18
Edinburgh. Ailis shivered despite the summer heat and cursed the word, the place, and the fact that she was there. Just as Alexander had said they would, they had gone to Leargan to be sure all was in order, then had gone on to Edinburgh. He reminded her that he had made the journey to Edinburgh at the same time every year. It was something that Malcolm had clearly known about when he had extracted the promise from her. Even then he had known when and where he would extract payment from her.
She cautiously looked at the man sprawled asleep at her side, his long, tautly muscled arm flung across her waist. Ever since the final battle with her kinsmen and the MacCordys, she and Alexander had been growing slowly, warily closer. His bitterness was nearly gone, the hateful remarks no more than a bad memory. She should have been filled with hope, her heart light as she worked to pull more than passion from her husband. For the first time since he had dragged her off to Rathmor, he was open to her, could be reached, perhaps even brought to love her, but she could do nothing about it. If nothing else, it would be inordinately cruel to grab for his love now that it was within her reach when she knew that she would have to betray him.
And I may as well hurry and do the deed, she thought as she eased herself out of bed and reached for her gown.
In the afternoon she and Alexander had wandered through the town, and there had been Malcolm. They had paused to be cordial, and Ailis passed a few awkward words with a quietly sad Giorsal. It had been made subtlely clear by Malcolm that he awaited the fulfillment of the promise she had made.
At first Ailis had given serious thought to postponing keeping her end of that infamous bargain. There had never been any particular time mentioned. Then she had seen that for the foolishness that it was. The bargain would not fade away. Malcolm would not disappear. Ailis knew she had to face the consequences of her promise and do so now. There was also the matter of the new, still changing relationship between her and Alexander. At last he was opening his heart to her, offering her chance after chance to stir far more than his lust, but she was now the one who held back. She would not be so cruel as to take whatever she craved from Alexander when she knew that she was doomed to betray him. If she did that, then she would be no better than the women who had left him such a scarred and bitter man.
“He will think I am no better than they were anyway,” she mused to herself as she finished lacing up her gown.
Her heart beating fast and hard, Ailis slipped out of the room she shared with Alexander. She kept a very close eye on him, watching him for any sign of his waking up. To her relief he did not move at all. As softly as she could, she shut the door behind her.
In the outer hallway she found the candle and flint she had tucked into a niche just outside the door. The light it provided was very meager, but she felt more confident about getting out of the small manor house without incident. She briefly wished that Moragh had traveled to Edinburgh with them, for she would have dearly loved to see her child one last time. Ailis knew that once she fulfilled her bargain with Malcolm Alexander would not want her any longer, and his rejection would assuredly mean the loss of her child as well.
“At least I had one last night with Alexander,” she whispered as she slipped out of the house and hoped that the thought would be one to cheer her in later years.
Jaime cursed and slipped out of the house to follow Ailis. He knew exactly where she was going. Several times since she had made the bargain, he had tried to talk her out of keeping it. There was no honor in such a deal; therefore, there was none lost in refusing to fulfill the terms. Unfortunately, Ailis did not see it that way. She had agreed to a price for saving her child and herself, and she would pay the price.
He kept out of sight behind her as she made her way toward Malcolm MacCordy’s residence. Although he could not stop Ailis, Jaime knew she might need protection going to and from the houses. He also knew that she would need help when it was all over. She would be heartbroken and would probably have to get away from the MacDubhs, either because Alexander told her to or because her own guilt would torment her into doing so. Either way she would need him. Jaime just hoped that, wherever his allegiance to Ailis led him, it was not too far away from the MacDubhs and Kate.
Alexander waited until the door shut behind Ailis, then swiftly got up and got dressed. He stepped over to the window as he buckled on his sword, carefully keeping just behind the drape, and watched the street below. When he saw Ailis creep along the road back into town, he cursed. He was just about to go after her when he saw a shadowy figure trailing her. At first he tensed, fear for Ailis’s safety briefly swamping his jealousy and fury. Then he recognized the man. The large shape became a familiar one.
“Ah, the ever-diligent Jaime,” he muttered, then hurried out of the house, rushing to fall into step behind the pair before they disappeared into the narrow streets of town.
It was difficult for Alexander to remain as no more than a man in pursuit, following and attempting to learn exactly what was going on. It had taken a while to understand that something existed between Ailis and Malcolm. He had not wanted to see it, had not wanted to know anything about it, but some things were too hard to ignore. The meeting with Malcolm in the market square had finally forced him to open his eyes.
No matter how many times he told himself not to let the pain of the past taint his judgments, he could not help but believe he was about to be betrayed again. Each step he took as he followed Ailis confirmed his opinion that she was slipping away to meet Malcolm. Nothing he could think of could excuse it, and nothing stilled the pain. Alexander was astonished at how much it hurt.
Ailis held her cloak snugly around herself even though she did not feel any cold. For a long time she stood in front of Malcolm’s studded door unable to rap. A little wildly she thought of every possible solution to her dilemma and, as had always happened before, found that none really offered her an answer. As she knocked on the door, she felt as if her heart had suddenly been weighted with leads.
Ailis heard Malcolm at the door and shuddered. He opened the door, looked around, and gently took her by the hand and pulled her into the house.
* * *
Alexander paused to watch her rap on Malcolm’s door, then go inside. Jaime moved in the narrow alley to the right of the house, and Alexander decided to follow him. He wanted to storm into the place and put the fear of God into the both of them. As he stepped up behind Jaime, he mused that he would like to put more than fear into Malcolm MacCordy—he would like to insert a length of cold, well-honed steel into the man’s gullet. He moved up behind Jaime and waited for the man to stop peering in the open window and notice that he was no longer alone. A cold smile curved Alexander’s mouth when Jaime finally turned, his eyes widening.
“Ye ken it all,” Jaime whispered.
“What I ken is that my wife is meeting her lover, and ye are aiding her.”
“Nay! Nay, that isna true.”
“Dinna lie for her. Be silent and let me see the truth for myself.” He continued to stand just behind Jaime and watch as Malcolm and Ailis entered the room, sat down, and began to share a drink of wine. The slightly open window allowed him to hear every traitorous word. He swore that he would hold calm, would learn exactly what was happening before he broke it up.
Malcolm led Ailis into the small great hall and silently urged her into a high-backed chair at a heavy round table. When he poured them each some wine, then sat down near to her, she did not know whether to weep or throw the sweet liquid at him. He was being so hospitable even as he prepared for a night that would utterly destroy her.
“Where is Giorsal?” she asked, thinking that the girl was yet another person she would be forced to betray and hurt.
“I told the girl to stay to her own quarters. She has plagued me about this since the day I saved ye and your child.”
“Ye need not remind me of all ye have done for me, Malcolm. I am quite aware of it. ‘Tis the only reason I am here.”
He slumped in his chair and frowned at her. “Ye could look less like ye are about to set your neck upon the chopper’s block. Ye arena going to an execution, merely repaying an honorable debt.”
“There is nothing honorable about this! Nothing at all!”
