Forgiving Hearts: Duncurra 1-3

by Ceci Giltenan

  “Aye, Tadhg. I love ye and I trust ye.”

  He pulled her into a fierce hug. “Everything will be fine, Mairead. Things will sort themselves out.”

  Mairead hugged him back tightly. She wished she had the same confidence.

  Chapter 20

  When they arrived downstairs, it looked as if every living soul within the keep had gathered in the great hall. The tension was palpable. People clustered in small groups, engaging in furtive conversations. Niall MacIan was having an intense discussion with his commander, Dairmad, but on seeing Tadhg enter the hall, motioned him over. “Mairead, love, I’m sure yer father would like yer company. Hamish will stay with ye. I am just going to see what Niall needs.” He kissed her on the cheek before joining Niall and his men.

  “Is there any new information?”

  “Perhaps it is nothing, but one of yer men, a man named Bryant, said he witnessed a Matheson lass speaking with Rowan earlier in the evening. He says Rowan seemed to become irritated.”

  “Who questioned him? What else did Bryant say?”

  Alan, one of Niall’s captains, stepped forward. “I spoke with Bryant, Laird. He said the lass had been standing on the steps to the keep. He was on the other side of the courtyard and wanted to dance with her, but by the time he wove through the throng she was gone. He kept looking and caught a glimpse of her walking toward the back of the keep. He still tried to catch up with her, but she entered the hall through the doors to the kitchen and he lost sight of her again. I was surprised that he pursued her so persistently just for a dance. He said she has been known to cause mischief, and as her father is a fellow guardsman, he thought to keep an eye on her, so he kept searching. He finally caught sight of her near the buttery, talking to Rowan. Apparently, Rowan had her by the arm and looked angry. Before he could reach them, she was gone again. He continued looking for her outside the castle, but never found her. He assumed she had returned to the encampment.

  “Did he say who she was?” Tadhg asked.

  “He called her Meriel.”

  “Meriel?” Tadhg asked in disbelief. “That lass has stirred up trouble before, but I can’t believe she had anything to do with injuring Rowan.”

  “No one is saying she did,” assured Niall. “Perhaps she witnessed something or knows something that will point us in the right direction.”

  “I could find out what she knows, but I’m not leaving here without Mairead, and she will not want to go with me while her brother lies so gravely ill.”

  “I’ll send for Meriel and have her brought up to the keep,” said Niall. “No one will object to one wee lass entering Duncurra.”

  “Her father is one of my captains. He will want to accompany her.”

  “He can escort her to the gate and another of yer men can escort her from there. She will be in no danger.”

  “Niall, put yerself in his position. Ye have a daughter. Would ye want her thrown into this mess without yer protection?”

  “His daughter has my protection, as well as yers. That will have to be enough.”

  Niall’s stubbornness frustrated Tadhg, but he recognized that he had no real choice. “Fine, send for her.”

  ~ * ~

  Those camped outside the walls had been told very little about what had happened. The only piece of information anyone had was that someone had met with an accident, and it was being investigated. Everyone suspected there was much more to the story than they had been told. Why would Duncurra have been closed otherwise? However, no more news was forthcoming. Meriel’s father had been livid when she returned without Finola. To make matters worse, the gates were closed before he could go back in to find her. Meriel wanted to tell him she had she tried to get Finola to come with her, but Finola simply refused. In fact, Finola had intentionally eluded her until Meriel had no other choice but to leave without her. However, it seemed disloyal to lay the blame on Finola, and Meriel thought perhaps she could have tried harder, so she accepted her father’s censure while holding her tongue.

  Later that morning, it became clear to Meriel that something was seriously wrong. Her father strode angrily toward her from the direction of the castle gates. His accusatory question, “What have ye done this time, Meriel?” only confirmed it.

  “I’ve done nothing wrong, Da.”

  “Then why does the laird require yer presence in the great hall, when Duncurra is closed to everyone else?”

  “I don’t know, Da. Do ye know anything about what has happened or why Duncurra is closed?”

  The anguish in her father’s face broke her heart. “No, Meriel, I haven’t. I don’t know what has happened or where yer sister is. They won’t let me in to find her. Now they want me to send ye in to speak with the laird and I can’t go with ye.”

  “Da, I swear I’ve done nothing wrong. I don’t want to go alone.” She could feel herself trembling and her father pulled her into his warm embrace and kissed the top of her head.

  “I don’t want ye to go alone either, pet. I have no choice. Cael will be with ye until ye reach the hall, then the laird will see no harm comes to ye. If ye have any idea what this is about, please tell me now.”

  Meriel hesitated. In her soul, she had no doubt this had to have something to do with the conversation she overheard, but she hadn’t done anything wrong. She had only told Rowan the truth about what Eara and Rafer were planning. He deserved to know, didn’t he? Aye, he did, but even though he told her not to speak of it, her father deserved to know, too. “Sit down, Da.” She told him the whole story.

  “Oh, Meriel,” he moaned. “By all the saints, lass, this is bad. Are ye sure ye weren’t mistaken?”

  “Da, I’m sure. I only told Rowan exactly what the couple said. He is a kind man and Lady Mairead’s brother. After what she has done for me, I couldn’t ignore what they said. I had to tell him. They even said after the wedding he might meet with an accident and as a widow, Eara might be able to choose her next husband. I didn’t tell Rowan that part.”

  Her father stiffened. “An accident? They said the word ‘accident’?”

  “Aye, Da. Why?”

  “Meriel, the only word we have from the castle is that there was an accident. If someone arranged for Rowan to have an ‘accident’, it will be yer word against Eara Fraser’s, lass. She might even twist the story to implicate ye. Is there any chance someone else was there? Perhaps someone who can confirm yer story?”

  “I don’t know Da. I-I don’t think so.”

  He put his arms around her again. “Then I’m not sending ye in there.”

  “But ye have to. Ye can’t defy an order.”

  “To protect my daughter, I will.”

  “Da, I’ve done nothing wrong and we don’t know what is happening. Rowan may need a witness. If I don’t go, it will look as if I have something to hide, on top of which, ye will have broken yer oath to the laird. I’ll be fine, Da.”

  Less than three quarters of an hour later, as she was ushered into the great hall filled with people, including several of the most powerful lairds in the Highlands, she wasn’t quite as sure she would be “fine”. The one bright spot had been Finola rushing to her as she walked through the village with Cael. “Meriel, do ye know what’s happening? I tried to follow ye back to the camp last night, but they wouldn’t let me through the gates.

  “Finola, Da was so worried about ye. Go to the gates and send word to him ye are all right.”

  “Where are ye going? How did ye get in?”

  Cael answered her, “Finola, Laird Matheson needs to speak with Meriel. Go give yer father some peace, lass.”

  Finola ignored him. “Ye’ve been called to the keep? Alone? Nay, I’ll not let ye go alone.”

  Cael tried again. “Finola, she has no choice. Laird Matheson will protect her.”

  “But he isn’t a sister. If they’ll let one lass in, they’ll let two. I’m coming.”

  “Ye can walk with us, but when they don’t let ye in, I’m walking ye back to the gate so yer
father can stop worrying about ye.” Again Finola didn’t respond to Cael, but simply fell into step beside them.

  When they reached the keep, Finola had begged the guard to let her stay with her sister. Lady Matheson had been nearby. She intervened, asking that Finola be allowed to stay with Meriel. Now here she stood before Laird MacIan and Laird Matheson, and Finola had melted into the crowd. More scared than she had ever been in her life, Meriel couldn’t really blame her.

  They led her a small distance away from the other people in the hall, she assumed to gain a bit of privacy. “Meriel, lass, ye’ve nothing to worry about. I just want to ask ye a few questions,” Laird Matheson said kindly.

  “Aye, Laird. I’ll answer any questions I can.

  “Last night, during the Roodmas celebration, Bryant said ye were chatting with Rowan MacKenzie. Do ye recall that?”

  “Aye, Laird.” Her voice sounded weak and reedy. It was just as she suspected—this had something to do with Rafer and Eara’s illicit conversation.

  “He said Rowan seemed upset. Can ye tell us what happened?”

  “Aye, Laird. I had been outside watching the dancing from the steps of the keep and I-I-I overheard something distressing concerning Rowan, so I found him and told him. That is all.”

  “What did ye hear, lass?” asked Laird MacIan.

  “I would prefer not to say. Rowan asked me not to speak to anyone else about it. Perhaps ye could ask him?”

  Laird Matheson put a hand on her shoulder. “We are asking ye, Meriel. Ye have nothing to fear by telling us the truth.”

  Meriel remained still for a few moments before finally saying in a very low voice, “Laird Matheson, I overheard Eara Fraser planning a tryst last night with a Fraser clansman named Rafer.”

  Laird Matheson grabbed her arm and pulled her farther away from the crowd. “Exactly what did ye overhear? Tell us everything that happened.”

  Quickly and quietly, she told them the full conversation. “Are ye telling us the truth, lass?” Laird Matheson asked.

  Laird MacIan’s brow knitted. “Do ye have a reason to doubt her, Tadhg? If this is a fabrication and we act on it, it would be disastrous. Bryant said she has been known to cause mischief.”

  Laird Matheson didn’t answer him immediately. Instead he addressed her, “Meriel, ye have been punished once for yer poor judgment. There is no room for error here.”

  “I swear, Laird. I am telling ye the truth.”

  Her laird considered her for a moment before saying, “I have no reason to doubt her, Niall.”

  “Did Rowan say what he was planning to do?” Laird MacIan asked.

  Why was he asking her this? “He said he could learn the truth by paying a visit to the chapel. But, Laird, why not just ask him?”

  Laird Matheson answered, “Meriel, we can’t ask him. Someone attacked him last night and he is unconscious.”

  “Was he in the chapel?”

  “Nay, Meriel. He was in the keep. Niall, what are we going to do about this?”

  “Well, just because Eara was meeting a lover in the chapel, if in fact she did, it doesn’t mean they had anything to do with the attack on Rowan.” At Laird Matheson’s look of doubt, Laird MacIan added, “Aye, I know it is likely to be related, but we mustn’t jump to conclusions. I will send some men to find this ‘Rafer’ as discreetly as possible. We need to find out everything we can before we act.”

  “Laird, can I go back to my da now? He is terribly worried.”

  “I will send word to yer father, letting him know ye are well and have been very helpful, but I’m afraid ye need to stay here in the keep for a while, Meriel.”

  Chapter 21

  Tadhg hoped any confrontation about Eara Fraser could be delayed, preferably until Rowan regained consciousness. If it came to Meriel's word against the daughter of a powerful laird, things would become difficult. Still, he believed Meriel and would support her. He hoped Niall was as staunchly behind her and drew him away from the crowd to find out. “Niall, ye know this could get very ugly if it comes down to Eara's word against Meriel’s.”

  “Ye needn’t tell me that. I hope it doesn’t come to it.”

  “But Niall, if it does, I need to be sure that ye believe Meriel. Any doubt on yer part—well, Eara is the daughter of a powerful laird.”

  “And Meriel isn’t. I know. Still, ye said ye believe her.”

  “I do. But ye have rather a well-known reputation of mistrusting women.”

  Niall chuckled. “Katherine changed that, but aye, I didn’t have much faith in them before her. As fate would have it, for much the same reason Rowan might not in the future.”

  “I remember hearing about a betrothal years ago and the wedding was cancelled at the last minute.”

  “Aye, her name was Ceana. I was young and she was a clanswoman whom I had adored for years. Finally, my father agreed to let us marry.”

  “He didn’t seek a political match?”

  “Oh, aye, he did. Ye needn’t tell yer wife this, but he wanted a betrothal with Annag MacKenzie.”

  “Annag is lovely. She would have been an excellent wife.”

  “She might have been, but I refused. I only had eyes for Ceana and my father finally relented. I was over the moon.”

  “Until ye found out she was unfaithful?”

  “Aye. It was days before my wedding. Malcolm MacLennan was here, as were a few other clan leaders. It was Malcolm who discovered her with her lover. She admitted to him that she didn’t love me. Apparently, she only wanted to marry me to become Lady MacIan. That is one of the reasons I was so willing to trust him for so long and fully believed he was a staunch ally.”

  “I’m sorry, Niall.”

  “Don’t be. If it weren’t for Eithne and Malcolm, as despicable as they were, I would never have married Katherine.”

  “Still, I can see how it would sour yer opinion of women. Rowan is a good lad, but he was only doing his duty by his father in marrying Eara. He has no strong affection for her. He might have come to love her one day, but I think he will emerge from this with his heart intact.”

  ~ * ~

  By late afternoon, Lady MacKenzie brought word of Rowan’s condition to her husband. Cathal sought Tadhg and Mairead out immediately.

  “Brigid tells me Rowan has become agitated occasionally and called out several names, including ‘Eara’ and ‘Meriel’. Weren’t ye talking earlier with one of yer clanswomen named Meriel?”

  “Aye, Cathal, I was.”

  “What does she know about this?”

  “She knows nothing about how Rowan was injured.”

  “I don’t believe that, Tadhg, ye wouldn’t have been questioning her if ye thought she knew nothing. I want to talk to her.” Cathal slammed his fist on the table.

  Mairead put her hand on his arm. “Da, if Tadhg says Meriel doesn’t know what happened to Rowan, she doesn’t.”

  “Then why did he question her?” Cathal demanded.

  At the sound of Cathal’s raised voice, Lachlan Fraser interrupted. “Who are ye talking about, Cathal? Who was questioned?”

  “A Matheson clanswoman,” answered Cathal.

  Lachlan sneered. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? What are ye hiding, Matheson?”

  Niall stepped in. “Lairds, the Matheson lass knows nothing about what happened to Rowan, but if ye will all calm down, we do have things to discuss.”

  Tadhg motioned to Hamish and whispered to Mairead, “This may get unpleasant. I want ye to stay with Hamish and do as he says.” She nodded and he gave her a quick kiss. She joined Hamish, who also had an ashen-faced Meriel at his side.

  As the room fell silent, Niall said, “Lairds, it would be better if we discussed this privately.”

  “Better for whom, MacIan?” asked Lachlan. “Anything ye need to say, ye can say here, in front of my allies.”

  “Not here, Lachlan. I am telling ye, ye don’t want this played out in front of an audience.” Niall leaned closer and quietly added, “It concerns
yer daughter, Lachlan.”

  “What about my daughter?” he demanded through gritted teeth.

  Tadhg said, “Laird Fraser, please, it would be better to discuss this in privacy.”

  “Matheson, I have had enough of ye. Tell me what ye know. Now!”

  Niall said quietly, “Have it yer way, Lachlan, but don’t say ye weren’t warned. Last night, yer daughter Eara arranged to meet with one of yer clansmen, a man named Rafer. Yer man Rafer has been found and we can question him discreetly if ye choose.”

  Discretion was clearly not Lachlan’s strength. He roared, “Ye are calling my daughter’s and my clansman’s honor into question? On the basis of what?”

  The room practically exploded in shocked chatter. Cathal looked dumbfounded.

  “It’s a lie!” screamed Eara.

  “Silence!” shouted Lachlan before turning on Niall. “How dare ye make such an accusation against my daughter, MacIan! What proof do ye have?”

  “Someone overheard them talking,” said Tadhg.

  Lachlan whirled on him. “By God, who? This clanswoman of yers, Matheson? MacIan, I can’t believe ye would risk dishonoring me, my daughter, and my clan on the word of a Matheson wench.”

  “She’s lying. I would never do that, Da. She should be whipped for slandering me so.”

  “MacIan, if ye don’t have solid proof, this is unforgivable!” said Laird Urquhart, one of Laird Fraser’s strongest allies.

  “Is that the lying cow?” shrieked Eara when she spied Hamish pulling Mairead and Meriel behind him. She lunged toward them and a MacIan guardsman intercepted her.

  “Take yer hands off my daughter!” Lachlan yelled, throwing a punch at the man.

  The hall was on the verge of erupting into a screaming brawl.