Seonaid's frown deepened, but she shook her head. "He will send her away. He's a good man an' she has nothin' to use to convince him to let her stay."
"She has you." When Seonaid stiffened, Helen nodded grimly. "They are here to return you to Dunbar. By rights, they should not even have been allowed to step over the threshold, but the damage has been done. She may agree to turn her head the other way while they steal you out of here in return for being allowed to stay."
Seonaid glanced sharply toward Sister Blanche. The good sister appeared worried. Her doubts made Seonaid decidedly uncomfortable. "Bishop Wykeham's a good man; honest an' gentle an' ... good," she finished lamely, then shook her head. "He'd no stoop to such to remove me."
"He's under order of the king to see the marriage done," Aeldra reminded her. "An' yer father signed the marriage contract. It's no as if he'd be stealin' ye to kill ye. His conscience may be salved by that."
Seonaid turned away with a curse, her gaze going absently out of the window in the small cell as she tried to think. The other women were silent as they waited. When she whirled suddenly back, only Aeldra did not start in surprise.
"Helen, go to yer room an' gather yer things."
"Why?" the redhead asked hopefully.
"We leave here at once."
"But your betrothed and the others--"
"They'll be busy fer a bit dealin' with Lady Elizabeth, I think. Long enough at least fer us to make our escape. Aeldra an' I'll see ye safely home, then seek shelter elsewhere." She paused, her gaze running over the flowing nun's gown. "Ye should keep that on in case we come across the Cameron along our way. Hopefully it'll fool him." Her gaze shifted to Sister Blanche. "Ye may come with us if ye wish. If Lady Elizabeth convinces them to let her stay, she'll make it difficult fer ye here."
Sister Blanche hesitated, then shook her head. "Nay. I will stay, but I shall help you to escape. I shall fetch some provisions from the kitchens."
"We'll be in the stables," Seonaid told her as the other woman slipped from the room. A glance back and a nod were enough to tell her she'd heard.
Seonaid turned back to the two remaining women. "Quickly, Aeldra, go help Helen gather her belongings. I'll go to the stables to saddle the beasties." She started toward the door even as she spoke, only to be brought up short by Helen's words.
"I have no belongings." When Seonaid turned to peer at her in surprise, she shrugged slightly. "I sent everything with my maid so I might travel faster."
Seonaid's eyebrows rose, then turned down in disbelief. She had yet to know a woman besides Aeldra and herself who did not carry about at least two or three trunks with her. "Ye brought nothin' at all with ye?"
Helen shrugged. "Just one sack, but I left it in the stables last night. I brought no clothes or anything else."
"Incredible," Seonaid marveled. "Well, lucky us, a woman with some wit. We'll travel like the wind. Come along."
"Did you not bring any belongings with you?" Helen asked in hushed tones as they eased cautiously out into the hall.
"Only what we always carry with us," Seonaid heard Aeldra answer quietly from behind. "Our plaids an' our steel, 'tis all we need to travel."
"Oh. I see," Lady Helen murmured doubtfully as they moved stealthily down the hall.
"Is he not finished yet?"
Rolfe glanced up at Blake's question and shook his head on a sigh. "He feels he must interview each of the nuns here 'ere he decides what to do about the abbess."
"Each of the nuns?" Blake asked with dismay. "Do you mean to say he intends to interview every single one of the nuns in this blessed place before making a decision?"
"He can hardly banish her without a fair hearing."
Blake grimaced and began to pace the room again, his mind in an uproar. He wanted out of this place; he had never been in an abbey before and much to his surprise he wasn't enjoying the experience. Blake loved women, all women, in every shape and size. Well, almost all, he thought, as the most annoying image of Seonaid Dunbar came to mind. Still, a building inhabited by at least a hundred women was almost a dream to a man like himself, or at least he would have thought so. Howbeit, it seemed he had been wrong. He'd never been so uncomfortable in a place in all his born days. These women were all so pious, so pure-looking, he felt like a wolf let loose among the sheep. A wolf with a conscience.
Amazing, he thought on a sigh. He'd seen very little evidence of a conscience in himself in this life when it came to women. If they were willing, he usually saw no reason to deny them the pleasure of his attentions. After all, were it not him, it would be someone else enjoying their offerings. At the moment, however, he was almost afraid to look at the women moving about around him. They were God's brides after all. 'Twas one thing to cuckold a man, quite another to try some such thing on God.
Seonaid managed to lead the other two women out to the stables undetected. All three of them worked at saddling and preparing the horses, accomplishing the task just as Sister Blanche returned with a sack of provisions.
"I fetched as much as I could, which is more than I expected, since the kitchen was empty."
Seonaid's eyebrows rose as she accepted the food. "Empty? The kitchen's never empty."
"Rarely," Sister Blanche agreed. "Howbeit, the bishop is questioning all the nuns
, servants, and lay sisters. He is taking an accounting of the abbess's behavior. I think he may actually dismiss her."
Seonaid and Aeldra shared a glance, then Seonaid sighed. "We canna take the chance."
"Nay," Aeldra agreed, leading her horse and Helen's out of their stalls as Seonaid hooked the sack to her saddle.
Sister Blanche followed as they led their horses out of the stables, worry plain on her face as she said, "You must be most careful. Never forget Cameron is out there somewhere."
"We'll be fine," Seonaid assured her with a smile, then mounted her horse as Helen hurried forward to hug the woman.
"Thank you, Sister. For everything."
Nodding unhappily, Sister Blanche hugged Helen back, then stepped out of the way as the woman mounted her own mare.
"I will try to hide the fact that you have gone."
"Thank you, Sister, but doona do anything that'll see ye in trouble. We'll send ye word when Helen's safely home."
Sister Blanche watched them urge their horses through the gate and race toward the trees. She was a forlorn figure in Helen's gown, with the white cloth over her shorn head. She waited until they had disappeared within the woods before turning and moving sadly back through the abbey gate to find out her fate. Either she or Lady Elizabeth would be banished by day's end, and neither fate cheered her much. Sister Blanche had a kind heart, and despite Lady Elizabeth's condescending air and shabby treatment of the nuns, it saddened her to imagine the other woman's shame. It might also be better were she herself to return to her home in such a circumstance than Lady Elizabeth. While her own family loved her and would show great understanding of the situation, she was not so sure Lady Elizabeth could make the same claim. There must be some reason she could be so coldhearted.
Blanche's thoughts came to a stumbling halt as she found herself colliding with a large male body. Glancing up in surprise, she gaped at the warrior before her, then took a quick, nervous step back. "My lord."
"You must be Lady Helen." When Sister Blanche's eyes widened, Lord Rolfe smiled slightly.