and Lachlan were sitting at a table near the fire, speaking in hushed whispers. Marisse and Keevah had taken to their beds only moments before.
“M’lady!” he called out in a harried whisper as he approached. Several people lifted their heads from their pallets as they watched the man cross the room. Soft murmurs began to spread amongst the people.
Aeschene turned toward him, confusion lining her face.
“What is it Thomas?” Lachlan asked.
“There be a man at our southern border. He seeks an audience with our lady.”
Lachlan turned too Aeschene. “That was fast.”
“It must be Chisolm’s man, come to tell us their demands,” she replied.
“Nay, m’lady, he is nae a Chisolm.”
Tilting her head to one side, she asked, “Then who is it?”
“He says he is yer brother, Willem, m’lady.”
Willem? Anger turned her face a deep scarlet. Slowly she got to her feet as her heart began to pound against her breast. “Nay,” she murmured softly. Certainly Willem couldn’t be part of Randall Chisolm’s fiendish plan.
“Yer father is a part of this?” Lachlan asked as got to his feet. He sounded just as bewildered as Aeschene.
“He must be,” she replied. “Why else would Willem be here?” She wanted to scream and let out a call to arms. Never had she despised her father more than in this moment. “Bring him to me at once,” Aeschene ordered. “He must come alone. His men will nae be allowed on our lands or anywhere near this keep.”
Thomas inclined his head toward her before rushing out to do as she commanded.
“Leave it to yer father to break yet another peace accord,” Lachlan fumed.
Aeschene’s lips pursed, her outrage building with each beat of her heart. “We must send a letter to David at once,” she said. “He must be made aware of this betrayal.”
“It will take a week for it to get to him,” Lachlan told her. “We dunnae have that kind of time.”
“He still needs to know what my father has done,” she argued. Her stomach began to churn with worry and bitter anger. “My father will nae get away with betraying this clan again. I will nae allow it.”
They remained quiet for a time, each of them considering the significance and potential consequences of her father’s involvement in this ordeal.
“How long will it take him to get here?” she asked.
“If he is at our border, ’twill likely be dawn before he gets here.”
Briefly, she pondered her options. “Please, help me above stairs. I need to rest before I meet with Willem.” She reached out, seeking his arm, which he took.
“What will ye do?” he asked as the ascended the stairs.
“I dunnae ken, Lachlan. I dunnae ken.”
Sleep did not come easy for Aeschene. She simply couldn’t shut off her imagination. Different scenarios on what she would say to her brother and later her father kept playing out in her mind. Furious and hurt, she wanted nothing more than to slap her father’s lying face, as well as her brothers’ for following him so blindly. Garen MacRay had defied their king and betrayed them all once again.
Keevah woke her at dawn to let her know Willem would soon be here. Exhausted, she climbed from her bed and dressed, sending Keevah to wake Marisse. She knew her friend wouldn’t want to miss the tongue lashing she was going to give her brother. Nor would she want to miss the message she planned on sending to her father.
In the gathering room, filled near to bursting with MacCullough clans people, she sat on the rarely used dais. She wore her simple green gown, her hair in a braid, and did her best to affect an air of calm and regality as she waited. Marisse stood right beside her, one calming hand placed on her shoulder. She had requested that Keevah stand with them, a show of force if you will.
One of the younger men rushed into the gathering room to let her know that Willem was coming through the gates.
“He came alone as ordered?” Aeschene asked.
“Aye, m’lady, he is alone.”
She thanked him and sent him back to his post. Everyone within the gathering room grew quiet as they too waited for the arrival of Willem MacRay. Aeschene had purposely chosen to make this meeting public so that her clan would know without a doubt that she was not involved in the kidnapping or duplicity.
While she didn’t think it possible, the room grew even quieter when Willem entered the room. She heard his footfalls as he stepped down and began to cross