Boyd leaned forward, every muscle in his body tense.
The councilor replied, "There is but one, sire.A sister.Isabella, I believe her name is."
The world stopped.Boyd's heart slammed against his ribs so hard he thought it might crack them.Bella.After ten years of wondering, of trying to forget, here was her name, spoken aloud in the king's council as if it were nothing.
Yet it was everything.
"What is her status?"the king asked.
"Unwed."
Boyd was astonished.
Unwed?Impossible.What happened to her lover?She would have married years ago, surely.She would have had the status she craved with half a dozen welps and a comfortable castle.
Unwed made no sense.
The king seemed equally surprised."Widowed?Betrothed?"
"No, Your Majesty.Never wed.It appears she has been sequestered in an abbey for several years."
Boyd nearly dropped his cup.Never wed?Bella Sutherland, the most vibrant, alive woman he'd ever known, hidden away in an abbey for years?
"If she is of marriageable age, why is she in an abbey?"the king asked.
"'Tis unclear, sire.But according to records, no marriage contracts were ever drafted.The lady seems to have been cast out by her family."The emissary consulted his notes."After some incident in her youth.The details are vague."
Some incident in her youth.
Boyd's blood roared in his ears.
"Has she taken her vows?"the king asked.
"No, she is listed as a lay-sister.They assist with day-to-day tasks and running of the abbey."
Boyd frowned, thinking of Bella in what sounded like domestic service.Something just did not make any sense.
"Well, the lass sounds like she has suffered enough.Perhaps financial reparations by Bryce to the MacKays and Fergusons are in order instead," the king mused."And confiscation of part of the land.That seems fair."
The council murmured in agreement, already moving on to discuss details.
But someone, Boyd wasn't sure who, asked, "What of the sister's dowry?"
Boyd's entire body went still.
"Seeing as she seems to be innocent of any charges, her dowry is irrelevant," the king replied.
"What if she had something to do with the scheming against the MacKays?"Boyd heard himself say, his voice rougher than usual."Should there not be an inquiry into her dealings?"
Every head in the room turned to look at him.The king raised an eyebrow.
"Ye speak as if ye ken the type of woman she is," Robert said slowly.
Boyd met the king's gaze steadily."Many years ago, I learned she is not as innocent as she may seem."The words tasted like ash on his tongue.But what else could he say?That he'd loved her once?That she'd nearly destroyed him?That even now, a decade later, he couldn't hear her name without feeling like someone had reached into his chest and squeezed?
The king nodded thoughtfully, then began pacing."What does this council suggest?"
"Perhaps she should be brought before you to answer some questions," one advisor offered.
