12
The flames, leaping up in the hearth behind him, made the earl’s shadow stretch out like some fiend, ready to snuff out the very existence of the young man standing against the far wall.
“And you’re certain that no one suspects you. Even now?”
“Aye, m’lord,” David said quietly. “No one suspects me of anything. To all of them, I’m just another stable lad. It runs in our blood—looking dim does—and my ma always said...”
The Earl of Athol raised a hand to silence his faithful young informer. He then started pacing the room, pulling thoughtfully at one ear as he strode before the fire. He stopped and looked back at the lad. “But back to what you just said. You’re certain that he survived the fire unscathed.”
“He did,” David bobbed his head. “When all the men were gathered in the hallway
