can no matter what hotheaded politicians around me do or decree as policy. But now I believe I fight a losing battle. I have until January to return.”
“Again, I say it’s good to see you. I’m grateful, Sloan, that you have come. I think our numbers might matter greatly in this strange battle we’re fighting here.”
“A blood brother is a brother among the Sioux,” Sloan said. “And if I recall, you were with us often enough against the Crow—and before that, during the war.”
David nodded, moving closer to Shawna and brusquely slipping his arm around her waist. “We should move more quickly. We’ve no cover beyond the tombstones in the cemetery, and these cloaked figures seem to rise from sheer earth.” His pace was brisk as he urged them along.
“Who are they? What are they, David?” Sloan asked.
“The villagers suggest the mysterious happenings here are caused by the witches of Craig Rock,” David said quietly.
“The villagers are wrong. Edwina would never have hurt Sabrina in any way,” Shawna insisted. “I would trust Edwina with my life far more quickly than I would trust your tavern drunks!” She met David’s eyes in the moonlight. They remained so sharp, cold, and distant! His hold upon her felt like a grip of steel fingers. What had happened? She felt lost and betrayed. He had said that he’d loved her.
But he’d never really trusted her.
And now…
Something had happened that had made him angry with her all over again. What?
They reached the main entry to the castle and entered the great hall. Hawk awaited them near the door. “I’ve taken Sabrina to her room. Skylar is with her.”
“Good,” David said quietly. “Let’s join them there.”
Sabrina lay on the bed, her muddied gown replaced by a soft, angelic-looking nightdress. Her face had been bathed, her hair brushed. Skylar sat by Sabrina’s side, and Sabrina was sipping warm soup from an oversize cup.
Shawna came around to the other side of the bed.