He was not.ItwasIsobel.She wore a heavy cloak and a plain kirtle and her voice was raised in anger.Her hair was loose and her manner imperious.
“Of course, Laird Fergus will see me,” she insisted.“You must escort me to the hall.I must speak with him immediately...”
“Then do as much,” Fergus invited, knowing his annoyance showed.How would her arrival at his gates alone be construed?He doubted Stewart would approve and suspected that man might blame him for Isobel’s choice.Fergus needed no new friction with Stewart, to be sure.Leila might be concerned, given his own nightmare.“There must be good cause for you to have ridden so far without escort.”
Relief lit Isobel’s features.“Fergus!Stewart had a fit this morn and I feared for my life!”A murmur passed through the company of those who had gathered in curiosity and Fergus wondered if Isobel had desired to start the tale.She leaped from the saddle and reached up to lower her son to the ground.The boy looked uncertain, and rightly so.“I feared for both myself and Gavin and fled, knowing you would offer us sanctuary.”
It was a risky matter to offer a haven to another man’s wife, especially the wife of a warrior like Stewart.Fergus did not appreciate that Isobel embroiled him in her troubles and wondered if she meant to make this a habit.
He would halt the inclination now.
Fergus folded his arms across his chest.“A fit?”he echoed.“That does not sound like Stewart.I thought him a temperate man.Are you certain you did not provoke him?”
If Stewart had not threatened Isobel before this day, Fergus wagered there was some detail omitted from her tale.Her quick sidelong glance at his query confirmed his suspicions.
It was odd that after four years apart, he found her so much less enticing than once had been the case.In fact, Fergus wondered how he had missed Isobel’s quick expressions, the ones she tried to hide, the ones that revealed her words might not be the fullness of the truth.Even without the warning of his dream, he distrusted her.
What had she done this morn?
“Temperate?”she repeated with a laugh.“His is harsh beyond belief, cruel even.”She cast herself at Fergus, an entreaty in her eyes.“I was in despair, Fergus, until your return.I knew that if I left Stewart, you would stand by our betrothal.Let us wed this very day that I might have sanctuary at Killairic.You have a priest, do you not?”
Fergus frowned and stepped back, extricating himself from her embrace.“What madness is this, Isobel?You are wedded to Stewart...”
“I have left him!”
“You exchanged your vows before a bishop.You have borne his son.”He gestured to the boy, who simply watched.He looked pale, to Fergus’ thinking, and had to be in need of a hot meal.“Have you eaten this day?”
“Nay, of course not.I fled for my life!”
Fergus scanned the gathered company and spotted the smith.“Farquar, would you take Gavin to the kitchens for me, please?Tell Xavier that the lad has not eaten all day.”
“Certainly, my lord.”
Intriguingly, Gavin did not look to his mother for her approval but simply followed instruction.Doubtless the boy was starving.
“What madness is this, Isobel, that you would not ensure the boy was fed?”Fergus demanded of her.
Isobel’s expression turned sly and she clutched at his arm.“Fergus, we must speak in private.There is much you do not know.”
“I know all I need to know,” Fergus corrected.“You chose to forget our betrothal and wed Stewart instead.What is done cannot be undone.”
“You would conclude differently, if you knew the whole of the truth,” Isobel said, her tone challenging.
“I doubt as much.I have a wife, Isobel, and I will not put Leila aside to better suit your convenience.”
“A wife?”Isobel scoffed.“Is that what you call an infidel who meets you abed?”
“We have a handfast.”
“A handfast is no firm bond, Fergus, and you know it well.”
“My word is my bond, and I have given it to Leila.”
She lifted her chin, her eyes flashing.“You gave it to me first.”
“And you disregarded it, thus freeing me from any commitment to you.”Fergus sighed.“Go home, Isobel.Go home to Dunnisbrae.Make amends with Stewart for whatever you have done and be content with your lot.”
Fury flashed in her eyes before she dropped her gaze.“Content,” she muttered so softly that only Fergus could have heard her.“Why should I be content with less than my father chose for me?”
