“I wish for simple things. Happiness. Peace. And filling this keep with your babies.” She gave him a sad smile as she returned his squeeze.
“Aye, love,” he said soft and low. “'Tis my wish as well, dear one.”
The breathless sound of huffing gasps, scurrying feet, and skirts rustling across the floor interrupted their discourse. Mrs. Aberfeldy emerged from the side hall close to the right of the dais at a full run.
“Are ye unwell?” she asked Catriona, gasping between words as she clapped both pudgy hands to her chest.
“Nay,” Catriona answered in a quiet but firm tone. She tightened her hold of Alexander’s hand and gave him a sideways glance as though asking for permission to continue.
Her need to be the one to do this shone in her eyes. Alexander gave her the slightest nod. The gleaning of the truth from Mrs. Aberfeldy would go a mite easier if he didna get involved. It also gave him the opportunity to observe the old woman’s mannerisms closer.
“The night I attempted to escape,” Catriona started then paused, took in a deep breath, and released it with a slow pained sigh. “The night of Murtagh's murder, who did ye tell of our plan besides Murtagh?”
All color drained from the old woman’s face and her jaw slackened. Her lips parted in disbelief. She fisted both hands, flexing them in front of her waist, then finally clasped them tight together, her knuckles white with the effort. “Ye dare no' think… I didna betray ye, m’lady. I swear it.”
“Someone did,” Catriona rebutted, still speaking in a quiet tone filled with the strength of iron.
“Someone in the kitchens,” Mrs. Aberfeldy said, still wringing her hands in front of her. “They saw ye with your cloak. Someone in the kitchens gave ye away. 'Twasn’t me, m’lady. I swear to ye on me own grave.”
“If someone in the kitchens had given me away, Calum would no' have had the time to plan how best to foil our escape the way that he did,” Catriona said, sitting taller in her seat. “Someone warned Calum and he set his torment in motion before I ever reached the kitchens.”
“Ye didna answer the question,” Alexander said. The woman was lying. He could tell by the way she glanced about as though she feared someone might overhear her denials and challenge them. “Did ye speak to anyone other than Murtagh about Catriona’s intent to leave?”
“I dinna remember,” she said with a jerking shake of her head then stared down at the floor.
“How could ye, Gaersa?” Catriona asked, her tone filled with sorrow. “How could ye do such a thing t’me? To Murtagh?”
The old woman lifted her head, all of sudden looking so weary, it appeared to take all her strength to stand. “I didna mean to betray ye, Catriona.” Her voice drifted off, and she looked away. “I swear I didna mean to.”
“Name the person.” Alexander shifted to the edge of his seat. He’d heard all the pathetic lies he could stomach.
Mrs. Aberfeldy bowed her head again and her shoulders slumped. She mumbled something under her breath. A single word.
“Louder,” Alexander ordered.
“Orlie,” Mrs. Aberfeldy said, tears running down her face. “I told Orlie.”
“Who the hell is Orlie?” Alexander asked.
“My father’s personal servant.” Catriona frowned. “But I thought the man wasna able to speak.”
“My brother could speak as clear as any of us,” Mrs. Aberfeldy said in a subdued tone. “But your father’s treatment of him over the years silenced him, making him speak only to the few people he loved and trusted.”
“Are ye saying he betrayed me?”
Mouth drawn down into a sorrowful frown, Mrs. Aberfeldy gazed first at Catriona, shifted her focus to Alexander, then returned her attention to Catriona. “I should never have told Orlie. I wasna thinking proper when I did so.” She gave them both a sad shrug. “Ye ken I’ve never been able to hold my tongue about anything I know. It’s as though I’ll die if I canna tell someone…anyone…especially when I know something of importance.” She shrugged again. “Ye see, it…it makes me feel I matter when folk listen. Like I’m better. Folk take note of me when I have something to say. Something that no one else knows.” She swallowed hard, looked down, then forced herself to raise her head and look them in the eye again. “I get so weary of being invisible. Please forgive me, Catriona.”
“Why would Orlie go to Calum?” Alexander asked.
“Because he loved him,” Mrs. Aberfeldy said with a heavy sigh. “And he feared for Calum’s safety.”
“What?” Catriona leaned forward, pinning Mrs. Aberfeldy with a stern, unblinking stare.
Mrs. Aberfeldy glanced around the hall then took a step closer. “Your father often paired them together. In his sick games. As your father aged and his ailments grew worse, he couldna perform as a man so he’d force Calum to do his perversions whilst he watched.” The old housekeeper spoke in a low voice filled with shame. “Orlie said Calum was gentle with him. Wouldna torture him near as severe your father ordered. Orlie grew to love him for his kindness.”
Catriona looked away, slumping back in her seat and covering her face with both hands.
Alexander took a light hold of Catriona’s arm. Her pallor concerned him. She looked as though she were about to be ill and he couldna say he blamed her. “Send for your brother. I would speak with him about that night.”
