Free Warrior's Lady by Gerri Russell Page A

She'd have to be more creative. She scanned the room. She'd find a way to make a gown out of something.
    Rhiannon thought of her own sparse belongings. The only dress she had was the one she wore. She could use her cape for fabric, but that would leave her without a source of warmth when they took their lessons outside.
    Still not defeated, she paced about the room as her mind inventoried the essentials she'd tossed into her one small bag. At one of the small beds, she paused to finger the fine dark blue silk of the bed drapes. And a length of ribbon came to mind — a lavender and blue tapestry ribbon her mother had given to her before her death. That ribbon would be the perfect accessory to a gown made from dark blue silk.
    A lightheartedness she hadn't experienced in ages crept over Rhiannon. She pulled the drapes from the frame of the bed. If she worked all night, she just might do it. And with any luck, sewing into the wee hours might help take her mind off a decidedly handsome lord with a curious light in his eyes.
     
    "Raise the portcullis and open the gates," guards at the gatehouse called out. The grinding of the metal chains filled the morning air as the fortified entrance opened, allowing those who had lived at Lockhart Castle entrance to their new home.
    Camden felt he'd had no choice but to leave his brother's castle empty while his efforts were divided between protecting his kin and the Crown. Lee Castle was closer to his enemy's border. To keep English forces from taking Glasgow or Edinburgh, it was best he be there to defend it. With its gateway cities strong, the rest of the country would be safe and he could make certain his brother's people would be safe.
    "We need to speak to each of them," Camden informed his men who had gathered at the gate to help him greet the staff of his brother's castle. "We must be certain only those known to us enter here."
    Orrin's gaze narrowed on him. "I can appreciate that you'd want to care for your brother's people, but why such caution?"
    Camden had not told any of them about the assassin he'd hired. Not even Orrin. He did not fully regret what he'd done. The image of James' disemboweled body would stay with him for all eternity. His revenge had been justified.
    "No questions. Just do it," he growled.
    "You heard the man." Orrin strode away.
    Camden scowled. Damn the Ruthvens for forcing this upon him. He'd had his hands full just trying to keep the English at bay. And where he might have a flare in matters of war, he had no skill for domestic concerns. He and Orrin had been back in Scotland for only three short years.
    As the new residents crossed the drawbridge into the bailey, his men went to work, sending his way anyone of a questionable nature.
    By midday they had welcomed over seventy-two of his dead brother's household, thirty-five of them warriors, trained and ready. They would be a welcome addition to his defenses. The remaining residents had skills of all sorts, ranging from cooks, weavers, scullery maids, a troubadour, a mason, ten huntsmen, two blacksmiths, a falconer, and two men, Hugh and Rhys, who had joined the castle's staff only the week before James' death. None of the other staff knew them well, but reported they were both hard workers, doing more than their fair share of the work.
    "What should we do with them, milord?" Orrin asked, coolly.
    "Let them pass. But we must be watchful."
    Orrin nodded, then turned away, his movements rigid.
    "Orrin," Camden called, falling in step beside his friend as he headed toward the keep. "You were right."
    "About what?" he asked, his expression puzzled.
    "About taking revenge against the Ruthvens. I hired an assassin to kill them all."
    Understanding settled into Orrin's dark eyes. "That explains your disappearance yester eve. I had wondered."
    "I tried to find him, to stop him. He killed the two remaining male Ruthvens," Camden said quietly.
    "You tried to stop him?"
    "Aye."
    "Because one of those Ruthvens is a