“Then is there someone besides the Balliols and the Gregors that she might be cozy with?” Elizabeth wondered.
“I can think of several clans that aren’t in Robert’s favor nor is he in theirs.” Queen Elizabeth rambled off names as she held up her fingers. “The Gregors, as we know; the MacDougalls and MacNaughtens, the Johnstones, but they sent their daughter here to serve me as a recompense; and the Comyns. The Mac-an-leistears serve the Gregors as their fletchers and they’re only a small band, but they side with their overlord. The Dalziel have only recently come over to our side after years of supporting King Edward; and last but not least, Clan Baird.”
“Baird?” Edward’s head snapped up. “Which ones? Carnwath or Cambusnethan? I thought Baron Carnwath was someone you refused to entertain anywhere near court. You can’t stand the man. It’s a great wonder to me that you trust his relatives.”
“It’s a fairly distant relation between the two septs, and the Cambusnethan Bairds are doing well in Fife. I don’t trust Carnwath as far as I can spit. If he were drowning, I’d spit in his mouth.”
“He seems like a likely bedfellow for Lady MacAdams,” Tavish muttered.
“What is the blasted woman’s first name?” Magnus asked as he and Deirdre returned. Deirdre’s face had more color, and she appeared far less shaky. Magnus eased her back into her seat before taking his next to her. “For a woman everyone seems to ken so well, I’ve never heard her Christian name.”
“I don’t think many people ken it,” Tavish offered. He couldn’t look at his wife as he spoke because he did know. “She insists on everyone addressing her as Lady MacAdams.”
“Amelia,” Edward said under his breath. He felt as uncomfortable as Tavish looked. Neither wanted to think it; neither wanted to say it because saying her name aloud made it too personal, too much of a reminder of a past that left little but shame and regret.
“What’s that?” Robert asked.
Edward sighed, knowing he couldn’t avoid repeating himself, but before he could open his mouth, Elizabeth chimed in.
“He said her name is Amelia. I’ve been here long enough to know even the most distasteful people’s names. She is Amelia Arabella MacAdams née Grant. Her father was a distant relative of the current Grant laird, but her mother was a Gregor. The MacAdams clan has direct ties to the Gregor clan more than a few times over. They are a sept, though lately they’ve kept their distance from the Gregors. Now that I think about it, I suspect her late husband brought them to court either to ingratiate themselves into your good graces, severing ties to the Gregors and other MacAdams, or to spy.” Elizabeth shrugged when everyone looked at her. “I may not be as interested in the Greeks and Romans as Deirdre, but our history fascinates me. I’ve read about the clan bloodlines and know who married whom. It wasn’t difficult to tie it together once I started thinking about it.”
“And so, we come full circle,” Ceit chimed in. She’d gone quiet after her initial burst of temper. She sank into her seat when the queen listed her clan among those who opposed Robert. There was no way that she could deny she was a Comyn by birth, but she much preferred to identify as a Sinclair. Her mother, father, and siblings had suffered for their kinship to the Earl of Buchan, but her father pledged fealty to Robert. However, it didn’t erase the stigma attached to the notorious family. “If she is a Gregor, and you disfavor the Bairds too, then perhaps they are in fact bedfellows. Their animosity toward you and your reign may have made them friends with a common enemy.”
“That seems reasonable. This entire situation gives me a migram. I cannot keep track of the hoops you’ve all jumped through to go from believing Elizabeth was the intended target to Edward.” The queen rubbed her temple. “You’ve considered the Comyns and the Balliols along with now the Gregors, MacAdams, Bairds, and who else?”
“That is where things stand now,” Edward reassured. “At least we have somewhere to start.”
“I feel like we need to draw a map of this web. Or at least cross off the names we’ve disqualified,” Deirdre suggested.
They spent the next half an hour making the list and map to keep everyone’s mind straight on the current list of suspects. When the finished, Elizabeth felt exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and rest, but she had one more suggestion to make.
“None of us agree to allowing our husbands to seduce or be seduced by Amelia,” Elizabeth began, feeling a sense of satisfaction when thinking of the woman by her given name. It seemed humbling after all the haughtiness Elizabeth had to endure over the years. “Then perhaps Deirdre, Ceit, and I can gain some ground. Amelia has relished reminding us of her connections to Tavish and Edward. I’m sure she’s had her eye on Magnus. Perhaps if we allow her to taunt us a little, we can draw her into conversation and see if she might give something away. She has little respect for any of us, believing we’re all nitwits.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Ceit spoke up. “She loves to crow about her conquests. If we can at least figure out who she’s been linked to over the past few moons, that might give us an idea of who is to blame.”
“I will be sure that she and the other matrons join us after the evening meal,” the queen offered. “Beltane is still a few months off, but I can say that I require suggestions of how to celebrate this year. I’ll say I’m in the mood for something grander than in the past. To celebrate the success of Robert’s reign. If Amelia is conspiring against us, then that will be fodder for her plans.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The evening seemed to drag as Elizabeth tried not to squirm too often, but her excitement built with each bite. When the group left the royal antechamber, she felt drained and raw, but after a nap and time spent with Edward, she felt revived. Now, she anticipated retiring to the queen’s solar and beginning the inquiry into Lady MacAdams’s involvement. While she veritably bubbled over with eagerness, she sensed Edward grew more apprehensive as the meal progressed.
“We’re just going to talk to her,” Elizabeth spoke behind her goblet.
“Be sure that’s all it is,” Edward muttered.
“What more can we do in the queen’s solar? Do you fear we’ll wrestle her to the ground and thrash her until she confesses?”
“Yes.” Edward didn’t appreciate the mirth in her voice.
Elizabeth spluttered the sip she’d taken. Edward’s abrupt answer wasn’t what she expected.
“You worry we’d get into a fight with her in front of all the women at court? Don’t you trust us to have any discretion?”
“I do,” Edward sighed. “But I also know how tenacious the three of you can be, and I know how much you want this resolved. I don’t worry it would come to fisticuffs, but I do worry that an argument will erupt if you push too hard.”
Elizabeth placed her hand on Edward’s leg beneath the tablecloth. She waited to see if he’d hold it in place or move his thigh away. When his hand covered hers, she breathed easier but chided herself for having too little faith in Edward.
“We will only ask enough to get a sense for whether it might involve her. More than that would be far too nosy considering none of us have ever taken an interest in her before.”
“Just be careful, Beth. If the attacks weren’t intended for me but you, then you’re still in imminent danger. If they intended them for me, you’re still in danger because of our connection. I can’t bear anything happening to you. I’d rather we pack tonight and find somewhere up north to take refuge.”
“We could always go to the Sinclairs. I doubt they would turn us down.”
“And bring any unresolved threats to their doorstep?”
“No, I suppose not. But if we hid, then no one would be sure where to look.”
“They would look at the Sinclairs. You’re related to them now by marriage and all five of the Sinclairs are the king’s and queen’s godchildren. Laird Sinclair is a staunch supporter of the king.”
“I’ll be careful. I promise.”
The mus
ic began and as the courtiers moved about to form lines for dancing, their conversation ended. Elizabeth wasn’t in the mood to dance, and from the looks on Deirdre’s and Ceit’s faces neither were they. The two Sinclair couples welcomed Edward and Elizabeth to their table, where they observed the dancing.
“I’m too tired to even consider twirling around,” Deirdre mused.
“Then let us retire,” Magnus suggested, elbowing his brother as Tavish chortled.
“Yes, he plans on that too, Tavish.” Deirdre shot her brother-by-marriage a pointed look. “But Magnus would rather I not meddle with Amelia.” Deirdre placed a hand over her chest, the evening meal not sitting well with her.
“Tavish is one to speak,” Ceit shot her husband a censuring look when he opened his mouth. “He griped at me all afternoon about being careful and not drawing too much attention to my questioning and not getting on Amelia’s bad side. As though I haven’t done this sort of thing before. He seems to have forgotten how we came to be acquainted.”
“I havenae forgotten at all, mo sheillean beag. And that’s what terrifies me.” Tavish’s face lost all its humor when teasing his brother morphed into worrying his wife. All three warriors found that little in life frightened them except for anything that might risk their wives’ safety. Those possibilities were the makings of their nightmares.
“Edward is none too keen either as the time draws closer.” Elizabeth nudged her shoulder against Edward’s. “They seem to have no understanding of what our service was like. If we weren’t the gossips, then we heard about it. Women sizing one another up based on their conquests is nothing new. We, as a gender, are not so different as men. We’re just not as gauche when we discuss topics that might offend our tender sensibilities.”
The three women smiled like cats that got into the cream, and all three husbands stood aghast.
“Just how much talking about what happens behind closed doors do you do?” Magnus demanded.
“Not much since we haven’t had the opportunity. When we were unwed, well when Beth and Ceit were unwed and everyone assumed I was, we weren’t privy to such conversations. We overheard them, but we never joined them. What would we have had to offer? Now that we’re married, it’s expected for us to join in. Especially since we are all still fairly newlywed, and it’s obvious that we are all amorous with our husbands.”
Magnus didn’t look mollified, nor did Edward or Tavish.
“We’ll be careful. We’re not interested in making a scene,” Elizabeth tried to sound soothing without being patronizing. “We’ll just have to wait and see what comes of this conversation.”
The couples had a longer wait than they would’ve liked. Eventually, they relented and joined the dancers. The husbands and wives were equally determined to only partner with their spouses during the slower songs. All three women turned down numerous offers, the men accepting the rejection when the ladies’ husbands glowered over their shoulders. Elizabeth’s feet ached and her head was pounding when the queen finally signaled it was time for the women to retire.
The queen swept into her solar and settled into her favorite chair. She cast a gimlet eye as the women filed in and gathered in their regular groups. Deirdre, Ceit, and Elizabeth noticed a group of matrons with whom they were acquainted. They wandered closer to the married women who aimed withering looks at the tittering ladies-in-waiting. Elizabeth grazed her elbow against a woman’s arm.
“My apologies, my lady,” Elizabeth offered as she smiled at a woman she recognized as Lady Eleanor Gordon, a widow cast from the same mold as Lady MacAdams. In fact, they were bosom buddies.
“Ah, Lady Elizabeth,” the lady gushed. Elizabeth caught the gleam in the woman’s eye. She was a social climber, and the opportunity to hobnob with a countess, the queen’s sister-by-marriage no less, was too fine a one to pass up. “I don’t believe I have offered my felicitations on your rather unexpected marriage.”
Before Elizabeth responded, the target of her mission stepped forward, offering a malicious smile.
“There was nothing unexpected about it,” Amelia MacAdams’s condescension rolled off her in waves. “The earl was sniffing about her skirts like a lost pup scratching at the kitchen door.”
Elizabeth braced herself to not let her temper get the better of her.
“My husband is very determined to get what he sets out for.” Elizabeth offered the demurest smile she could.
“We know,” cackled Lady Gordon. Elizabeth felt the color rise in her neck and once again, for at least the millionth time, cursed her fair coloring that would show her blush. Eleanor had just admitted she’d bedded Edward as clearly as if she said the words aloud.
“He also doesn’t settle.” Elizabeth’s voice was hushed, but her words carried as the chamber quietened to watch Elizabeth go toe-to-toe with two of the most vindictive women at court.
“We shall see, my lady. You’re still in the first blush of youth; the earl’s excitement over a new toy hasn’t worn off. Yet.” Amelia smirked. “Then again, he has been spending quite a lot of time out of sight.”
Elizabeth understood the implication but wouldn’t take the bait the way Amelia wished.
“It would be rather hard to see him when we’re tucked away in our chamber for so much of the day.”
Amelia snapped her mouth shut, but Eleanor had more to say.
“Who would’ve guessed you were such a strumpet,” Eleanor softened her tone making it almost sound endearing, but the words were anything but.
“My husband brings out the best in me.” Elizabeth fluttered her eyelashes. “I’ve learned the hidden secrets you two must be experts in. Bedsport is rather divine. I understand it’s even better when done with someone you care about.”
Amelia’s lips tightened into a pucker while Eleanor laughed without mirth. Ceit and Deirdre had stood quietly while Elizabeth stood her ground. Her friends pressed closer to the women who antagonized Elizabeth.
“That’s what my Tavish says, too. He can’t keep his hands off me, says he never realized, despite all his practice, that ravishing a woman he loves would be so much better.” Ceit grinned without remorse. The most brazen of the three women, she had no qualms about gloating in front of two women who were part of her husband’s past.
“Magnus can’t say the same, but that’s because he’s wanted no one else once we got together. Turned down every offer like it was bad fish under his nose.” Deirdre mused with an innocence that belied the bluntness of her words.
“We did always consider him an odd duck that way. We wondered if he was a man for all that size and brute strength.” Amelia’s snarky tone caught more than one woman’s attention. Elizabeth and the others were aware they didn’t need anyone else listening in, so they slowly shifted their position to place their backs to the rest of the chamber. Elizabeth noticed the queen began speaking with the other women, giving instructions on her plans for the spring feast.
“He found what he liked and refused to settle for less,” Deidre shrugged.
“We would apologize for taking away your favorite novelties if we weren’t so sure you’ve already found other things to occupy you.” Elizabeth tested the waters. “I heard something about the Earl of Atholl, but I can’t remember who was mentioned.” Elizabeth had heard no such thing and was aware the earl hadn’t been to court in several months, but he was a powerful man both women pursued in the past.
“Good God, no,” Amelia laughed. “The man is too fickle, be it his women or his politics. Besides his daughter is the mother of the other Edward’s son. It would seem incestuous to bed the father and the son-by-marriage, or rather son-by-tupping.” Amelia had just admitted she bedded both of the king’s brothers named Edward.
“Incestuous? Come now, Lady MacAdams,” Eleanor tried not to choke as she held in her laughter. “That’s not the reason. You’ve tupped brothers---at the same time—and not worried about your conscience screaming incest.”
Elizabeth wondered if her own husband had bee
n one of those sets of brothers, and from Ceit’s pale face, she guessed her friend wondered the same thing. After all, Tavish had two other brothers besides Magnus.
“Be that as it may, Strathbogie is not to my taste.”
“The Earl of Mar seems like a man who might hold your interest,” Deirdre suggested.
“Which one?” Eleanor didn’t bother to cover her laugh this time. “Once more, Lady MacAdams, your conscience was quiet with this one. Both Domnalls and I recall Gartnait, too. Father, son, and grandson. Quite the trifecta. I wish I could claim such an accomplishment.”
Amelia grew irritated, and Elizabeth noticed the woman didn’t appreciate her so-called friend’s teasing. Elizabeth glanced at Deirdre and Ceit before sliding her eyes to Lady Gordon and raising an eyebrow.
“Lady Gordon,” Ceit moved closer to the woman, and her words trailed off as she spoke in conspiratorial tones. Elizabeth failed to make out what Ceit said. Once Ceit drew Eleanor into conversation, Elizabeth watched as Amelia stretched her neck before glaring at Elizabeth for catching her in a moment of weakness.
“I suspect you didn’t have to try very hard for any of the Earls of Mar to wind up in your bed. I may detest the past you have with my husband, but I can admit you’re a beautiful woman. You hold an appeal to men that is beguiling, bewitching even.”
A Spinster at the Highland Court: The Highland Ladies Book One Page 19