Before Marion broke her promise, though, she saw him start down the hill he’d climbed before. He had spotted the new arrivals before she had. There were a dozen of them. All on horseback. Marion didn’t like the way some of the men immediately looked toward the cottage. She rushed toward the old straw mattress, pushed it up against the wall. She was happily surprised to see a space hollowed out beneath it. She was even more surprised to see a slab of rock partially blocking a hole at the base of the wall. Marion could see light filtering in around the edges. Climbing into the hollow, she pulled the rock back. There was a hole large enough for her to wriggle through. She could crawl through it, come up behind the cottage, and stay out of the intruders’ sight. Twelve to one. Iain was badly outnumbered. Never mind having to fight with a bruised shoulder. She looked around and picked up a small, rusted iron pot with a hole in the bottom. She rushed back toward the doorway. Peering out, she could see Iain had stopped some half dozen steps up from the bottom of the hill, talking to the leader of the group.
