Jasper’s shoulders slumped, and he hung his head as if sentenced to the gallows. “I take full responsibility, my chieftain.” He released a heavy sigh as he lifted his head. “However, in my defense, this would never have happened had Old Gerald still been alive to handle our affairs. And no, I didna ken that wee bastard MacGibbon was their solicitor as well. He conveniently failed to mention that.”
“Jasper is loyal to ye, and ye know it,” Lorna gently reminded Gunn. “Ye both are strong, honorable men that happened to fall prey to the sort of lowlifes who only care about themselves.” She understood exactly how they felt. “But the last thing ye need to do is become divided over it.” Leaning closer, she forced Gunn to look at her. “Dinna let them best ye that way. Reunite yer forces and overcome them.”
He reached out and cupped her cheek in his calloused palm. “Ye are a wise woman, my precious mouse. Thank God Almighty ye are here.” His gaze slid back to Jasper. “And thank God Almighty that the marriage contract is the only document Liam MacGibbon touched for us, aye?”
“Aye.” Jasper widened his stance, appearing ready to charge into battle. “With yer permission, I shall send Edmond to round up the man and bring him here. I dinna wish to leave yer side whilst ye are still weak from the poison.”
“This time of year it will take the lad a month or longer to get to Inverness and back.”
Lorna interrupted them with a jaw-cracking yawn. “Sorry.” She rubbed her gritty eyes. “Personally, I dinna think we should do anything other than keep Murdina locked in her rooms until we have all had some decent sleep and are fully rested. Weariness makes for rash decisions that could be fatal.” She rolled her shoulders and stretched her aching neck by tilting her head from side to side. “Besides, I feel sure the woman will fake being pregnant. Although I am not quite sure how she thinks that will help her when her time has run its course.” Then a terrible thought hit her and she groaned.
“What?” Gunn tried to sit upright, then fell back into his pillows. “Lorna?”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples. “What if she was already pregnant when she got here?”
Chapter Twelve
Gunn paced backand forth in front of his desk. Three full days lost while healing enough to deal with this feckin’ mess. But thank the Almighty for Lorna. She’d kept him sane.
The depths of her patience and understanding amazed him. He had already told the priest there would be a wedding before Hogmanay. Now to convince Lorna to agree—no matter if Lady Murdina turned out to be with child or not. After all, as his precious mouse had said, the father of the child did not matter. The wee bairn needed rescuing from its mother’s clutches as soon as it was born. With any hope, today would lend a bit of clarity so they might better plan their future.
The door hinges creaked, announcing Lorna had arrived with Hesther and Frances. Gunn assumed a kindly, non-threatening air. Or at least he hoped it was. As skittish as those two were, they would never speak their minds if they became more afraid than usual. At least they looked more braw and healthier than they had when they first arrived at Thursa. A fine rosiness now pinked their cheeks, and neither resembled a frail, bony waif any longer. Their improvement made him smile.
“Here we are,” Lorna said, gently steering them by their shoulders. “And remember what I said—ye can say absolutely anything, and no one will ever know but myself and the chieftain.” She bent and brought her face closer to theirs. “Ye can trust us, aye? Ye understand that?”
Frances frowned and shifted in place. The boy looked ready to run. Hesther clutched her hands together so tightly, her knuckles turned white.
“Hesther,” Gunn said. “Yer former mistress is locked in her rooms because of her treacherous behavior. She can harm ye no longer.”
The meek girl, tiny and delicate as a cobweb, looked much younger than her eleven years. She offered a timid shrug, but kept her gaze fixed on the floor. “Aye, my chieftain. I ken it well enough. But she always seems to know everything. Sometimes even afore we speak it.” She inched back a step, taking refuge in the folds of Lorna’s skirts. “I am sorry, mighty chieftain. Please dinna turn me out.”
Lorna gave him a pleading look.
“I would never turn ye out, Hesther. Nor will we send ye away when we finally rid ourselves of yer vile mistress.” He resumed his pacing but kept it to a slow, meandering walk rather than the frustrated stride he needed. Perhaps that would make him appear less frightening to the children. He turned and settled his focus on Frances. “We dinna wish to be rid of ye either, Frances. Ye understand that, aye?”
The lad started rocking back and forth from one foot to the other. His face grew redder by the moment. Just as he seemed ready to speak, he turned and pinned an imploring expression on Hesther. She jerked her head with a hard shake. A clear and emphaticno.
“What is it, lad? Ye are safe here.” Gunn crouched in front of the boy and gently took hold of his hand. “Thursa is yer home now.” He tipped his head toward the girl. “Hesther’s too. And ye should know by now that my Bella would fight to the death to protect the both of ye. Ye are like the brother and sister she always wanted.”
Lorna eased around the children and took her place beside him. “We need yer help verra badly. That woman nearly killed this fine man to manipulate him for money, land, and title. The more ye tell us about her, the better we can decide what should be done with her. Ye dinna wish us to let her loose on the unsuspecting world just to be rid of her, do ye?”
Frances eased closer. Hesther grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back. “Nay, Frances. Nay,” she said in a frantic whisper.
“I willna be the coward she turned me into. Not anymore.” The boy yanked his arm free and jabbed a finger in her face. “And ye should tell them everything too, Hesther. She treated ye even worser than she treated me.”
“Tell us, Frances. Tell us everything ye can,” Gunn said.
“My name wasna always Frances,” the child said. “It used to be Murray. When Lady Murdina lured me and my sister off the streets of Edinburgh…” He paused and glanced back at the trembling girl. “She told me whenever someone called me Frances, I better answer to it or it would be a hard lashing and nothing but water for a week every time I forgot.” He flinched, then shrugged it off with a pitiful shiver. “I got better at remembering I was Frances after the first whipping.”
“So ye are not her son?” Lorna said, her eyes narrowing.
The boy shook his head. “No. She told me I had to act like her son or she would see me sent to the worst poorhouse she could find. Put us both there and tell them not to feed us nothing but scraps not fit for dogs.”
“Nay, brother,” Hesther said. Her voice became louder than it had ever been before. “She meant to send ye to the poorhouse, but she said she would sell me outright to Darley’s Place rather than just the three nights a week she rented me to them.”
“Darley’s Place?” Gunn asked.
Hesther stared at the floor, and her breathy whispering returned. “Aye, my chieftain. A whorehouse that likes their girls small like me.”
