The woman was heavily cloaked yet again, which Ilsa found a little odd.
Geordie's leave-taking was not affectionate, either. No kisses, no lingering glances, no touching. Either the lovers had had an argument or the love affair was growing cold. Geordie rode back toward Clachthrom and, after watching him for a while, the woman walked back inside the cottage and slammed the door. As Ilsa started on the long journey home she did not rush, and tried to convince herself that it had not been an utter waste of her time. She had discovered a door that, although cleverly disguised, was a serious breach in Diarmot's protective walls. Ilsa hoped Nanty had a great deal more luck than she had had.
Nanty held a cloth over his nose and tried desperately not to disgrace himself by becoming ill. The maid had obviously died shortly after she had disappeared. A shallow grave had not been quite enough to protect her from all the carrion, small and large. It was impossible to tell at a glance how she might have died. A closer inspection might tell him more, but Nanty was not sure he could stomach it.
" 'Tis the lass ye have been looking for?" asked the father of the boy who had fetched Nanty.
"Aye," replied Nanty. "The hair and the gown match what the women all told me to look for. She is also missing the third finger on her right hand, the result of a rather nasty childhood accident."
"We can wrap the poor lass in a blanket, put her in the cart, and take her to be buried. Unless she has people who will be wanting her body."
"Nay, no people, Duncan. We shall do as ye suggest in a few moments. I must see if there is any sign of how she died." He grimaced and started to kneel down only to have the older man grab him by the arm and pull him back up onto his feet.
"I will do it, lad," said Duncan.
"Tis my duty," began Nanty.
"By the look upon your face, ye willnae do much looking ere ye empty your belly all o'er the lass's body. I have a strong stomach and nay much sense of smell. What are ye looking for?" he asked even as he knelt by the maid's body.
"Some sign that she didnae die of natural causes, of a fall or the like."
"Och, aye, there is a sign, right enough. Throat was cut."
"Are ye certain?"
"Verra certain. A big, deep cut from ear to ear, poor lass. Whoever wielded the knife had a strong hand. Didnae need such a vicious cut to kill such a wee lass with her having such a wee throat." Duncan stood up and brushed himself off. "Was that what ye were looking for?"
"Aye." Nanty sighed. "I wish we hadnae found it, but, aye, tis what I was looking for."
"Do ye ken who would have killed the poor lass?"
"I fear I dinnae, but I do mean to find out. My brother, the laird, will, too."
Nanty managed to gain control of his uneasy stomach long enough to help Duncan and Tom get the maid's body into the cart. He and Tom then followed Duncan and his son to the church. It eased Nanty's embarrassment over his own weak stomach when Father Goudie had the same trouble. After burying the maid, Nanty joined Father Goudie in his rooms at the rear of the small stone church.
"I would have thought ye weel accustomed to death," Nanty said after watching Father Goudie take a very hearty drink of wine.
"Death from illness," Father Goudie said. "Death from old age, from an accident, and a rare hanging or two. I have been blessed by peace for near all my life. Few battle deaths. This, this slaughter of a young lass? Nay, this isnae something I have dealt with before." He shivered. "And most of the bodies I see are, weel, fresh."
"Ah, aye, that was most unpleasant."
"This has to do with your brother's troubles, aye?"
"I believe so. This was the young maid who went missing on the day Ilsa was poisoned. Either she was taken away and murdered simply to make us turn our attention on her or she had some part in the poisoning and was killed so that she wouldnae chance to reveal anything. This is all so devious, with twists and turns and unknowns. I am nay good at this. Give me an enemy who spits right in my eye and faces me sword in hand and I ken what to do. This? In this, I stumble at every turn." He shook his head. "If I e'er find the one behind all of this, I swear I will gut him simply for being so cursed troublesome."
"Or her."
"Ah, of course. Although, a woman didnae do this. Of that much, at least, I am certain. As Duncan said, the hand that made that cut was a strong one." He finished his wine and stood up. "'Tis best I return to the keep now,"
"Aye, ye shouldnae leave her ladyship alone, unguarded, for too long, and the sun is setting. Twill be dark ere long," said Father Goudie as he walked Nanty to the front of the church.
"Weel, I wouldnae say she was unguarded, nay with Gay, Glenda, Jenny, and Fraser all watching out for her."
"But they are women."
Nanty grinned. "Aye, they are. Weel, two of them are nay much more than girls. But they watch her verra weel. Tisnae their ability to guard Ilsa that worries me for I ken they will do as weel as any mon."
"Then what does worry ye?"
"My brother's wife isnae verra good at staying where she is put."