CHAPTER 13

Nobody knew it, but there was another person watching over the three Immortals that afternoon. He was too far away to sense the 'buzz', but he was old enough to recognise them for what they were: Immortals. He recognised Amién (for that was who she would always be to him) instantly. But he was curious about the other two Immortals riding with her – he had never seen or heard of them before – so he watched them instead. He watched Hugh Fitzcairn in particular, and was intrigued that Amién would tolerate the presence of an Immortal who seemed to be openly hostile towards her – he could see that right away.

Some way to the other side of the wall marking the border of the Houghton

Estate, was a low hill, covered in trees and boulders. It was dark amongst the trees; nothing could be seen inside them, especially at a distance.

Methos sat on a boulder amongst the trees, his dark clothing making him even more invisible in the shadows around him. Behind him, the reins fastened to a low branch, was the horse that he had hired from the landlord of the inn in King's Lynn. On the ground beside the boulder lay a bag containing food, a bottle of wine. His Ivanhoe lay on top of the bag, out of the mud. Instinct had told Methos to sit there, to wait, to hope. He had been there for quite a while – most of the food and wine had been already been consumed.

Now Methos watched the three Immortals intently, one eye shut tightly, the other looking through a telescope he'd 'liberated' from a locked cupboard at the inn the previous night.

Amién and the two Immortal men stopped by the stone wall for almost half an hour, gazing at the royal hunting grounds Methos was trespassing on. During those thirty minutes Methos watched, gave Duncan and Fitz names in order to tell them apart (Duncan became 'Dark Man', Fitz was 'The Idiot'), and three things became abundantly clear to the ancient Immortal...

One... 'Dark Man' was in love with Amién. There was no doubt about it. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He stayed close to her, kept telling jokes that would make her laugh, thus ensuring that her attention stayed focused on him. 'Dark Man' appeared to be kind and good-natured, and extremely patient. But he was definitely annoyed whenever 'The Idiot' spoke up, forcing his attention away from the beautiful Immortal at his side.

Two... 'The Idiot' did not like Amién. Methos could see that from where he sat staring through the telescope. And he made it blatantly obvious to both Amién and 'Dark Man'. He kept trying to distract 'Dark Man' by starting up conversations that didn't include Amién. He hardly said a word to Amién during all that time. He focused on 'Dark Man' and spoke only to him, giving Amién filthy looks as he did so. It was clear that he would prefer that 'Dark Man' have nothing to do with her; that he would be eternally grateful if she were to disappear off the face of the earth forever.

The third thing Methos noticed struck him the most: Amién was not happy. Yes, she seemed happy now; she smiled and laughed at 'Dark Man's jokes, was in a good enough mood to not take offence to 'The Idiot's behaviour. And she seemed to really like 'Dark Man', to like being with him.

But she was not happy. There was something beyond today's quiet, happy moment. Something dark, unpleasant, as if Amién was expecting something terrible to happen soon. She seemed tense, nervous. She wasn't afraid, didn't seem to be expecting a Challenge from either of her companions. But she wasn't as outgoing as Methos knew she usually was. She seemed to be holding back, as if she were unsure of something... herself, maybe.

Before Methos could be sure of what he was seeing, the three Immortals suddenly mounted their horses and rode away from the wall, moving back into the Houghton lands. Methos watched until they rode through a line of trees and were hidden from sight. Then he put down the telescope and reached into a pocket of his coat. A moment later he was unfolding the letter he had received the previous week. Though he knew the words in the letter off by heart, he reread it for what seemed like the millionth time:

"Yet again I am to witness firsthand the oppression of a nation – or at least a part of one – and not be able to do anything about it. My heart breaks just thinking about it. Time for the quiet life, I think, somewhere no one can find me…. M., do whatever you think is necessary and please come as fast as you can!"

Methos read the letter twice, then sighed and returned it to his pocket. For a long time he stared out over the wild lands before him, deep in thought. Why does the thought of going to Scotland upset you so, Amién? he asked silently. You've always wanted to go, after hearing all those stories Connor told us… Is it because of the war there? But they say that is over… Are the Horsemen still riding in your mind? Is that why you do not want to go there? And why did you send for me, beg me to take you away from here, if you have a friend here who seems to care about you very much? You like him, I can see that much. Is he doing something to hurt you? Or his friend, The Idiot… Is he threatening you? Is he more of a threat than I realise?

For a long time Methos sat there, his mind spinning, not knowing what to make of what he had seen...