“Aye.” Rab stretched his neck from side to side. “We’re still sore from ye convincing ma mother we should help ye organize the attic. Help. Bah.”
“And I showed ye I was grateful.” Catherine laid a smacking kiss on Rab’s cheek. Catriona did the same on Andrew’s cheek. The couples exchanged embraces before Andrew helped Catriona onto her horse. Catherine accepted a last embrace from her uncle before the MacLarens watched the MacFarlanes ride out.
“We will have to return to court, Kitty. We canna ignore the king,” Rab whispered as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. “We will make our appearances, accept whatever he has to say, then we’ll be home in time for Christmas. After that, we’ll go to Inveruglas.”
“I ken. I’d rather travel with them than go to court,” Catherine admitted.
“Ye and me both,mo chridhe.We shall leave in the morning and be back before the first snow.”
Rab hoped he was right. The weather had changed during his newly extended family’s visit. Autumn was rapidly giving way to winter. He didn’t want to travel with Catherine even while the weather held, and he was especially disinclined to do it once it started snowing. However, the king’s missive that arrived two days earlier was clear that King Robert expected both Rab and Catherine to appear. Everyone wondered what the Douglases told the monarch since no such summons arrived for Andrew Óg, not directly from court or by way of Inveruglas.
“I dinna even care aboot aught I left behind. The other ladies can have ma gowns. I just want to have done and be back here. I’m far happier with Nessa than I am with the queen. I’m even growing to like Kate, as odd as that sounds. I ken why ye—”
“Kitty, ye dinna have to explain yerself. She’s a nice lass, and I hope ye can be friends with her since we’re all kin now. But I’d rather we never speak of that past. I dinna need to think of a time when it wasna ye. It’s a dreadful reminder to me of how painful those years were. I dinna think back with any fond memories.”
“Fair enough. I’m trying to be understanding, but I feel the same. Thinking aboot it only reminds me of why… Reminds me of how I nearly wound up with the wrong mon, and how I spent ma nights crying maself to sleep. The past needs to remain there.”
“Good.” Rab and Catherine waved one last time as the last of the MacFarlanes faded from sight. With a parting kiss, Rab went to the lists, and Catherine went to the kitchens to seek Nessa. Catherine found Nessa filled the void left by her mother’s and aunt’s deaths. Nessa was unassuming and kind, which is what Catherine’s fragile heart needed. She enjoyed spending time with the maternal woman as she learned her way around Edinample and the keep she would one day run. The day passed in a blur, keeping Catherine busy. The night wasn’t nearly long enough when Rab and Catherine finally agreed they needed sleep more than they needed to make love again. When morning came, they dragged themselves from their bed and prepared for their journey.
Everyone in their party appreciated Rab insisting that the ground was far too cold for Catherine to sleep on while they traveled. They indulged and spent the nights at inns, allowing even the guardsmen to sleep inside the tavern’s main room or the stables. However, the journey felt too short when Stirling’s town gates came into sight.
Chapter 21
“But—”
“Enough, Buchanan,” King Robert bellowed. “Your sister repeated what she said to Lady Catherine. Three other ladies already told me what Lady Agnes said. Your sister is no fool. She knows the good fortune she had that Lady Catherine only slapped her. Even if I were a lady, I don’t know that I would have Lady Catherine’s restraint.”
“Your Majesty,” Dennis Buchanan tried again.
“I’m uncertain how you are not understanding me, Buchanan. But you are certainly testing the last wisps of my patience. Your sister was in the wrong. There is naught for your cause. Lady Catherine and Rab owe you naught. If aught, you are mighty lucky that Lady Catherine isn’t demanding an apology before the entire court. And you’re even luckier that Rab hasn’t called you out for your sister’s vile comments. Count your blessings while you still have any.”
Dennis Buchanan glared at Catherine with such venom that she reached for her dirk, and Rab angled himself to shift easily in front of Catherine. He trusted Dennis not at all. He hadn’t addressed the Buchanans attacking them while they traveled, Dennis having cut him off when the Buchanan heir bewailed how Catherine treated Agnes. King Robert had sat with his mouth agape before bursting into laughter at Dennis and Agnes’s expense. That only further infuriated Dennis. Catherine and Rab felt not an ounce of sympathy or remorse.
“Yer Majesty,” Rab spoke up. “There is the matter of the Buchanans attacking us and chasing us onto the Grahams’ land.”
“What?” King Robert held up his hand when Rab made to respond. He locked eyes with Catherine. “You explain.”
“Your Majesty, we crossed onto Buchanan land while we traveled, but we kept to ourselves. One of my husband’s guards spotted a party of Buchanans who followed us. We broke camp and rode farther north before stopping for the night. We thought we’d put enough distance between them. The next day, they attacked while we were riding. My cousin found us at the right moment. Between the MacLarens and the MacFarlane bowmen, we were the victors and hastily made our way onto Graham land.” Catherine stood with her hands folding in front of her, her courtly accent back in place before the king. It rankled after weeks of not having to hide her brogue, but she sensed the refined speech benefited them.
“Could the Buchanans have known aboot your spat with Lady Agnes?” King Robert asked.
“We don’t believe so. They chased us without provocation. Or rather, being MacLarens was their excuse.” Catherine kept her eyes on the Bruce, but she knew where Dennis stood in relation to her position beside Rab. She doubted she would have sounded so confident if her husband weren’t there to bolster her confidence. She found Dennis even more intimidating than she had when he cornered her in the passageway. There was something more feral about him as they stood in the Privy Council chamber. He seemed desperate.
“Declan, come forward,” King Robert called out. Declan Douglas, Catriona’s oldest brother, joined the group, standing between Dennis and the MacLarens. “Share what you told me just yesterday.”
Declan appeared decidedly ill at ease. Catherine thought he even seemed tempted to tug at his leine. He glanced at Dennis before turning to face Catherine and Rab. “My uncle, Maxwell, sent a messenger to the Buchanans the moment we suspected you left court. It was before Andrew Óg knew you ran away. Uncle Maxwell recognized the MacLaren guard wearing a MacFarlane plaid. It made him suspicious. He figured if you headed toward Edinample, you would pass through Buchanan land.”
“And what was his goal?” King Robert prompted.
Declan shifted his weight before he caught himself. “He wanted Lady Catherine dead, so my sister could marry Rab.”
Catherine felt Rab stiffen, but he said nothing. The culprit was already dead. There was no bringing him back to execute him again. Rab had to take solace in Maxwell’s demise, and how he would never pose a threat to Catherine again. It surprised Catherine when Declan took a step closer.
“I traveled home with ma uncle, brothers, and Catriona. I was the one who saddled Catriona’s horse that day and told her to go. I did what I could to delay my father and uncles, so she could reach you. Neither my father nor uncle told me what they discussed with Laird MacLaren and Laird MacFarlane. I was too far back when we met you in the meadow. Is she safe?”
Catherine offered Declan a gentle smile. “She’s very safe. She and Óg handfasted and will marry right after Christmas. The Black Douglas knows Óg intended to marry her. He said Maxwell was her dowry.”
“He traded his brother for that bi—” Dennis gasped as Declan’s hand wrapped around his throat. Declan moved so quickly none of the guards reached him before he yanked Dennis onto his toes. He was half a head taller than Dennis and far more muscular.
