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“They were going somewhere?”
“Aye. Lady Maira is goin’ to meet with her betrothed.”
“Betrothed,” he mumbled, the word upsetting him for some reason. “Do you happen to know who she is marrying? And where she is going?”
“I don’t know the man’s name but I heard him mentioned as the High Sheriff.”
“What?” Jacob stood upright. “What High Sheriff? Of where?” It couldn’t be. There had to be a lot of High Sheriffs in England and he was sure it was just a coincidence.
“I knew where it was but I forgot. I think it was somewhere like . . . Dunam or Dover, I can’t remember. It was somewhere that started with a D.” The page scratched his head in thought and looked up toward the sky.
“Was it . . . Durham Castle by any chance?”
The boy slapped his hands together. “By the rood, that’s it. Durham Castle. I remember it now.”
“God’s eyes, anywhere but there.” Jacob dragged a frustrated hand through his hair. Didn’t he have enough trouble without having to hear this today?
“Why do you ask?” The boy looked at him suspiciously. “You look familiar. Have you been inside the walls of Castle Rothbury lately?”
“I’m not who you think I am.” Jacob pulled a penny from his pouch and handed it to the boy. “And I’d appreciate you keeping your mouth shut about seeing me.”
The boy looked up and his eyes opened wide. “I do remember you now. You’re that thief that stole our weapons.”
“Here’s a shilling, now keep your mouth shut.” Jacob slapped the coin into the boy’s hand and watched his excited expression.
“Aye, I won’t say a word,” answered the boy, turning and running down the road.
Jacob made his way back to his horse, feeling a knot forming in his stomach. Why did the girl have to be betrothed to Sir Gregory Arundell? Wasn’t it enough that the man had already stolen from him anything that had ever mattered in his life? If Jacob didn’t like Maira so much, perhaps he wouldn’t care. But after kissing her and seeing the way she could handle a blade, it made him want her even more. He couldn’t envision anyone else having her but him.
He mounted his horse and rode like hell, trying to catch up to Maira’s traveling party. But the page said she left over an hour ago. It was at least a four-hour ride to Durham. If he wanted to catch her before she got to the castle, luck was going to have to be on his side.
