As soon as Maira approached the castle, she knew something was wrong. There were too many guards on the wall walk, not to mention that the tension in the courtyard could be felt hanging thick in the air.

“Maira!” Morag hurried across the courtyard toward her, holding the hand of little Ricker. The boy gripped on to the carved wolf that Jacob had given him. Branton appeared from the stable, taking the reins of her horse.

“Morag? I thought you’d be sleeping,” said Maira.

“How could I, Cousin?” Morag looked tired but also very concerned. “The High Sheriff returned an hour ago and has been askin’ for ye.”

“He did?” Panic flowed through her. She scanned the courtyard, looking for him. “He wasn’t supposed to return until the morrow.”

“He brought the Bishop of Durham with him,” said Branton. “He is telling everyone that he’s marrying you at the St. Catherine’s Day festival, right after the hunt.”

“Oh, nay, he can’t,” she told them with a shake of her head.

“He says the king gave him permission and he even has a missive with the crown’s stamp on it to prove it,” Branton informed her.

“Oh, no.” Maira’s heart lodged in her throat. This wasn’t good news at all.

“That’s right,” said Morag. “Our cousin betrayed ye, Maira. Richard said his late father’s order of grantin’ ye the right to choose yer husband no longer holds true.”

“He can’t do this,” she said defiantly, not wanting to believe it.

“Well, he did,” stated Morag.

“Nay, you don’t understand.” Maira felt trapped and doomed and as if she’d put everyone in danger. “Morag, Branton, don’t say anything to the High Sheriff yet, but Jacob and I are married.”

“Married?” exclaimed Morag. “I thought I told ye no’ to do it.”

“That might not have been a good idea,” agreed Branton, making a face.

“I listened to my heart,” she told them. “I thought if we were married, Jacob would forget about his attack on the castle. But it seems as if he is going through with it after all.”

“Shhh, Maira. Dinna say anythin’ in front of the boy.” Morag nodded toward Ricker.

“It’s all right,” said Maira, patting Ricker’s head. “He doesn’t talk.”

“Doggie,” said Ricker, holding up the carved animal.

“Then what do you call that?” asked Branton.

“It’s the only word he says.” Maira picked up Ricker and gave him a hug. She had grown fond of the boy and didn’t want to see him hurt in the attack. Sir Gregory didn’t deserve to be the father of such a cute boy. It seemed such a shame and she felt sorry for Ricker. She would take measures to keep the boy from being punished by his father again. “Morag, I want you and Branton to take Ricker and leave here immediately. I’ll warn the servants to stay in the tunnels during the attack.”

“Take Ricker? Isna that stealin’ a child?” asked Morag.

“Not if I’m protecting his life, it’s not,” answered Maira.

“What about you?” asked Branton. “Where will you be?”

“I’m going to stay here and fight.”

“Fight? I dinna understand. Are ye fightin’ for the High Sheriff?” asked Morag in surprise.

“Nay, Morag. I am going to fight to keep my husband alive, no matter what it takes to do it.”

“Well, I’m no’ leavin’ again without ye. I’ll help fight,” offered Morag bravely.

“Me, too,” added Branton. “Since I fought off the two bandits in the woods, I feel as if I have a lot more confidence now.”

“This isn’t the same,” said Maira. “You don’t understand. People are going to die. And we might have to kill in order to save our own lives or the lives of each other.”

“I’m willing to do that,” said Branton. “After all, a squire risks his life to protect his lord. That is his duty. This is no different. I want to be a squire someday, so this is good practice.”

“What about you?” Maira asked Morag.

“I dinna ken how to fight,” admitted Morag. “But I will do anythin’ I can to help ye.”

“If you two insist on staying then we’ll need to come up with a plan.” Maira paced back and forth, thinking, with the boy in her arms. “I’ll let the servants know what is going on and, mayhap, they can help us.”

“How can ye trust the servants? They might tell the High Sheriff,” Morag pointed out.

“Cleo, the cook, is a member of the Followers of the Secret Heart,” Maira told them.

“She is?” asked Morag, her hand covering her heart brooch on her bodice as she spoke.

“We’ll tell her and she’ll know who we can trust.” Maira informed them. “But for now, we need to keep Sir Gregory away from me and from trying to marry me before the attack.”

“That willna be easy,” said Morag. “The man seems to always get what he wants.”

“We’ll have to tell the servants to help us then.” Maira looked around the courtyard, spying Tommy. “I’ll have them watch from the secret tunnels and we’ll know every minute of the day what the High Sheriff is doing. Take Ricker and go back to my solar.” Maira handed the little boy to Morag. “I’ll get Tommy, Cleo, and Alf and we’ll come through the passageway to meet you in a few minutes. Then we’ll lay out our plan.”

“Why did you let your wife leave without trying to stop her?” asked Father Frank.

Jacob sparred angrily with Will, taking out his frustration. “Lady Maira is a rebel. If you tell her one thing, she’ll do the other. I had hoped by letting her go, she would have turned around and come back on her own by now.”

“The day is nearly over and she hasn’t returned,” Will pointed out. “Perhaps she isn’t coming.”

“Dammit, Squire, I can see that and I don’t need you to point it out.” Jacob thrust angrily at Will, flipping the boy’s sword out of his hand.

Will held his hands up over his head in surrender. “I’m unarmed, my lord. There is no need to keep fighting.”

“I’m sorry, Will.” Jacob bent over and picked up Will’s sword and handed it to him. He looked over to the rest of the villagers who were practicing their fighting techniques, eager to help him overtake the High Sheriff. Was he really being selfish as Maira said? The villagers all knew the risk and still wanted vengeance against the man as well. Or did they? If they were only doing it because Jacob talked them into it, he wouldn’t know what to think. After all, there was a good chance that they wouldn’t make it out of this alive.

Jacob watched as some of the villagers’ wives and children visited camp to see the progress. They were all innocent pawns in this very dangerous game. These children might lose their fathers. The women might lose their husbands. They had so little in life but were willing to risk it all just to help Jacob. How could he not have seen this before? It wasn’t easy to think of what might happen. Maira was right. It was a suicide mission and he couldn’t let these poor villagers lose their lives because of his vendetta against the High Sheriff.

“Tell the villagers the attack is called off.” Jacob jammed his sword back into the scabbard.

“My lord?” asked Will in question. “What are you saying?”

“You heard me, Will. It’s over. These people are not trained warriors. I don’t know what I was thinking asking them to go up against skilled soldiers. I can’t let them do it. I can’t take the risk that they’ll lose everything just so I can gain back what I lost.”

“You’re going to just give up after all this time?” asked Will. “That doesn’t sound like you. I know how much you want your name cleared and your title restored, my lord. How can you let that all go?”

“How can I continue when I’m about to lose more than all of that put together?”

“I don’t understand, my lord. What will you be losing?”

“If I go ahead with the attack, too many people will die. And because of my stubbornness and my selfishness, I will lose the woman I love. I will lose my wife in the process, and that is something I am not willing to give up for anything in the world.”