Kenna pointed at the cup on the right, and the Earl lifted it.
“Ach! Ye found it. Clever girl. Here, ye won the coin.”
Kenna didn’t accept the coin from his outstretched hand. “What was this meant to show, Laird Sutherland? Are ye saying ye are the silver? Moving so quick that ye think yerself hard to be found?”
“Heavens no. The silver is too easily found fer it to be me. Think for a moment on what I told ye earlier, Lady Kenna. Mary loves this game. Her focus is unparalleled; she seldom loses. If ye tell her that there is a bit of silver, she watches the cups with more intensity than a wolf watches a deer. No, I canna be the silver, Kenna; that must be ye.”
“What?”
The Earl, still holding the silver piece, tucked it back under the cup and gestured for Kenna to begin moving them. She gripped the cups and began to circle them, moving them this way and that as Sutherland had done, her eyes never leaving his face as he stared down at the table.
“Ye see, when Mary thinks she is looking for a bit of silver, she tracks every move. Every twitch of yer finger. Every shuffle and every switch. She tracks them with singular focus until she is given the opportunity to expose her prize.
“In this case, she was watching ye, every little thing ye did, large or small. To keep the cups moving, so to speak, I whispered little doubts in her ear, and in yer new husband’s ear. I made yer wedding a raucous affair so she would continue to question yer family’s morality. I even signed the letters with a ‘K’ just in case they were intercepted. And she watched ye, just as I hoped she would, waiting for that perfect moment to tip the cup and expose ye as a Gordon spy.”
Kenna stopped moving the cups and pulled her hands away cautiously, her mind whirling at his words.
Sutherland looked up at her and smiled as he reached out to tip the centermost cup over with a flick. There on the table was the silver piece.
“‘Tis an admirable quality, Mary’s focus, but it also gets her into a bit of trouble.”
“How is that?”
Sutherland reached over and tipped another of the cups. There on the table, gleaming in the light, was a golden coin.
“She always forgets that there could be a better prize in play, one that she might find if she simply looked fer it.”
“Ye ken I am going to tell Queen Mary what I saw here.”
“And make it yer word against mine? I’ll tell Mary that ye planted the evidence here, desperate to try and pin yer sins on another. I would then suggest that she conducts a full search of yer room at the inn.”
“Where she would find nothing.”
“Wouldn’t she? Not hidden beneath the loose floorboard in the corner of the room? Oh, sweet Kenna, did ye really think I had not planted something amongst yer things? Florence holds quite the court in that inn; people do not pay attention to who is going in and out anymore. ‘Tis too difficult to keep track of.”
“Did my brothers help ye with this?”
“To an extent. They gave me ye, which was the greatest assistance. They agreed to deliver some letters to the Earl of Huntly, letters I wrote before we left the comforts of Inverness Castle. They told him where our party was headed, what route we planned on taking, and a few other helpful details. Delivering those letters was all I asked of them. The better question would be: What did the Earl of Huntly ask them to do after they delivered my letters?”
The accusation was plain. Thomas is an excellent archer, Kenna thought with a sting. The flash of gold, perhaps, had been his gold chain. It had been the last thing their mother had given him, and he wore the damn thing everywhere. Kenna used to find it endearing, but now the memory was stained with a betrayal beyond anything she had ever known. All of her memories of her brothers were ruined, the final twist of their story leading them to a bad ending.
“So what do we do now? Now that I ken what a conniving bastard ye are?”
“There is nothing fer ye to do anymore. As I said, I planted plenty of evidence against ye. In a contest of testimonies, I’ll surely win. There are two choices now: ye could run back home and hope that yer former family still holds some love fer ye, or ye could stay and play a few more games until someone comes to retrieve ye, at which point I will lay down an accusation against ye, and ye’ll be executed. ‘Tis the lady’s choice.”
“Such chivalry.”
Sutherland shrugged with a mocking grin just as a loud knock echoed through the house. The knock was followed by a groaning squeak, the maid heaving aside the heavy front door to welcome whoever had come to call. Whoever it was would soon bear witness to her undoing.
“Ach, sorry, lass, it would seem that ye did not choose quick enough. If ye still wish to run or try to run, then ye could just go through that door behind ye. It will take ye to the kitchens, where there is a second door, and then ye can slip away into the night. Now, please excuse me, I have a show to put on.”
Sutherland stood and went over to the table that was still covered in the letters, his calm demeanor slipping into something wild and fearful. He began to shake, his jowls quivering.
“How could ye try and do this to me! I had so much faith in ye, Kenna! The Queen will hear of this at once!”
There were running footsteps coming toward the room now. Was it Rob? Would he believe her?
No, Kenna thought with a squeeze in her heart, he will not believe ye so long as he remembers who else ye count as family.
He hadn’t believed her before—he had even seemed to have been expecting her to have done something. Nothing would have changed between then and now.
Maybe running was her best option after all. Whether she got away or not, at least she wouldn’t have to see the disappointment on Rob’s face when Sutherland spun his tale. But her feet were frozen to the spot, her body unable to react to everything her mind was trying to force it to understand.
Sutherland kept shouting, now calling for whoever had arrived to come and assist him.
The door was thrown to the side with such force that it collided against the wall with a loud crack. Rob rushed into the room, his face so dark and full of malice that Kenna began to tremble. This wasn’t the man with the lopsided grin, this wasn’t the Rob she knew. This was the part of him that she, as a wife, wasn’t supposed to see. This was him as a Highland warrior, sword drawn and thirsty for blood. This version of Rob would kill her. He wouldn’t even hesitate.
Rob was followed by another man: the Lockhart. Of course he was here. Of course he would witness her downfall. It was all he had been pushing for since that fateful day in the Queen’s pavilion. How happy he must be to finally have her in his grasp.
Kenna’s gaze fell to the floor before he had the chance to sneer.
“Thank goodness ye are here! I just found Lady Kenna hiding these letters. I stepped out of the room fer only a second! Bring her to the Queen, have her rooms searched! I can hardly believe it.”
“Aye. None of us can.” Rob hissed. “Kenna, are ye all right?”
What?
Her eyes raced upward to find Rob’s. His sword was still raised, his face still horrifically morphed with anger, but it wasn’t pointed at her. It was pointed at Sutherland. Lockhart wasn’t looking at her either. He was also staring, open-mouthed and pale, at Sutherland.
“Kenna?” Rob stole a few glances in her direction.
“I—I’m fine.”
“Laird Fraser! I ken this news may come as a shock to ye, but I’ll have ye sheath yer sword this instant!”
“Ach, Sutherland, I canna do that,” Rob replied. “Not ‘til Laird Lockhart and I take ye into our custody.”
“Excuse me?” Sutherland was audacious enough to sound offended. “She is the one ye ought to be taking into custody. Did ye not hear what I found her to be doing?”
“We heard yer accusation, Sutherland,” Lockhart chimed in. “But we also heard yer confession.”
“W-what?” A nervous stammer cracked through Sutherland’s confident resolve.
Lockhart raised his finger
and slowly pointed across the room, to the still-open window. A breeze finally passed by, gently rippling one of the red curtains as it slipped through the room.
Sutherland laughed, a low and throaty chortle. “Only Lady Kenna would open a window without first asking the permission of her host.”
“Aye, she can be quite the handful. Now, step forward, Laird Sutherland,” Rob said, a venomous sneer on his face.
Sutherland glowered at them. “Fine, but I’ll have ye ken that this will not be such a simple affair.”
Sutherland’s hands closed on the table in front of him and flipped it upward, sending parchment and candles flying through the air.
Rob and Lockhart jumped back as a spray of hot wax rained down upon them while Sutherland rushed to Kenna, grabbing her with an unexpected strength while he pulled his new dagger from his belt.
“Stay back! Drop yer sword,” Sutherland shouted, shoving her in front of him while the blade of his dagger hovered above the soft skin of her neck.
Rob’s face softened, letting a hint of fear slip past his warrior’s glare. He dropped his sword to the floor with a clamor.
“Let her go, Sutherland. No matter what ye do to the lass, yer game is lost. Ye canna get all three of us, and it only takes one to tell the Queen.”
“Kenna, dear, remember what I said about that back door? Let’s go,” Sutherland whispered as he started to shuffle back, using his blade to coax Kenna to come along with him.
As the knife touched her skin, she felt a soft prick that confirmed her worst fears. The rumors were false; Sutherland’s wife had not ordered him to hold only dull blades.
“Laird Fraser, ye stay there. Ye would hate to make me nervous. My hands shake when I’m nervous.”
“Are we to go like this all the way back to the Earl of Huntly? A brilliant strategy.”
“No, lass, I would never walk such a long journey. There is a stable in the back that ye’ll escort me to while ye husband…” Sutherland raised his voice a bit as he continued, “… stays right where he is.”
Rob, true to form, scoffed and took one brazen step forward, covering all the ground in one footfall that Sutherland had managed to put between them with a dozen small shuffles.
“I told ye to stay put!”
“Aye, ye did, but ye are a liar, so I wasn’t sure ye meant it.”
“I’ll kill her.”
“And then I’ll kill ye. The Queen will forgive me fer not bringing ye in fer a trial.”
“Kenna,” Sutherland whispered, “pick up that candle beside ye.”
“Why?”
“Just—” He pressed the blade to her neck again, and the soft prick deepened into a sharp pain that was followed by a warmth slipping down toward her collarbone. “—do what I ask of ye, lass.”
Kenna, not daring to turn her head and worsen her situation, reached her hand out to her side and let it wave through the air until she felt the subtle heat of a candle flame. She tracked the heat to the source and wrapped her clumsy fingers around the shaft of a thick candle.
“Give it here.” Sutherland hissed, ripping the candle away from her with his spare hand, the moment causing the blade to shift away from her neck, relieving her just a little.
Across the room, Rob stilled once more, his eyes squinting at Sutherland. Kenna could practically see the wheels in his mind spinning as he tried to sort through Sutherland’s plan so he could counter it. She wished he would hurry it up.
The Earl’s breath on her neck was growing more and more frantic. He was starting to gasp and wheeze, a laugh that might have also been a cry. The man was going mad.
“Have ye recovered from the burns the Queen gave ye yet, Kenna? I doubt it. Burns take a while to heal. I never did get any of that ointment back from ye, so I do hope ye held onto it.”
Sutherland dropped the candle to Kenna’s side, pressing the flickering flame against the fabric of her skirt. Kenna felt a scream building in her throat as her hands began to flail. She knocked the candle away, but the flame had worked quicker than her hands. She felt the heat growing against her hip and, suddenly, a sharp push forward.
As she fell, Rob lunged for her and caught her in his arms. Gallant, perhaps, but he dropped her just as quickly as he had caught her before starting to ferociously beat at the flames on her skirt.
Lockhart lunged toward them, Sutherland’s pitcher in hand, and threw water over them both. The aim was terrible, drenching her face more than her skirt, but it was just enough to put out the last of the flames.
Rob jumped to his feet without ceremony and chased after Sutherland, leaving Lockhart to pull Kenna to her feet.
“Are ye all right?” he asked while he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against the small wound on her neck.
“Aye,” Kenna replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
She had never thought him to be capable of kindness.
“Stay here. I’ll go sound the alarm!” Lockhart cried, rushing from the room with an almost giddy expression.
While Lockhart went out the front, Kenna turned and went toward the back, following a trail of overthrown furniture and broken china until, at last, she went through an open door and out into the night. Rob was ahead of her, closing the gap between himself and the stable, a stable that Sutherland was already coming out of, mounted on the back of a massive black steed.
The horse reared as Rob jumped in front of it, a dangerous flurry of hooves flying through the air. Rob leaped to the side, stretching out his arm to try and grab the reins of Sutherland’s horse, but Sutherland was holding them close to his chest. The horse landed, while Rob skidded across the ground, then took off at full gallop before Rob could get back to his feet.
“Rob!” Kenna rushed forward, her heart pounding. Could one of the hooves have caught him?
“There was only one horse in the stable. Damn it to hell!” Rob shouted as he recovered his footing. “Stay here!”
Rob sprinted after Sutherland as if his legs were faster than those of a galloping horse.
“I guess ye’re okay…” Kenna said aloud, though there was no one there to hear.
The yard was so quiet that Kenna could have heard a mouse rustling through the grass, but even they had stayed confined in their beds. She pulled the handkerchief away from her throat and traced a finger along the wound. It was shallow, barely painful at all. It didn’t even seem to be bleeding anymore.
Thank God. It shouldn’t even scar.
She had already been marked enough in the past few weeks.
It didn’t take long for a renewed commotion of shouts and galloping hooves to echo through the streets, some coming closer to her while others continued on past. Kenna thought about going inside to greet the Queen’s men as they descended but thought better of it. She did not want to be anywhere near the half-written letters when they were found.
Kenna heard dozens of voices coming from the house, each shouting and making muffled exclamations, by the time that Rob returned. His feet dragged as he entered the rear yard, his hands pressed to his hips as he panted.
“Gone?” Kenna asked, though she already knew the answer.
“Gone,” Rob confirmed, coming closer and collapsing into her waiting arms. His body was hot and slick with sweat, but Kenna held him close all the same, grateful that he seemed otherwise unharmed. “I was too tired; I couldna catch up with him.”
“I do not think that ye failed to catch up with him because ye were tired, Rob.”
“Ach, I’d have given it a better go if I was at my full strength. I managed to keep close enough to track him fer a time, but all that did was help me point the Queen’s riders in the right general direction when they overtook me. They’ll not catch him though; he has too great of a lead.”
“I suppose we will find out. Whether he is caught tonight or in a few months’ time, it makes no difference. All of Scotland will ken what he has done soon enough.”
“Aye, ‘tis true.” Rob straightened back
up and took a half-step back to look down at the dark singes on her skirt. “Now, lass, I ken ye promised me an unpleasant reunion, but ye delivered on that promise with a wee bit too much force.”
“Oh, ye thought this was unpleasant? I found it to be quite a wonderful night.”
“Did ye now?”
“Aye. I mean, sure, I ruined another dress, and someone else was threatening to kill me, but honestly, that can hardly be considered thrilling anymore. Knives and fire—it all just gets a bit tedious after a time, don’t ye think?”
Rob ran his fingers through his hair, laughing despite the pain on his face. “Ye are a peculiar lass. And I owe ye an apology. ‘Twas not right for me to have doubted ye before. Sutherland, of all people, got into my head. Now I ken why.”
“He fooled many people.”
“So ye’ll forgive me?”
Kenna stared at Rob, his face so clenched with worry. He looked like a terrified child who was waiting for the scoldings of a governess who had caught him making mischief. It was hard not to forgive him, but she also did not particularly want to. His doubts had been as painful as the Queen’s hot irons. They burned into her with the same intensity as her brothers’ betrayal. The realization made her shiver. When had she become so attached?
No matter what he had done, she couldn’t not forgive him, but she couldn’t let it go so easily either.
Kenna pulled back her foot and let it fly forward to land squarely on Rob’s shin. He jumped up and cursed, reaching down to clutch at the already bruising welt.
“What the bloody hell!”
“Fine, I forgive ye. But ken this, it will not be yer shin I kick the next time ye ask me fer forgiveness.”
Rob looked at her as if she were some sort of puzzle he couldn’t quite solve before he finally laughed.
“Christ, woman, ye have a leg on ye. Come on, we ought to go in there.”
Nearly the entirety of the Queen’s inner circle was shoved into Sutherland’s strange, red room. All of the letters had been retrieved from where they had been thrown across the floor, and the table had been set right once more. The candles had been relit, and the maid, whose loyalties apparently rested with whoever was in control of the house, was scurrying around with a tray of her delicious oatcakes.
Highlander's Haunted Past (Highlander's Seductive Lasses Book 1) Page 13