“Aye, so I’ve heard.”
“Any suggestions?”
Beth gave her a suspicious look. “Do ye intend to set out after Malcolm?”
“No. I wouldn’t know where to go, and I don’t have the supplies needed for such an undertaking.” Her frustration boiled over. “I want to gather some plants for medicinal purposes and do a little hunting. That’s all.”
“I’ll speak with Ian. He has a boat. Ye must avoid the ferry and the landing. Liam will be watching.”
She thanked her and went in search of Elaine, the only other person with whom she’d share her plans and her whereabouts. The room they shared stood empty, so she set out for the solar. Elaine sat with her mother by the peat fire burning in the hearth. She worked with a spindle to turn the wool in her lap into yarn. “Elaine, come out to the bailey for a walk with me.”
“Nay. The day is cold and damp, True,” she said without taking her eyes from her task.
“Elaine.” Alethia shifted from foot to foot, willing her friend to look at her. Oblivious, Elaine’s focus remained on the yarn she twisted, but Lydia noticed and took the cue.
“I’ve been meaning to speak with the cook,” Lydia said, rising from her place. “If you two will excuse me.”
Finally Elaine looked her way. “Oh.” She looked from her mother to Alethia. “What is it?”
Taking the place Lydia had vacated, Alethia thought about how best to broach what weighed on her mind. “I need your help. I want to get some things to set up a hunting camp. Beth is going to borrow Ian’s boat for me. I need a kettle, and a half-barrel from the cooper.”
“Malcolm said he would—”
“He’s not here, Elaine.”
“I’ll take you to the tanner, and Malcolm will cover the cost when he returns.”
“No.” She let her breath out slowly. “I can’t go on like this forever.”
“Like what, True?” Elaine put her wool down.
The concern in her friend’s eyes made it hard to continue. “Elaine, I think…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I think it’s time I thought about my future. I can’t be a guest forever. I need to start making a living for myself and Hunter. I want to be useful to the clan.”
“Malcolm—”
“Malcolm has been very generous, and I’m grateful. But if he does not return, whose guest will I be then?”
“Mine.” Elaine reached for her hands.
“And when you marry, will you take me with you to your husband’s keep?” Alethia shook her head. “I need to find a way to take care of myself. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Maybe in the spring I can hook up with other musicians, become part of a traveling minstrels’ group. Or something.”
“Oh no, True. Dinna even think such a thing. Malcolm will return soon. You’ll see.”
She nodded, unwilling to argue any longer. Whether or not he returned changed nothing. “In the meantime, will you help me get the things I need?”
“I will, though I dinna approve.” She frowned.
Dressed in brown wool from head to toe to blend into the background, Alethia woke Hunter in the predawn hours of the morning and urged him to hurry getting dressed. She was anxious to check the snares she’d set the day before, and she wanted to be in the blind she’d prepared by the deer path before sunrise. If all went according to plan, she’d have a brace of coneys or fresh venison to share with the clan this evening.
It had taken a week to set up camp next to a stream feeding the lake. She kept her tools and weapons there, along with a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved tee, and wool jackets she’d made for herself and Hunter. She’d built a wooden rack for drying meat and frames for stretching hides.
She and Hunter crept out of the keep through the kitchen, taking up the oatcakes left for them as they went. They ate their breakfast as they walked along the path through the kitchen garden to the postern gate in the inner curtain wall. She took Hunter’s hand and led him to the boat Ian had loaned them, careful to keep to the shadows along the way.
Once on shore, they hid the boat in the brush and followed the stream to the small clearing where their camp was located. Alethia had made a small lean-to under a large oak where she kept her things. She quickly changed into her street clothes and folded her gown and chemise, stowing them away. It wouldn’t do to return with bloodstains on her gown, and jeans made everything so much easier to maneuver. Tapping Hunter, she gave directions. “Stay by me. Do not wander. Watch what I do, and I’ll teach you as we go.” Taking him by the hand again, she set out to check her snares, following the signs she’d left to mark the way.