Arsenic and Old Armor by May McGoldrick

Author:May McGoldrick [McGoldrick, May]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Paranormal, paranormal romance, Scotland, Historical Romance, Victorian, julie garwood, book, philippa gregory, cathy maxwell, signed first edition books, jan coffey, book club, loretta chase, romantic suspense novels, excerpts from romance novels, hannah howell, diana gabaldon outlander series, judith mcnaught, madeline hunter, mystery romance novels, woodiwiss, may mcgoldrick, mary balogh, western romance novels, victorian romance, lindsay sand, karen marie moning, paranormal romance books, romance novels free online, johanna lindsey, diana gabaldon, victorian england, romantic historical novels, patricia gaffney, kathleen woodiwiss, heather graham, best selling books, lisa kleypas, jude deveraux, read romance novels, arsenic and old lace, nicole cody
ISBN: 2940012597113
Goodreads: 12032268
Publisher: MM Books
Published: 2010-04-12T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

A tight weave of clouds filled the night sky, blocking any light from the waning moon. The air was heavy with the smell of rain. Iain hoped he still had time to do an inspection of the outer walls of the castle and send his men on their way before the storms moved in.

Twelve years ago, they had faced the possibility of the English following the wounded Scots after the devastating battle at Flodden Field. The victorious army had indeed moved northward, but had bypassed the Borders for the easier going through the Lowlands. Still, no one knew what the English would do, so Iain had not bothered with defending the tower house. He couldn’t, and with the McCall warriors almost wiped out in the battle, they couldn’t defend it, either. Instead, he’d moved the remaining occupants and the unprotected villagers on McCall land to Blackthorn Hall for a short time. Iain hadn’t worried about defending Fleet Tower then, but he was a little worried now.

He chose three of the men to go with him as he made his rounds.

Tom and John, the two Armstrong men, were frequent visitors to Fleet Tower. They were the most likely pair to walk with the laird and offer their opinion. Alan was the most experienced fighter of all of his men. He’d served Iain’s father and he’d been a loyal friend and servant to Iain ever since.

“The only way anyone arrives at Fleet Tower is by traveling on that road,” Tom assured Iain as they walked along the top of the curtain walls.

“To get in, they must come through the main gate,” John said. “The ditch around the walls makes it difficult to scale them.”

“And you’d see them,” Alan said, “if we lit torches along the walls.”

“Once we lower the portcullis, m’lord,” Tom said, “there’d be no one coming in.”

“We’ll be snug here until Alan comes back with more men in the morning,” John added.

Iain nodded. He knew Fleet Tower was not defensible against any attack by a large army. Walls could be scaled or battered down with the new cannon the English were so proud of. But the English weren’t the ones that concerned Iain. It was Jack Fitzwilliam. Enough Armstrong men had been scouring these hills this past week, though, and there had been no reports of seeing Marion’s outlaw cousin.

“The men are tired, m’lord,” Alan reminded him as they continued their walk. “They’re a wee bit anxious to get back to their kin before it’s too late.”

“I understand that,” Iain assured his man. “I’ll dismiss them as soon as I can. But before anyone leaves Fleet Tower, I’ll be sure that every crack in the wall is sealed.”

Everyone agreed.

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