Who would have thought that an untutored clans-woman could have such a devious mind?
‘All women have devious minds,’ he said, aloud. ‘It’s why I never wed.’
Sigarni rapped on the door of the small hut. ‘Who’s there?’ called Tovi. Stepping inside, she saw the Hunt Lord sitting by an open fire. He glanced up as she entered. ‘How did you find me?’ he asked.
‘Kollarin has a talent for these matters. Why are you not with your family?’
‘I need time to think.’
Sigarni sat down opposite the man. ‘You are angry.’
‘What do you expect? I know I was a better baker than a Hunt Lord, but I have done my best since the attack. I could do no more.’
‘I do not ask for more,’ said Sigarni. ‘I need your skills in other areas.’
‘What skills?’ he asked bitterly. ‘You want me to bake bread for you? I can do that. Just build me an oven.’
‘Yes, I want bread,” she said softly. ‘I want the people fed. Battles alone will not win us this war, Tovi. Once we have defeated the first Outland army we will need to move from defence to attack and that means invading the Lowlands. The army will need to be supplied with food. We will need mercenaries, and that means we must have gold; a treasury. Our forces will be spread, and that requires lines of communication. You understand? The role I need you for will stretch your talents to the limit. You will have no time for other burdens.’
‘Why could you not say this in front of the others? Why did I need to suffer humiliation, Sigarni?’
She looked at the older man, saw the hurt in his eyes. ‘They did not need to know my plans. There are hard days coming, Tovi. Some of the men in that room will die in our cause: they may even be captured and tortured. Worse, one or more of them will seek to betray us. What I say to you here is not to be repeated.’
‘I may be captured and tortured,’ he pointed out
‘It is unlikely, for you will not be fighting.’
‘You deny me even that? A chance for revenge, to restore the honour of my family?’
‘Listen to me! What is more important, that you drive your claymore into one enemy heart, or your skills bring down a thousand? You are vital to me, Tovi. You have a feel for organization, and a mind that can cope with a score of problems simultaneously. I have seen those talents here, in the four encampments. Few could have achieved what you have. When the war comes I will need your skills.’
He laughed and scratched his beard. ‘Here we sit with a tiny force made up of many old men and young lads, and you speak of invading the Lowlands! Better still, I believe you when you speak of it. What has happened to you, Sigarni? From where do these ideas spring?’
‘From my blood, Tovi.’
‘All these years I have watched you, and never seen you. When you were a child you used to hide behind my bakery and wait until I stepped out at the front for a breath of air. Fast as a hawk, you would sprint inside to steal a cake – just the one from the middle of the tray, then you would push the others together, disguising the gap.’
‘You knew?’
‘I knew. You hid behind the water barrel.’
‘How did you know?’
‘Lemon mint. Gwalchmai always loved that scent and you used to rub the leaves over your body when you bathed. Every time I stepped back inside I could smell lemon mint.’
‘You never caught me,’ she said softly.
He shrugged. ‘I never wanted to. You were a child of sorrow, Sigarni. Everyone loved you. And I could spare a morsel on Cake Day.’
Sigarni fed some wood to the fire and they sat in companionable silence for a while. ‘I am not that child any longer,’ she said.
‘I know. Yet she is still there, deep down inside. She will always be there.’ He sighed, then smiled. ‘I will serve you, Sigarni, in any way that you want me.’