Katherine received an invitation from Isla to dine with her and Laird Alex, but she politely declined, knowing she would be poor company due to her stormy mood. Isla understood, and had supper sent up to her.
“Remember, if ye change yer mind and would care for some company,” Isla said, “ye need only ask. I know how much ye have on yer mind right now, lass, but ye needn’t bear it alone.”
“That’s kind of ye, thank ye,” Katherine replied.
She sat and ate, and as she watched the sun sink over the horizon, she wondered what the next day would bring. If her father rejected the betrothal between her and Kirk Oliphant,what would happen then? Would she be free to pursue a relationship with Bryan after all?
No. Probably not.
Because if the proposal was rejected, then war would come next. And Bryan would require all of his focus to help the Oliphants win it.
Would she be left to her own devices, then? Expected to provide useful information about her father’s tactics and defenses when called upon, and otherwise, left to drift and wander the corridors of the castle like a lonely phantom?
She did not know. She was frightened to find out.
So she slept poorly that night, and she rose long before dawn so that she could maintain a silent vigil at the window. Her breakfast was sent up to her, but she barely touched it. When the servant girl came to collect the plate from her, she must have reported Katherine’s lack of appetite to Isla, for the woman came to visit her almost immediately after.
“I thought ye might prefer not tae await yer father’s arrival alone,” Isla said, standing at the window next to Katherine.
“Och, I’m sure ye have better things tae do than pass the time up here with me,” Katherine replied bashfully.
Isla shrugged. “Such as? My husband rules over the clan day tae day, not I. I believe I can spare a few hours tae help put yer mind at ease. Or tae make the attempt, at any rate.”
Katherine smiled gratefully. “‘Tis appreciated.”
They stood like that for another hour or more, until finally, the familiar banners of the McGregor Clan appeared over the top of the hills, and the sounds of drums and trumpets drifted over the fields.
On the ramparts below, the Oliphant sentries bristled, despite the fact that these visitors were expected, and that Laird Angus would have to be foolish indeed to stage an invasion with a mere two dozen soldiers accompanying him.
“I suppose I ought tae be in the courtyard tae greet him,” Katherine muttered. “Else he might assume I’m locked in the dungeon alongside my sister.” Then something occurred to her. “Will he be allowed tae visit with Romilly while he’s here, do ye think?”
Isla grimaced. “Difficult tae say. It would hardly soften his position tae see the state she’s currently in, would it? And I imagine Alex’s desire tae accommodate such requests will depend largely on Laird Angus’s temperament while he’s here.”
“Somehow, I doubt my father will be on his best behavior,” Katherine replied sourly.
The two of them walked down to the courtyard, where Alex, Kirk, Bryan, and the other heads of the clan waited to receive Laird Angus and his entourage. The gates opened wide and the procession—a carriage, surrounded by over twenty McGregor soldiers on horseback—came through. They came to a stop at the center of the courtyard, and one of the soldiers dismounted and helped Angus down from the carriage.
Katherine was surprised and disheartened by his appearance.
He looked even more like a desperate lunatic than the last time she saw him. His tunic was dirty and rumpled, and his hair was wild and tousled, the roots visibly white. He looked as though he had aged twenty years in the past week or so, and his long, pale, spidery hands fidgeted with each other anxiously. His expression seemed frozen into a bleary and affronted scowl, as though he wasn’t entirely sure where he was or how he came to be there, but he loathed it.
When his baleful eye fell upon Katherine, his frown deepened, and he gritted his yellowed teeth. “There ye are, daughter,” he growled. “Curious tae see ye in such fine fettle, when one might have expected ye tae be rotting in the dungeons alongside yer sister. What might ye have done, I wonder, taemerit such kind treatment by yer captors? Revealed my secrets tae them?”
“Is that the sight ye would have preferred upon arriving, Father? Tae see me imprisoned in a dank stone chamber, tormented by rats and spiders? Would seeing me humbled thus give ye pleasure?” Katherine tried her best to keep her tone neutral, but in truth, being before him again, seeing the madness that had overtaken him, was making her shudder with fright and revulsion.
He had always been a spiteful sort, but at least he had been a strong and confident leader to his people. Now he was a haunted husk of a man, whose eyes darted to and fro as though expecting betrayal from every shadow and corner.
Angus’s lip curled in a scornful sneer. “Better a loyal daughter in chains than a deceitful one who walks free.”
“Enough,” Alex spoke up firmly. “Ye have come tae confer with me about the future of our clans, not tae hurl insults at those we deem honored guests.”
Angus nodded, as though his suspicions had been confirmed. “Very well. Lead the way, then, and let’s have it over with. Ye will not object, I suppose, if my men remain armed?”
“So long as their blades remain sheathed, it makes no difference tae me,” Alex retorted. “I trust ye tae keep things civil while ye are here.”
“Oh,” Angus scoffed. “Do ye believe me tae be a man of my word?”
Alex shook his head. “I ken full well that ye are not. I only know ye’re clever enough tae understand that the moment a McGregor sword is drawn in anger within these walls, ye will have sealed yer doom and that of yer men before any of ye can make it out of the room.”
