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certainly explain the cropped hair and the fact he did not recognise her family. He wasn’t sure about the tattoos or the undergarments, although as he’d never had occasion to look beneath a nun’s habit he couldn’t rule it out.
    Perhaps she was from the chapel of ease, a runaway maybe. He’d heard how strict and frugal convent life was with the nuns at Ladyswell , but to be seconded to the tiny chapel at Ahlborett must surely be some form of punishment. He wondered what misdeed she’d perpetrated. Thought again of the butterflies, he could make a good guess. Or perhaps she’d told the truth all along and had merely wander ed off the path. Either way it was good news. The Augustinian convent at Ladyswell was under the protection of the Bishop of Durham and the chapel at Kirk Knowe would surely benefit from the same protection. The bishop would be obliged to pay a substantial ransom for a little lost nun, especially one as odd as this. Things were looking up; Edmund had bagged a prize after all.
    “ Yer can’t ransom her,” Edmund cried indignantly when Miles outlined his plan. The girl had succumbed to the sleeping draught and Miles had taken the time to decide exactly what he would do with her.
    “I can and I will,” grinned Miles. “She’ll be worth a tidy sum, and you will remember your place!”
    “But I found her.” His expression betrayed sullen displeasure.
    “True, Edmund, you found her and almost killed her. What do you think she’ll say when you tell her that, eh? You shoot her and steal her dog. It doesn’t show you in the best light, does it?”
    He found it amusing the boy was so smitten. He recalled with some relish the moment when he’d first noticed the fairer sex, but at the end of the day a religious who was bound to the church was no woman in his eyes. Not in the real sense, no matter how tempting. She was however worth something and that was ransom, and he was sorely in need of funds. Nearly two years on Crusade at the behest of the king and he’d barely the clothes he stood up in to show for it. Yes he had land, if he were prepared to fight for it, but land that had been neglected for the last ten years would require considerable investment.
    Miles settled down on his blanket to rest while he had the chance. “Prepare for an early start Edmund. We leave for Wildewood at first light. We need to be safely at the Hall before I send a message to the bishop.”
    The boy kicked stubbornly at the straw, scattering a cloud of dust. “And what if he won’t pay?”
    “He’ll pay.”
    “But if he’ll not, what will yer do?” They both looked at her as she lay peaceful now in her drug induced slumber. Edmund saw her as his angel, conceded Miles, he, however, saw her merely as a good investment.
    “Then I’ll think of something else to do with her.” If she were not a nun then she was surely a spy. Either way she would be worth something to someone. All he had to do was make the deal.
    “But she is not yours, my lord. We must return her to the chapel.” The boy stood before him stubbornly.
    “We must first make sure she survives, Edmund. Then I will decide what is to become of her.”
    The boy tried again. “But, what if the sheriff comes seekin ’ her?”
    Miles studied her as she slept. Perhaps the sheriff was already looking for her. She was a strange little thing after all and he supposed if she were his, he would be out looking by now. The sheriff did not concern him; he could be outsmarted if necessary. What concerned him was making the best out of a bad situation and that meant not delivering her anywhere, until a ransom was paid.
     

    Chapter Six
     
    Grace woke again to weak sunlight filtering through the heavy, snow-filled sky. It crept valiantly through the tiny window illuminating the dancing dust motes. It was bitterly cold and despite the smoking fire, her breath was tight in her chest. She pulled the cloak around her more snugly and considered her