Angus nearly fell to the floor with relief. Duncan tried to race to his wife, but he was stopped short by the unmoving Angus who was frozen in place. Aishlinn ran to her husband not caring at all that he was filthy and smelled like he’d been sleeping with pigs.
Isobel ran to Angus with tears of joy streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. The shock of seeing his wife, alive, and unharmed was too much. Angus collapsed on the floor, bringing his wife to his lap and pulling Duncan and Aishlinn along with them. Nial and Bree held on to one another, sharing kisses and hugs of relief.
“Ye are in a fair amount of trouble, wife, fer scarin’ the life out of me,” Nial told her.
Bree looked up at him innocently. “Whatever do ye mean, husband?” she asked.
“Ye ken exactly what I mean,” he said before planting another kiss on her lips. “I saw ye and Maggy’s boys attack the guards. I ken it was ye that stole yer father away.”
Bree’s face burned red for a moment. “I dunna what ye speak of, husband. Ye must be confusin’ me with someone else.”
“If I did no’ think yer da would kill me, I’d turn ye over my knee right now and paddle that round little rump of yers,” Nial said. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “But I’ll save that fer when we are alone.”
Many tears were shed, kisses shared, and hugs given between the two couples huddled on the floor. They paid no attention to the crowd, the guards, or anything else. The only thing they cared about were their spouses.
Robert was able to talk Wee William out of killing Seamus and Aric on the spot, but he had to promise him he could put the nooses around their necks.
Seamus was put into shackles and he and his son were led to the dungeon. They would hang on the morrow.
Arline quietly left the room and made her way back to the bedchamber she had been given. She felt very much the outsider as she looked at Angus and Isobel and Duncan and Aishlinn and Nial and Bree. A flutter of something very unfamiliar went through her stomach in those moments before leaving them to their sweet and tender reunions.
She wanted to experience the kind of love and devotion she saw between the three couples. Her heart ached with wanting a man who would love her so much that he would be willing to sacrifice his own life in order to save hers. Aye, Carlich loved her, but not in any romantic sense. Nothing like the fiery passion she saw in Aishlinn’s eyes, or Isobel’s or Bree’s. And their husbands openly, almost wantonly, returned those fiery, passionate looks.
Arline felt certain that nothing like that kind of love and adoration lay in her future. If Carlich died before she reached the age of one and twenty, she would be sent back to her father. Considering the condition Carlich had been in when she had left she would be surprised if he were still alive when she returned.
Slowly, she climbed the stairs and wound her way through the corridors of Stirling Castle. She made a wrong turn and had to back track twice, but finally and with much relief, she found the correct corridor.
As she walked down the hallway, lost in thoughts of regret and a huge sense of longing, she barely noticed someone walking toward her. It was the tall handsome man with dark hair, the one who had first stopped her from climbing the steps of the dais to Robert.
“My lady!” he said as he smiled and approached. Arline paused just outside her door. She wanted nothing more than to escape into the bedchamber and get some much needed sleep.
“My lady,” he said with a smile, flashing a dazzling set of perfect teeth. “I just wanted to thank ye, fer what ye did fer Angus and Duncan.”
Arline smiled up at the braw man. “Think nothing of it, sir.” He was a most handsome man. Nay, he was beyond handsome. Thick dark hair hung to his broad shoulders. Deep brown eyes glistened in the torchlight. Arline could not remember ever seeing a more handsome man. She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what he was saying.
“Nay, my lady,” he said. “’Twas a verra honorable thing ye did. Daniel and David tell me that ye are a woman possessed of the utmost honor and heart. Because of ye, Angus and Duncan have been proven innocent and will get to spend the rest of their days with their wives.”
Arline could only nod her head. If ever a man could be considered beautiful, it was this man. Were her husband Carlich as young and as handsome as the man standing before her, she would probably never want to leave her bedchamber. She felt her face burn with embarrassment and quickly turned away from him. “That is most kind of them to say. If ye will please excuse me, I am verra tired.”
“Aye, my lady, but please,” he said as he reached out and touched her arm. “Please ken how much not only the MacDougalls but me own clan, Clan Graham, appreciate all that ye’ve done.”
Arline nodded again and took a chance to look at him one more time. “’Twas the right thing to do, sir.”
He threw his head back and laughed. An odd sensation swept over Arline. His laugh, for whatever reason, warmed her heart. “Aye, me wife says that verra same thing when I give her thanks fer goin’ above and beyond what others would!”
Why she suddenly felt sorrow at learning he was married, she could not begin to comprehend. She, too, was married, but somehow that felt different. Carlich was, after all, a very auld man. Nonetheless, guilt tugged at her conscience.
She offered him a polite smile and bid him goodnight before slipping into her room. Sleep would not come easy, not with the image of a handsome man with dark hair and deep brown eyes floating around in her mind.
TWENTY-FOUR
“’Twas ye, wasn’t it?” Arline asked pointedly. She had slept the day away and had not awakened until long after the evening meal. The castle was quiet for most everyone was tucked away for the night.
She stood now, alone in Robert Stewart’s private chamber for the third time that day. He sat quietly in a chair near the fireplace. Arline stood but a few steps away from him, her hands folded in front of her.
It had come quietly to her, in her dreams, just who the mysterious man in the shadows of her husband’s bedchamber was. She stood now, in front of the accused, waiting patiently for his admission.
Robert eyed her closely for a minute, but said nothing.
“’Twas ye in Carlich’s chamber that night, my lord. I am certain of it.”
“Now, why would I be in yer husband’s bedchamber, my lady?”
Arline tilted her head slightly before answering. She tried to appear nonchalant, as if the revelation wasn’t as important as it actually was. “I ken that ye and my husband are verra good friends. I also ken that my husband respects you, my lord. He holds ye in the highest regard.”
Robert had no response. He took on that same indifferent air that Arline held. He rested his head against his index finger, and appeared unmoved by her statement.
“Ye have a certain gait to your walk, my lord. Even though ye had remained in the shadows and did not allow me to see your face, I ken, without a doubt, that ye were in my husband’s chamber just days ago.”
“Tell me, my lady, what else is it ye think that ye ken?”
Arline took a deep breath as she took a step closer to the fire. “It was ye that gave Carlich the documents.”
Robert blinked once, then again. “Now, why, pray tell, would I do such a thing?”
“We ken that there is no love loss between ye and Seamus, my lord. If ye had presented the documents, people might have believed his accusations that the documents were indeed forgeries. However,” she paused briefly, choosing her words carefully. “If the documents came from his own father, or me acting on behalf of his father, then people would give it more credibility.”
Robert shifted in his seat, crossed his legs, and bade her to continue with a wave of his hand.
“So it could no’ be known that ye had the documents. Angus was working for you. I imagine, though I could be wrong, that it was Angus who gave ye those documents. I ken that Aric mentioned Neville’s Cross. What happened there, my lord?”
&
nbsp; Robert took a deep breath before he answered. “Neville’s Cross,” he said the name woefully. “Things were going verra well fer us, until Neville’s Cross. ’Twas there that Aric tried to kill King David.”
Arline gasped, her eyes widened with shock. “Oh, Good Lord!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“Aye. Had Angus not been there, had he not been just a few steps from David, then Aric would have been successful. Angus saw Aric come fer David. Angus had tried his best to push David out of the way, but Aric’s blade managed to cut him. Angus was able to convince Seamus that it was no’ yet the right time to take David’s life and that is why he stopped Aric from killin’ him. While Angus was busy with Seamus and Aric, Duncan managed to get David to cover, under the bridge at River Browney while he went to get help. There was so much chaos happenin’ at the time, that we’re no’ quite sure what happened after that. But we think ’twas Seamus who found King David and led the English to him.”
Arline felt her legs growing weak and she sat down in the chair opposite Robert’s. “I never trusted Seamus. Och! The clan adored the man. But there was something, something I could not quite put my finger to. It made me no’ trust him. Or Aric.”
“Yer instincts are good, lass. Ye might want to always listen to them.”
Arline sat quietly for a time, stunned at what Robert was telling her. When she thought how close she had come to dying just a few days ago, when she and the MacDougalls were attacked, she shivered.
They stared at one another for several long moments before Arline spoke again. “Who is the man in the shadows now, my lord? The one standing in the corner near your curtains?”
Robert raised an eyebrow. “Yer powers of observation are verra good, my lady. The identity of the man who stands in the shadows is of no importance to ye. But ken that there may be more traitors among us. Men who worry that Seamus or Aric will talk. These men might not take too kindly to ye givin’ me those documents.” Robert stood and came to stand before her. “Ken this well my lady. Until we ken for certain that we have all the men involved in this event, ye might no’ always be safe. There will always be a man in the shadows, watchin’ over ye, to ensure that ye are kept safe.”
She felt the sting of fear deep in her belly. It is not over.
“A few weeks ago,” Robert’s voice broke through her quiet thoughts. “Aric convinced his uncle, Phillip Lindsay, that Angus was the true traitor in all of this. That is when Phillip had Angus and Duncan arrested and taken to Edinburgh. While they were arresting them, Aric and his men kidnapped Isobel and Aishlinn. What Aric and Seamus didna ken was that Phillip kent the truth. Phillip had been workin’ with us.”
She couldn’t fathom why that bit of news surprised her. It was difficult to think that someone she had lived with for the past three years was capable of such nefarious deeds. Nay, she never liked Aric or his father. But she had always assumed it was because neither of the men hid their distaste of her.
“How did they come to be here today?” Arline asked.
Robert smiled at her. “The men in the shadows, lass. They’d been watching Aric and Seamus. They were there the night they took Isobel, Aishlinn and the babes. They were able to steal them away from the hut they were held prisoner in, just as soon as Aric and Seamus left. I’ve had the women and the babes here, at Stirling, for weeks now. But I could no’ let anyone, no’ even Angus and Duncan ken that. No’ until I could prove, without a doubt, that Aric and Seamus were guilty.”
“That is where I came in.” Arline stated solemnly.
“Aye, lass. That is where ye came in.”
“It was Aric or Seamus that attacked us, wasn’t it?” she asked quietly.
“Aye, ’twas Aric. But the men in the shadows were there that night as well, watchin’ over ye. But as it turned out, the MacDougalls kept their word and did no’ let any harm come to ye. They be good men, lass. Ye can always count on them as ye can count on me, should the need ever arise.” He placed a hand on Arline’s shoulder.
“Ken this, my lady. I will always be here to help ye in yer time of need. I will always keep a man in the shadows near ye. Ye won’t ken who he be. But he will be there.” Robert walked to the desk that sat in front of the tall windows. He opened a drawer and pulled out Carlich’s box along with the key. He brought the items back to Arline.
“Ye return Carlich’s box to him now, my lady. Inside it, I have placed a letter, with me seal affixed to it. Should ye ever find yerself in trouble and ye canna find or see the man in the shadows, use this letter.”
Reluctantly, Arline took the box and the key from him. She slipped the box into the pocket of her skirt and held the key in her hand. She knew it was a false sense of security she had in the letter, still, she was glad for it. The letter itself could not actually keep someone from slicing her throat, but, who knew if or when it would ever become useful.
“Now,” Robert said as he turned away. “On the morrow ye will be returned to Carlich. Ye will have a full escort of me men to see ye safely returned.”
He was done discussing the matter. Arline began to wonder if she would ever again feel the bliss of safety.
Robert turned back to her. “Scotland thanks ye, my lady. As does King David.”
Arline left the room as quietly as she had entered. She wondered if the man in the shadows was going to follow her back to her room. She was uncertain if that thought brought comfort or fear. If the men in the shadows were near her then danger could not be far behind.
She could only pray that someday she would be able to live her life without looking over her shoulder, without wondering if someone was lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Arline had a decision to make. She could live her life in fear of the unknown, or she could live as if she had not a care in the world. Good sense told her to live her life as best she could, but keep an ever vigilant and watchful eye. A watchful eye that would look to the shadows for help if needed and answers when necessary.
EPILOGUE
Carlich Lindsay had kept his word. He waited until a week after Arline returned before finally succumbing to old age and disease.
Before he died he asked Arline to write a letter to Phillip. “I have many regrets,” he told her. “I want Phillip to ken that my biggest regret is not seeing all the good in him and ignorin’ him when he was a child. I should have listened to his mum. I should have enjoyed his creative mind instead of worryin’ over what others thought. I ken it be too late now, to make up fer it, but I need him to ken it.”
Arline knew that the depths of Carlich’s guilt could not be felt or seen in a letter. She had hoped that Carlich would live long enough to tell Phillip himself. Phillip had sent a letter to his father explaining that he could not leave his wife this close to delivering their first bairn. Unfortunately Phillip would not arrive in time to hear his father’s words of regret.
Seamus and Aric's deaths also weighed heavily on Carlich’s heart. It wasn’t just a father’s guilt for knowing he helped hang his oldest son and grandson. “I spoiled him too much,” Carlich had told her. “’Tis me own fault fer allowin’ him too much freedom. Had I been firmer with him, mayhap he would no’ have chosen the path of treachery.”
Arline would not allow her husband to feel any guilt over the choices his son and grandson had made. “Do no’ go blamin’ yerself, husband!” Arline chastised him. “Seamus made his choices. He let greed cloud the good judgment that I be sure ye taught him.”
Arline knew he had tried to hang on, wanting desperately to see Phillip one more time. Guilt and regret, along with auld age claimed its final toll when Carlich passed away just after dawn on a sunny summer morning. Her heart ached with sadness at his passing.
While Phillip regretted not being able to make amends with his father, he did not regret being there for his wife when she gave birth to their beautiful little girl. The babe came screaming into the world on the eve before Carlich passed away.
Philli
p and Helena waited two months before embarking on the long journey to the Lindsay keep. He was laird now, chief to his clan. He hadn’t any good idea how to make the transition from a solitary man to one whom hundreds of people now relied upon as their leader. He wasn’t good at that sort of thing, hadn’t had any training on how to be a good laird. But with Helena at his side, he felt confident that he could rise above his own self-doubts and be a good chief to his people.
The death of Liza, the sweet young kitchen maid, had left the clan in a deep state of mourning. They had to assume that it had been Seamus or Aric who had killed her for they could not believe anyone else would have done such a thing. The clan took some measure of satisfaction in knowing that when the two men were hanged for their crimes against king and country, they paid for the death of Liza as well. The clan grieved over her loss as much as they grieved over Carlich’s. But not one tear was shed for the men responsible for thrusting their clan into such despair and turmoil.
McKenna's Honor, a Novella, Book Four of the Clan MacDougall Series Page 14