asked, "Why kill Cullen's father, Liam?"
"Liam." He uttered the name almost like a prayer.
"Ten years had passed," she pointed out. "Why kill him so long after the first death? Surely you had got away with Darach's murder by then?"
"Aye, I thought so. Those years passed peacefully, and I had almost forgotten all about Darach… until the arrow came back to haunt me." He clucked unhappily "I didna ken it at the time, but Liam had apparently taken Biddy's arrow to his room the day it was removed from Darach. I thought it had just been thrown away else I would have stolen into his room and taken it at the time, but I had no idea and thought all was well."
"That mistake forced me to killed Liam," Fergus said with what she thought might be true regret. "I didna like to do it. Cullen's father was a fine man, much finer than his brother ever was, and his death was truly unfortunate."
"And still you killed him," Evelinde said quietly, her gaze sliding quickly around the area again. There were several rocks she might be able to put to good use but little other than that.
"It was for Biddy," Fergus explained, reclaiming her attention. "It was all my fault, and I couldna let Biddy pay for it."
When she just stared at him silently, he explained, "Liam apparently kept the arrow because something about it bothered him. The blood obscured the coloring, so it must have been the length that did it. Biddy's was as short as the boys', and so were her arrows," he pointed out, then shrugged. "It may have been that, but whatever it was, it was enough to make Liam keep the arrow in that chest in his room, bloodied and all."
Evelinde's eyes widened as she realized the arrow she'd seen in the chest in their room was the one that Darach had been shot with.
"But the blood dried up and over the years got brushed off every time he took something out of, or put something into, the chest. By the time he noted that there were white feathers among the darker ones, he thought little of it… until the day he came down to the cliff and found me cleaning rabbits."
"Rabbits?" Evelinde asked with bewilderment, not sure what one thing had to do with the other.
Fergus nodded. "Biddy hadna been hunting since Darach's death. She used to like it before that, but after shooting her husband, she never picked up her bow again until I convinced her to join me hunting almost ten years to the day after Darach died. She'd been sick for a couple of weeks and stuck indoors else I doona think I'd have convinced her to accompany me, but in the end she decided she would and would catch some fresh rabbits to make a nice stew for supper.
"I soon regretted pushing her into it," Fergus said on a sigh. "When we returned, I sent her in to start chopping her vegetables while I brought the rabbits here to clean and skin them." His gaze slid to the pile of stones. "As much as Biddy liked to come here to visit her sister, I did, too. I often visited Jenny and talked to her while doing some task or other. The first time it was just to assure her that Darach was rotting in hell for what he'd done to her. But 'tis a peaceful spot, and I kept returning."
He shrugged unhappily, and said, "That day, I brought the rabbits here to tend them, and Liam came looking for me. When he praised me on the number of rabbits, I wryly admitted they were all Biddy's catch. It was only then I noted the recognition in his eyes. Had I realized he'd know the arrow's fletching I would have claimed they were my own and let him execute me for killing Darach, but 'twas too late. I could not convince him then that it had been me who had killed Darach. He would not listen, and I had to kill him.
"Liam never saw it coming," Fergus assured her as if that might make a difference. "He had dismounted and was standing with his back to the cliff. I launched myself at him and pushed him over the edge without a fight."
"And little Maggie?" Evelinde asked, her gaze now slipping to the door in the curtain wall. She knew that once he finished explaining everything, he would turn his attention to killing her.