concentrate, I sat down on the step and took several deep, even breaths.
I expected her to turn, walk back up the stairs, and leave me behind, locked away forever in the ancient burial vault of Traquair House. But she didn’t. She waited, watching me with a silent, empty expression while my breathing and my terror stabilized.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why do you hate me so much?”
“You betrayed Scotland.”
I looked up quickly. Perhaps there was a way out of this after all. If it meant playing out the drama, so be it. Wetting my lips, I assumed the identity she’d given me. “You know I didn’t, Grizelle. If you have the sight, you know I did nothing to betray my country.”
“You were the English king’s whore. You bore him a child and then came back to my son. Your actions soiled the House of Murray. At court they laughed at David behind his back.”
What now? Could this really be happening? I’d read about schizophrenia, of course, but never before had I heard of anyone so skillfully concealing multiple personalities. Or was it something else? For how long had Kate believed she was Grizelle Douglas?
Again, I attempted to reason with her. “David didn’t agree. He married me of his own free will. We had a child, your grandson.”
She smiled triumphantly. “The child was better off without you. I raised him myself. Your name was never spoken. The taint of his Maxwell blood disappeared.”
Despite my fear, I was fascinated. How much did this woman who thought she was her seven-hundred-year-old ancestor really know? I couldn’t help myself. I had to find out. “What happened to David, Grizelle? Did he marry again?”
“He died at Bannockburn, fighting with the English against the Bruce.”
“Dear God.”
She nodded, and her mouth hardened. “That was your fault as well. He could not forgive Robert for your death.”
“You had a part in that,” I reminded her. “Did he forgive you?”
She brushed the question aside. “The hour grows late.” Picking up the flashlight, she turned to walk up the stairs. As an afterthought, she looked back at me. “I’ll not be seeing you again, Mairi Maxwell. ’Tis over between us.”
“But why?” I couldn’t let her go, not yet, not with the only available light. “You won, didn’t you? You wiped my name from the face of the earth. I’ve paid the price. Why must I die again?”
She turned back and stared at me as if I were a demented child. “Because of Ian Douglas, of course. You’ve bewitched another of my blood, Mairi. You carry his child. Your line must end forever.”
“No, please,” I begged. “Don’t take the light. At least leave the light.”
She considered my request and then shook her head. “You won’t need it.”
Heart hammering, I scrambled to my feet and followed her, staying just out of reach. I felt light-headed, but I knew that as long as I had strength there was no choice except to continue. If I reached the top of the stairs at the same time she did, I had a chance of overpowering her and pushing my way out of the door.
There was enough light to recognize the landmark short step. Kate was just ahead, around the next bend. Suddenly, I heard a voice too low to be Kate Ferguson’s.
Hurrying, I followed the curving stairs and stopped short, almost dropping with relief. Ian Douglas, a flashlight in one hand, a jacket and paper bag in the other, was staring at Kate with a look of disbelief on his face. Whatever else I knew of Ian, I was confident that he meant me no harm.
“What in the name of bloody hell are you doing here?” he asked Kate.
“I might ask the same of you,” she replied. Apparently she was herself again, slipping into her present-day personality as easily as she had left it.
“Ian,” I cried out, stumbling in my hurry to reach the safety of his side.
Kate blocked my way. “There is no other way, Ian. She is the one who carries the curse. Without her, there will be no more of Mairi’s line. The Murrays will be avenged.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Ian’s face was ashen in the pale glow of the flashlight. “This isn’t about a curse, and you know it. You’ve allowed this inheritance business to cloud your thinking. We’ve had enough.” He reached out his hand to me. “Come, Christina.”
“No.” Kate’s voice was shrill. “She stays here.”
Disregarding her completely, Ian shouldered his way past her and pulled me into his arms. “Are you all