His first thought was to deny her, but that wouldn’t be fair to the others. He had promised them a home and they deserved a good one. They would find that here with the Macardle clan.

Willow began to pace back and forth in front of him. “Lord Ruddock left some of his warriors here to help with repairs and to protect us. They won’t do for this task. The Clan Macardle does have a few warriors of their own. We’ll send two or three of them to escort your friends here.”

His wife spoke as if they had decided this together, that they worked as one. That he was not alone. That they were family. The thought that she fought for him stabbed at his heart. He didn’t deserve her trust, and yet, he ached for it.

Willow stopped pacing. “What was discussed in the solar?”

“That they trust me less than before Rhodes was killed and that I’m not to go anywhere. That I’m not to venture off the grounds of the keep. That Lord Tarass’s men will keep close watch on me. And that if I harm you in any way I’ll hang for it. Lord Tarass made quite the point that hanging would be the easiest way to absolve our marriage.”

“So it didn’t matter what Snow said, Lord Tarass and James believe you guilty and the meeting consisted of nothing more than warning you.”

“Every minute of it,” Slatter confirmed, “though I was more concerned with what other horror this dastardly fellow has planned. I believe he wants me to suffer the blame. If I suffer no consequences for this killing, who then would he choose next to kill?”

Willow shook her head when she saw how his dark eyes focused so intently on her. “No. No. He would not come after me.”

“You don’t think if you were found dead that I wouldn’t be blamed and hanged almost immediately?”

“We’ll find him,” Willow said.

He stepped closer to her. “How?”

“As I first suggested, a trap,” she said. “We’ll think of something and when Devin and Walcott get here, they can help us execute it.”

“I’ll not see you put in harm’s way,” he said, reaching out to take hold of her arm and gently tug her toward him.

“Nor I you,” she said softly, her hand going to rest on his chest. “Have you ever heard of a man called the Slayer?”

His eyes shot wide with anger and his fingers tightened around her arm. “Where did you hear that name?”

“Eleanor heard Lord Tarass tell his warrior to send for the Slayer. She knew the name due to an incident at the abbey where she had been a postulant. She believes that the Slayer is one of the devil’s demons.”

“Come to claim the souls of the damned,” Slatter said.

His words sent a chill running through Willow. “You’ve heard of him?”

“Aye, his name is whispered in places where good men don’t frequent, but send men to hire heartless men, or soulless men as some believe the Slayer to be.”