‘There is something more?’ Brodie asked.
‘His mother died the same way my Fiona died,’ Euan said, looking away for a moment. ‘At the same festival. It had been Fiona’s idea.’
It was the last time the clans had tried to end the feud. A festival that had brought many to its promised haven and it had turned into a massacre when squabbles between factions of both clans had escalated into violence. Fighting had broken out.
‘Was Arabella there?’ he asked, wondering if she was Caelan’s focus for more than one reason. Had she played some part in that, too?
‘Aye, she was there. Not much more than a bairn. But old enough to disobey me and sneak out of our tent. Fiona went searching for her and ran into the fighting as it began. We found her curled around Arabella, saving her life with her own.’
A hardness entered the man’s voice then. And Brodie realised that...
‘You blame Arabella for her death.’ Many things fell into place then. The man’s brutal treatment of his children, especially Arabella. His pursuit of a peace. ‘Does she know?’
‘I couldna bear to look upon her afterwards, for she has the look and eyes of her mother. I think I grew to resent her.’
‘Does she know?’ he asked again.
‘I never spoke about it with her,’ he admitted, sitting on the bed. ‘I do not think she kens the real reason. She learned to stay out of my way. She did as she was told.’
All the things a child does to protect herself when others do not. If he had the strength then, Brodie would have beaten the man as he had often raised his hands to his children. Even making a fist was not possible now, so it would have to wait. But it would come to the old man.
Arabella had become a different person in dealing with her father, to protect herself and her brother. She hid her curiosity and strength within, never letting Euan see it. But Brodie had seen it. Brodie saw the true Arabella hiding inside the hurt woman. Once Caelan was handled, he would make certain no one hurt her again.
‘Does Caelan know it was an accident? That you regretted his mother’s death and your involvement?’
‘Nay. Whenever we spoke, he never seemed to recognise me. So I thought he’d forgotten me.’
‘Forgotten? Nay. Just buried the hatred deep so no one could see.’ As Arabella had buried herself.
‘As I said, brutal times.’ Euan met Brodie’s gaze then. ‘’Twas about the same time that Arabella’s aunt had been kidnapped by one of your clansmen—the one called Grigor.’
‘Her aunt?’ Brodie had never heard this.
‘Aye. There were some stories about the two having meetings in secret that were discovered. But the truth is that Grigor kidnapped and ruined her and we had to attack to get her back.’
He looked over at Rob who was as surprised as he was. They both knew that the woman had been meeting Grigor while at Drumlui Keep. More than once, she’d been seen with him long after her charge had retired for the night. And Grigor’s gaze followed the woman whenever she was in the same room. Brodie suspected that none of them knew the truth of the matter.
‘But, killing in the heat of battle is different from planning to assassinate someone in cold blood and then doing it under the sign of a truce. And blaming someone else for it. He must pay for that,’ Euan said, his tone saying that he would not allow any other outcome.
Brodie held no sympathy for his cousin or his actions and when the time came, he could step aside and allow Euan his vengeance. But, he also desired to strike the blow that would end his cousin’s destructive plans.
* * *
It took several hours to lay out their plan. Brodie hoped that Arabella was using her wits to stay alive and well until they could get there. And he prayed that she understood that he would always come for her, no matter what.
Once, in the middle of their discussions, he wondered to himself if Arabella was asking Caelan as many questions as she asked him. He chuckled aloud, bringing strange glances from the others. She would hold her own with his cousin, he had no doubt. But, whether they faced the twelve plagues of Egypt or every demon from hell, he would see her safely out of Drumlui.
Finally, the planning was done and Brodie’s body pushed for rest. The others left, but Euan remained behind. Brodie could tell exactly what the man wanted to know from the way he could not find the words to begin.
‘You held her prisoner,’ he said. Brodie nodded. ‘For nigh on four weeks.’ Another nod. ‘Did you take her virginity?’
Brodie did not want to insult the man about his daughter so he was choosing his words carefully when Euan blurted out, ‘Knowing the girl, she offered it to you.’
He laughed then and it hurt. Clutching his side, he tried to breathe slowly to make the waves of pain subside.
‘That is what I thought.’ Arabella’s father shook his head. ‘She trusted you if she went to your bed.’ Euan squinted at him then, as though seeing him for the first time. ‘I did not think you would suit, but you just might.’
‘I have pledged my loyalty to Grigor, Lord Euan. He is the one to lead the Mackintoshes and oversee the treaty and the peace. And he will choose another to be tanist from the other clans in the Confederation.’
