“Goodnight, Ren.”
Cairren looked back over her shoulder before passing through the doorway.
Morning came, and Cairren woke before Caitlyn and Laurel. She was unaccustomed to court hours after living in the Highlands for months. She hadn’t danced most of the night away like the women she shared the chamber with. Her friend and sister would likely sleep until close to midday since it was clear the queen didn’t expect them to join her on her morning constitutional. Cairren dressed and slipped from the chamber. She made her way through the winding passageways until she stepped into the brilliant sunlight. She didn’t hear voices, but she heard the crunch of footsteps. She waited for Queen Elizabeth and her matrons to round the corner before dropping into a deep curtsy.
“Lady Cairren, I hadn’t expected to see you, yet there you were at the evening meal.” Queen Elizabeth flicked her hand, and Cairren rose. A speaking glance sent the other women away. The queen’s assessing gaze missed nothing as Cairren stood still. She wouldn’t speak unless asked a question. “Why have you returned?”
Cairren knew the queen was often direct, but she hadn’t expected her to be so blunt so soon. “I would seek an audience with the king, Your Grace.”
“Walk with me.” When Cairren took her place one step back from the queen on the woman’s left, Queen Elizabeth continued her questioning. “What reason could you have to see the king? Is your husband not handling clan matters?”
“Padraig will surely speak to the king and keep him abreast of the politics and happenings on Munro territory, but I would speak to the king aboot something else.”
“You are being evasive, not reserved, Lady Cairren. My patience is thin already this morning. Come to the point.”
“Yes, Your Grace. My marriage hasn’t been what my parents intended, nor what I imagine the king intended. While most of the Munros have been merely inhospitable, there was an attempt on my life.” The queen came to such an abrupt halt that Cairren nearly stepped in front of her. Only months after her joint coronation with Robert the Bruce, the English King Edward Longshanks captured Queen Elizabeth, and she spent eight years under house arrest while her sister-by-marriage and Isabella MacDuff were kept in cages suspended outside separate castles. After the harrowing experience, the queen took threats and mistreatment of her ladies as a grave offense. “Explain,” she commanded.
“The clan’s priest accused me of heresy and witchery after I became the clan’s healer and midwife. He hates me to his very core. He sprayed me with barely diluted lye, and when I flinched, he claimed that it burned, and this was proof that I was a witch. My father-by-marriage was prepared to put me on the stake.”
“That is outrageous,” Queen Elizabeth declared.
“Your Grace, that wasn’t the event to which I’d referred,” Cairren grimaced.
“There’s more?” the queen demanded incredulously.
“Aye, Your Grace. I made my way to the Sutherland and sought refuge from him. Laird Sutherland directed Lachlan to accompany me here, but my husband’s brother, Duncan, absconded with me. He tried to drown me in a cave on the shore of the Moray Firth.”
“And where, precisely, was your husband during all of this?” The queen’s tone made Cairren fear for Padraig’s life.
Cairren shifted uncomfortably, and Queen Elizabeth’s eyes shot up. “During the incident with the priest and the doctored holy water, he was away from the keep. He became aware that the woman he intended to marry before me was having an affair with Duncan. By the time he returned, I’d already escaped the stake and was on my way to Dunrobin. He followed me there, but I’d departed by the time he arrived. He intended to gather more supplies and men before following me to Stirling. But just before he reached Foulis, he encountered Lachlan, who explained what happened with Duncan. Padraig figured out where Duncan took me and came for me.”
“He rescued you from the cave. How heroic.”
“Aye, Your Grace.” Cairren reasoned that Padraig had saved her, so she didn’t feel compelled to share her part in her own rescue.
“I suspect there is far more, but I think it is best saved for the king. Come along, Lady Cairren. You have a meeting to attend.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” She hurried to keep up with the queen’s brisk pace. Before she realized where she was, she followed Queen Elizabeth into King Robert’s Privy Council chamber.
“Lady Cairren,” the russet-haired monarch greeted her. She’d known Robert the Bruce since the day she arrived at court, but he didn’t intimidate her any less after three years of living at his court. “I noticed you arrived with your husband. You were not expected.”
“It was a rather unexpected journey.”
“Do tell,” King Robert said as he gestured to a chair. He ordered everyone from the room, leaving only Queen Elizabeth, Cairren, the king, and his guard. “I suspect this shall take a while.”
Cairren inhaled deeply before she told the king and queen everything but the most intimate details. She relayed the duplicity of the wedding, the humiliating bedding ceremony, Padraig’s ongoing relationship with Myrna, Duncan’s attack on her and Padraig’s reaction to it, and Wynda’s death. She paused until the king nodded for her to proceed. She explained how she became the clan’s healer and midwife and how that improved relations with some of the clan members, but not enough to avoid the accusations of witchcraft made against her. She was clear on the details as she explained Myrna, Duncan, and Lady Mary’s roles in the deceit and danger she faced. By the time she came to the end of her tale, she was emotionally depleted and wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball beneath the table.
“This is beyond the pale, Lady Cairren. I promise you that I never would have decreed that you marry Padraig Munro if I’d known what a weak and fickle mon he is, or how shameful the Munros are.”
“Your Majesty,” Cairren bowed her head toward the king. “Padraig is not a bad mon, but everyone he trusted played him false. I no longer fault him for all the choices he made.”
“Why have you come here?” the Bruce asked.
“I could no longer remain at Foulis, among the Munros, without fearing my imminent death. I returned here knowing my sister was in residence. I would request your permission to remain, either until my parents can escort me home or until the weather clears and I can travel with guards.”
“So you are leaving your husband,” King Robert was not asking a question.
Cairren nodded. “We cannot reconcile what stands between us. Please let me be clear that I don’t hold Padraig at fault for why we cannot remain together. He has duties to his clan he cannot abandon, and I cannot stay while his family intends me harm.” Cairren steeled herself for what she was about to request. “Your Majesty, I would petition for an annulment.”
“You know that isn’t possible, Lady Cairren,” Queen Elizabeth spoke up.
“Your Grace, during the wedding Father Mitchell asked if there was any impediment we knew of that could keep us from marrying. He stated that if we withheld secrets within our hearts, if we were not forthcoming in why we shouldn’t marry, then the union would be void in both God’s eyes and the law’s.” Cairren blinked several times as she thought about how to make her argument. “We both made our pledges knowing they weren’t true. Neither of us spoke up to admit we didn’t intend to keep all of our vows. We promised to love one another, but we both knew we entered the marriage under false pretenses while Padraig loved another woman. That lie makes our marriage unlawful and is grounds for an annulment.”
“That is very shaky logic, Lady Cairren,” the king warned.
“Your Majesty, Padraig deserves a wife who can live with him and share the responsibilities of his position. He deserves to have children people won’t ostracize if their skin is too dark. I deserve not to live in fear that my next breath shall be my last. This annulment is best for everyone. My father agreed to give up my dowry to allow Padraig and me to handfast. This relationship would have ended in a year and a day. I do not doubt he
will forgo its return if I am granted permission to return to Dunure.”
“And who would you marry instead?” Queen Elizabeth inquired.
“I don’t have an answer to that, Your Grace. I don’t intend to remarry soon.”
“Is your husband aware of your appeal?” King Robert raised his chin and looked down his thin patrician nose.
“No, he is not, Your Majesty. He knows I’m of the opinion that we are at an impasse.”
“But he doesn’t share that opinion, I take it.” King Robert continued to look down his nose.
Cairren knew the king was testing her, but she was resolute. “As I said, Your Majesty, Padraig would accompany me to Dunure, but he has duties to his clan that he cannot dismiss.”
“Your husband would give up his place among his clan to live with yours,” Queen Elizabeth surmised. “And you won’t accept that.”
“Your Grace, it’s not aboot what I want. It’s what is best for our clans. That was the reason for our marriage in the first place.” Cairren paused as she considered her wording. “Your Majesty, I cannot in good conscience draw Padraig away from his clan. They need his guidance and leadership now, and it will only become more necessary in the years to come.”
“You’re saying his father is failing to lead his clan, and his brother will do no better. I gathered as much from your tale. You are an honest woman, Lady Cairren. No one has ever spoken a word against you, and you endured much while at court. I can’t fathom how you endured what you did with the Munros. Ladies are not meant to ride into battle as you did every day. I will petition the Pope, but as we are not reconciled, I am not confident that you shall receive the outcome you wish. That said, my excommunication means I am no longer bound by the doctrine of the Church. As king, I assert I have the power to grant your petition. However, before I answer one way or another, there is much I need to consider.”
Cairren swallowed. She understood that was the king’s indirect way of informing her that he would speak to Padraig. She could only imagine how well that would go over. She’d prayed King Robert would grant her request and that he would make the decree official.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Grace.” Cairren waited for the king to nod before she rose and curtsied. She glided to the door, but once in the passageway, she ran to her chamber.
Chapter Forty-Four
Padraig expected the king would summon him, but he hadn’t anticipated it would be the morning after he arrived. He was accustomed to the Bruce making visitors wait days before granting them entry into the Privy Council chamber. From there, it could be several more days before the audience occurred. It shocked him to stand before King Robert before the midday meal.
“Munro, I’ve learned that Clan Munro failed spectacularly in offering Highland hospitality to your wife. How would you explain your wife’s reception, and more to the point, how would you describe your marriage to Lady Cairren?”
“It has been a source of great dishonor and shame,” Padraig admitted. “I suspect you have spoken to Lady Cairren, so I shall keep this succinct. I failed my wife when she arrived as my bride. While I intended to keep my vow of fidelity, and I did, I entered my marriage believing I was in love with another woman. I intended to marry Lady Myrna Ross at Samhain. Then your order came for me to wed Lady Cairren. I couldn’t imagine forsaking Lady Myrna, and when Lady Cairren arrived…”
Padraig swallowed before clearing his throat. The chamber suddenly felt sweltering. “Lady Cairren was not what any of us expected. She wasn’t what I expected. I could see how my clan reacted, and it made me resent being forced to put aside Lady Myrna. I thought I could balance having my wife and the woman I loved. While not intentional, I didn’t prevent myself or others from humiliating Lady Cairren. It took longer than I care to admit for me to realize that the woman I married was far better than the woman I thought I loved. I have worked to make amends with Lady Cairren, and I believe my clan will accept her. But I cannot deny that my family does not.”
“So you didn’t love Lady Cairren when you pledged to do just that. You didn’t intend to allow your love for her to develop because you believed you loved another. Did I understand you?” King Robert’s focus on a singular point made Padraig wary. He wasn’t certain the direction in which the conversation headed, but he suspected he would be miserable once he got there.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What made you realize that you weren’t in love with Lady Myrna?”
“At first, I was sympathetic to what I believed she felt. I was heartbroken to see her suffer from her disappointment and grief that our lives would not be bound through matrimony. I excused her vicious and vindictive tongue as that of a prostrate woman who saw little future. But as time went by, I realized Lady Cairren conducted herself with dignity and kindness at all times, even in the face of Lady Myrna’s scorn and abuse.”
Padraig paused as memories of Cairren’s determination and strength flashed before his eyes. He wondered how he could have ever failed to see what Cairren offered beyond their bedchamber.
“It was impossible not to draw a comparison and see that it was Lady Myrna who came out lacking. I could no longer make excuses or justify her behavior, and so I saw through the façade.” Padraig looked away from the Bruce as he told the last part of his story. “Lady Myrna never intended to be faithful to me. She never was. She and Duncan have been involved for years, long before I began courting her. They conspired to convince me to marry Lady Myrna, so she could live at Foulis and continue her affair with Duncan.”
King Robert looked at the Highlander for a tense moment. “While you appear contrite, Padraig, I cannot overlook how the marriage began. You didn’t enter the marriage truthfully, and you made a false promise to love Lady Cairren. She has already admitted to the same falsehood. It is because of this that I lean heavily toward granting your wife’s petition for an annulment.”
“Her what?” Padraig rose from his chair so abruptly that it tumbled over. Guards rushed forward, but the king waved them away. “Cairren asked for an annulment?”
“Aye, just before I summoned you. The queen and I spoke to your wife, and she recounted her experiences with your clan. I’m of a mind to agree that it is not safe for her to return. I also acknowledge that you both made false statements during your wedding. You’ve corroborated her claim that you both entered the marriage under false pretenses and didn’t intend to uphold your vows.”
“But I lo—” Padraig snapped his mouth shut. He would not profess his love for the first time to someone other than Cairren.
“That may be all good and well, but your marriage was a mistake.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Padraig argued. When King Robert’s face grew red, Padraig apologized. “Please forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty. I wasn’t prepared for this. Needless to say, it comes as a devastating shock. I hoped you would assist me in convincing Lady Cairren that we should retire to Dunure. Together. I didn’t expect to learn my marriage would be deemed void.”
“It might have been prudent to tell your wife your feelings before you arrived here,” Queen Elizabeth spoke up for the first time.
“I see that now, Your Grace.” Padraig glanced down before looking the king in the eye. “Is my marriage over?”
“Not yet.” King Robert drew out his pause, and Padraig knew he was doing it to torture him. “I shall grant you a day to convince your wife to remain married.”
Padraig’s shoulders slumped. “Your Majesty, I do not see that as possible. As long as my father leads the Munros and my brother is his heir, Lady Cairren won’t return. Duncan is likely to marry Lady Myrna, and she and my mother under the same roof will only endanger Cairren. I cannot take her back with me. She will not agree to me joining her at Dunure. Her sense of honor and duty is too strong. While they are two of the traits I admire most aboot her, they are most inconvenient right now.”
King Robert chuckled and nodded. “Then I shall grant you up to a fortnight. There is much to this
story I still wish to investigate. Laird Kennedy also needs to be made aware that his daughter has sought safety here. I will be sure the mon kens you accompanied Lady Cairren and what your intentions are, but he will be angrier than a bear woken before spring. I forewarn you: you may not live long enough to enjoy your marriage.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
“I suggest you find your wife.” King Robert offered him a rueful smile as Padraig bowed and left the Privy Council chamber.
Chapter Forty-Five
Padraig pounded on Cairren’s chamber door so hard that the wood shook. “Cairren, open the door.” He pounded again. The sound echoed through the passageway, but Padraig couldn’t care less if he drew attention. He intended to speak to his wife. He’d passed Caitlyn, who confirmed Cairren was in their chamber. He was in the middle of his third round of knocking when the door flew open.
“Padra—” Cairren wasn’t given the opportunity to speak. Padraig pulled her into his arms as he kicked the door shut. His mouth slammed down onto hers. They battled for control of the kiss as it became a conflagration of pent-up need and unresolved pain. He lifted her, and her legs came around his waist as he backed her against the door. The kiss carried on until they were breathless, and Padraig’s stubble abraded Cairren’s lips and chin. Padraig lowered her to the ground, and they stared at one another.
“I love you, Ren. I won’t accept an annulment.” Padraig heaved a deep breath as he tried to slow his racing heart, the accelerated pace the result of their breathless kisses and his anxiousness over their impending confrontation.
“Padraig, you have to go home, and once there you need a wife who can be at your side.”
“Or maybe you already have another husband in mind,” Padraig flung at her. “Are you planning your wedding to Alexander?”
“Alex?” Cairren asked incredulously. “First, if I wanted to marry Alex, I would have done so years ago. Second, I don’t want to marry anyone who isn’t you. And third, you’re a jealous arse to accuse me of that.”
An Enemy at the Highland Court: An Enemies to Lovers Highlander Romance (The Highland Ladies Book 5) Page 31