by Reece Butler
“The babe is a lassie,” she stoutly whispered back.
“Best if you dinna tell him that,” replied James with a wink.
Heartened by his encouragement, she stepped forward. The turnpike stairs were narrow. She opened her cloak enough to lift her skirts to set her feet down safely. It left her without a free hand to guide her. Cormac followed close behind, his warm, broad hand on her lower back ensuring she would not fall. They crossed through to another set of stone steps, then up again. Cormac’s hand dropped to massage her bottom. She squeaked in surprise, slapping his hand away with a giggle.
She was still smiling when she entered the hall, though quickly sobered. They waited in the corner to be announced. Her father could easily see them as he sat on a raised platform with his back to the wall. A large oriel window behind and above him, something her dowry had no doubt paid for, lit the room. She saw William out of the corner of her eye. He was frowning at something over her head. Her tall, imposing escorts, no doubt.
She’d been the unwilling recipient of William’s attention too often as a young child. Smaller, younger, and female, she was an easy target until the MacDougal brothers arrived. They’d protected her, curbing the worst of her cousin’s brutishness until he was sent to the High School of Edinburgh with other sons of gentlemen. The students had rebelled in a dispute about their vacation and William ended up shooting the officer, John Macmoran, in the head. The earl had gotten the king involved and all the boys, including William, were sent home. Shortly after that Alana had arrived at Braal Castle, also in disgrace.
No wonder her cousin cared little about harming women, or anyone else. He’d murdered an official in cold blood in front of witnesses and all it cost him was a couple months in a comfortable Edinburgh jail. The earl waved his hand for them to step forward. Alana checked her cloak and hood again as they were announced.
“Yer Excellency, yer daughter, Lady Alana Sinclair, has arrived. Her escorts are Cormac and James MacDougal, who fostered here.”
She walked forward, tilting her head to keep it covered. She stopped in front of the dais, eyes modestly lowered, and gave a small bob. James and Cormac followed behind, leaving a few feet of space between them, and bowed.
“Remove your cloak and greet me properly,” he ordered.
As planned, she threw off her hood and lifted her head as James whisked her cloak off her shoulders and stepped back. She immediately sank into a deep, formal curtsy, bowing her kerch-covered head so it would be obvious. Someone gasped and whispers broke out. They could see her head, but not her front.
Chapter Four
“What is this?”
Alana rose from her curtsy to face her father’s bellow. She knew he was aware she was married and with child, yet she still quaked. Being told her circumstances was one thing. Seeing her before him in a kerch with a rounding belly was another.
“I am a married woman, Father.” She lifted her hand and rested it over the slight bulge of her belly. “Cormac MacDougal has given me your grandson.”
“Nay! She is to marry me!” William pounded his fist on the boards in fury.
She flinched at the outburst. Her husbands stepped close to protect her. The earl shoved back his chair and stood. Someone hushed William as guards moved to box them in.
“I gave no permission for you to marry.” His tone was icy, but he didn’t rage.
“My pardon, Father.” She sank into another curtsy, staying there. She’d used his relationship rather than his title on purpose. She also kept her voice low as if meek, though she did it to make him strain to hear. “Laird Fraser informed me that you wished grandsons. In my shame I could not attract the son of an important man. Laird Fraser had hired Cormac and James MacDougal to escort me home. The clan is well known for their ability to breed sons. As I had no dowry and Your Excellency was in a haste for grandsons I married Cormac, thinking it might please you.”
“You were to marry your cousin William, the Master of Sinclair.” Though he stood on a dais the earl's head wasn’t much higher than her husbands'. He turned his attention to them. “I offered you fostering and you repay me by shaming my daughter?”
“Lady Alana has no cause to lower her head for marrying an honest man. She was a dowerless woman whose own father shamed her,” replied Cormac.
She heard a grunt, no doubt due to his brother’s elbow to the gut. James bowed low, with Cormac following.
“Your Excellency, we beg your pardon for my brother marrying Lady Alana without your permission. As your daughter, the lady was far above us when we left Girnigoe. Lady Alana said she needed a husband and sons to please you. She proposed to Cormac, who agreed. Though we are far beneath her, we hoped her age, lack of dowry, and state of disgrace would allow you to grant Cormac the boon of her hand at this time.”
“Why did you not wait, and ask?”
James chanced a glance at the earl. “I learned battle technique from a master, Your Excellency. The iron was hot, so we struck. You have a grandson on the way. Does it matter who the father is?”
Sinclair tilted his head, assessing them. James dropped his eyes again. Her father grunted, as close to an acknowledgment as they were likely to receive.
“I sent a message to Fraser of Lovat many months ago. Why the delay?”
“We traveled on horseback to Castle Leod as MacKenzie of Kintail had a priest,” explained James. “Colin Mackenzie, remembering your kindness when fostering here, insisted Lady Alana accept their hospitality after our wedding.”
“We put a babe in her belly right off and then the wee lass was too sick to travel as each morn her belly—”
James cleared his throat, a suggestion that Cormac shut his mouth and keep it that way.
“We stayed until Lady Alana was better able to travel, then hired a ship.”
“A ship? And where did you get the gold for that?” demanded the earl.
“Laird Fraser grew fond of your daughter over the last ten years. He provided coins so she could return safely.”
“Does Lovat know of her marriage, and this babe?”
“Aye, as Laird MacKenzie sent a messenger when his healer said ’twas best Alana not travel. He did not wish Lord Lovat or Lady Janet to think Alana had been kidnapped or killed, as was likely if she traveled by horseback to Caithness.”
The earl grunted grudgingly and gave them a signal to rise. Cormac took her elbow to help her up, then kissed the top of her head. Since he did it all the time he likely hadn’t even noticed he’d done it.
Her father noticed. He watched them like a well-fed cat toying with its prey. Cormac was not a courtier like James. He had little subtlety to him. Like a bull in a field, his action showed exactly what he thought. Her father would know that from their early years here and would watch him. She swallowed, forcing herself to do so past the lump in her throat.
“You are not suggesting my daughter proposed to this man?” he asked James.
“Aye, Yer Excellency,” replied Cormac with a cheerful grin. “Alana proposed the weddin’, and I took care of the beddin’. She were a virgin but as ye can see, she is nay more.” He patted her belly affectionately. She slapped at him, making him pull back with a false pout. “MacDougals dinna have much, but we’re known for makin’ sons.” He winked. “Hope ye appreciate the effort. As ye see, we’re still tamin’ her.”
Chuckles broke out, the first coming from her father. Her face heated at Cormac’s crass comment. She was not one to need taming!
“I will get you for this,” she whispered to Cormac.
“You lie!” A scuffling caught her attention. William was being held in his chair by those seated next to him. He fought them off and stood. “She was no virgin when she snuck into my bed!”
They hauled him down again but the damage was done. The chuckles died as tension rose once more. The earl looked down his nose at Cormac.
“As you are no doubt aware, my daughter seduced my nephew, a man due to wed another. ’Tis why I banished her. So h
ow could she be a virgin?”
“William lied to ye, and so caused ye to send yer wee lassie away,” replied Cormac, loud enough to be heard in every corner of the hall. “Lady Alana was chaste when she came to my bed. No man had e’en kissed her.”
“You canna believe a bastard MacDougal!” roared William.
Cormac shook beside her with the effort to hold back his desire to attack. His face was a mask of fury. She leaned her shoulder against him to let him know she was there, and safe. He waited until the room was silent.
“My wife was a virgin when I married her, Yer Excellency.”
“Are you calling my nephew a liar?” asked the earl with a false softness he used before his temper descended.
“He were a lyin’, cheatin’, brute when I knew him, and I doubt he’s changed.” Cormac blasted the words. “Did ye ken he killed yer pup? Kicked him with his boot so hard the wee beastie smashed headfirst into the wall. Then he laughed.”
“He killed Hugo?” Sinclair almost whispered the words. “I was told a horse stepped on him. I had it flogged to death.”
Alana remembered. The stable master had known the truth and, when the accusation was made, brought forth the oldest horse, one in constant pain. He’d given it a poison that had killed the beast within a few minutes of the first lash. What really sickened her was that her father cared far more about that dog than he did his children, his wife, or anyone other than himself.
“My wife was a virgin but she had been touched by a man.” Cormac’s quiet words filled the hall. “She were beaten so bad she almost died, and by William Sinclair!”
He yelled the name, pointing at William. Cormac took a furious step forward but was held back by the guards. He fought to get free.
“Hold!”
The hall went silent and still at the earl’s bellow.
“Daughter. What happened at Braal Castle ten years past?”
She raised her chin and inhaled, then met his calculating eyes. She now had no doubt he knew the truth, and had known for some time. He would not know the details, however.
“I was fifteen, an innocent lass, when I fought off William’s attempt at rape. He near beat me to death for it. It took many weeks after I arrived at Lovat Castle afore I was without pain.”
Her father’s raised hand stopped the whispering. He motioned for her to continue. She turned to William for the first time. Far from being scared of him, she gained power in his fear. He was a sniveling bully, nothing close to a man. She dismissed him, focusing on her father. She could finally speak her truth.
“I was a maid, and knew naught of men. My aunts taught me to beg for kisses. I innocently flirted with Cormac and James MacDougal, unknowing what came after a kiss. When I arrived at Braal Castle William seemed changed from the nasty bully I’d known as a child. I had no one else to speak with, nor a way to pass the time. When he asked me for a game of chess, saying the game board was in his chamber, I believed him.”
“You play chess?” asked the earl, frowning.
“Alana won often against Laird Munro of Foulis when he visited Lovat Castle,” said Cormac with pride. "She played with Laird MacKenzie a time or two as well."
“You play the game with my daughter?”
Cormac screwed up his face in false horror. “Och, nay, I leave that to James. I’m a man of action, not one to move pieces on a board.”
The earl sat. He picked up his wine and motioned for her to continue. James stood behind her. He took her hand, squeezing it for comfort.
“I am now a well-married woman, Father, and ken why William couldna rape me.” She looked at her cousin with ten years worth of contempt and disgust. “His sorry excuse of manhood willna rise unless a woman cowers before him as he beats her bloody. I hear he’s made no babes with two wives. I ken why.”
William struggled to escape and to yell. Guards held him in his chair, holding his jaw to keep his mouth shut.
“When he attacked I refused to cower, fighting back instead. Because of that he couldna make his wee willy rise. It wobbled like a shriveled dead worm. I taunted him, calling it Wee Willy’s Worm. He went berserk, beating me until I curled in a ball on the floor, unable to rise or defend myself. He kicked me a few times more, then dragged me into his bolt hole and locked me in. I didna see him again, until now.”
She heard whispers and snickers. No matter what, from now on when someone looked at him they would think about his wee worm. He would never escape it. She smiled, knowing her vengeance would be assisted by everyone who used the phrase.
“Laird Fraser told me what he kens of this, Your Excellency,” said James, taking over. “William raced to you with his lies. As Alana had been flirting, as taught by your sisters, his word was believed. ’Twas days afore a maid found Lady Alana. She was near death. Your Excellency had sent a servant with orders for Alana to be banished to Lady Janet Fraser’s care. The servant discovered the truth, finding Alana alive but badly injured. He arranged for her to be sent by ship to Lovat Castle. Laird Fraser said it took many months for Alana’s wounds to heal. She still has nightmares.” He raked his eyes over William. “As the Lady Alana stated, though William’s had two wives and countless whores none of them have quickened. Methinks his, ah, wee willy worm willna work.”
Her father coughed, covering his mouth with his hand to hide a smile.
“Your Excellency, the man you sent to Braal Castle was my brother Archie,” said one of the guards, stepping forward. “He didna return. Do ye ken why, my lady?”
“I’m so sorry,” said Alana. Her throat tightened as she fought tears. “Because he saved my life and was therefore a witness to what William did, he was no doubt killed. I suspect so was the maid who found me and the women who nursed me.” Her voice broke, remembering the frightened women who’d helped her, and what William would have done to them. “I pray they had a quick death, but I doubt it.”
“Do you have proof of this attack, daughter?” demanded her father.
“My claws raked William’s face as I fought for my life,” she said. “Blood and skin was found under my nails. Mayhaps he has scars that can still be seen.”
Her father gestured. Guards hauled William around the table for the earl to see. Three parallel lines marked his left cheek. With Cormac on one side and James on the other, she felt secure enough to snarl up at him, curling her fingers as she had that day. He flinched. A guard took her hand and held it above the marks on her cousin’s face. They matched.
“My lady wife also has a scar,” said Cormac, his voice like ice. He tenderly held her head, tilting it so her father could see her right cheek. “William’s ring did this.”
“Are there witnesses?” He gestured at one of the gray-haired guards. “I’ve sent you to Braal many times.”
“Most of the servants at Braal have scars on their right cheeks, Yer Excellency,” he replied. “Only when William is at Braal do I see badly bruised female servants huddling in pain.” His lip curled in disgust as he looked at William.
“He killed my cousin,” said a voice from the side. It was an older woman, a servant. She twisted her hands together, unsure of speaking, but needing to.
“Speak up,” said the earl, almost sounding kind. “I ask for the truth.”
She bobbed, keeping her head down. “Wee Mary married one of Laird Sinclair of Braal’s men. She were young, and small. Her man said Master William took her for his own use on her weddin’ night. She were dead by mornin’, covered in blood.”
“What happened to her husband?”
“He went to the laird.” She dropped her head, and her voice. “William said he lied, and whipped him to death.”
“’Tis enough. Take him away!”
“Nay, Uncle!” William fought off the guards to drop to his knees, arms beseeching. “I am your brother’s son, and his heir!”
“Ye are also a stinkin’ piece of rat-bait!” yelled Cormac.
The Earl of Caithness tugged at his beard. All who knew him saw it as a sign
he was thinking over his options. He had petitioned the king to save William’s life after he’d committed murder. As such he couldn’t kill him, yet needed to be seen as being in control of all under him. William relaxed, almost smirking, thinking his uncle would relent. Someone took the opportunity to kick him in the thigh. He yelped.
“You are my brother’s child and his heir. I will return you to him. Never show your face to me again.” He waved his hand toward the door. “Take him and his friends to Braal Castle immediately.”
Guards hauled William and his three equally foppish friends toward the door. A lash of wind and rain hit the window over the earl’s head. William blanched.
“But… ’tis a gale!”
The earl glanced over his head at the window. “Aye, so it is. Toss them in the dungeon until it passes. It should be clear by morning. They are to take nothing but the clothes they stand in.” He held up his hand and looked over their finery. “I paid for their tailors. Strip them to their small clothes afore ye take them to the pit.”
“Dinna wave yer wee willy around or the dungeon snakes will bite ye,” called Cormac.
“Snakes!” William turned his head, fighting to get loose. “You put that adder in my bed!”
Cormac grinned. “Aye. Watching ye scream and faint was a fine sight. Colin MacKenzie is still laughin’ o’er it.”
“Are there snakes in the dungeon?” whispered Alana.
“Och, nay,” replied Cormac cheerfully. “I canna put my fists on him so I’ll give him a bit of fear to keep him warm.”
Howls of outrage continued as the four were hauled down the stairs. From a few sharp yelps, Alana figured the guards may have bounced William’s head off the stone walls a time or two. Now that he was no longer in favor the people he’d treated badly had an opportunity to repay him. No doubt they would enjoy it immensely.
The earl seated himself. A page poured him more wine. “When is my grandson due, daughter?”
“In the spring, Father,” she answered demurely. “Though it may be a lass.”