“Dinnae act the defenseless maiden. I’m quick to pick up on yer artful tricks. Me hand didnae even touch ye,” Gawain sneered.
Lost for polite words, Emer snapped, “Let me be the judge of whether I suffered any damage; I’ll thank ye.”
Gawain turned the key in his door, put it in his pocket, and sauntered back to the chaise, saying, “Ye give me indigestion, girl, but somehow, I have lost faith in yer abilities or willingness to go and brew me a posset to cure it.”
He looked at Emer when he said this and was not surprised to see a vengeful look in her eyes that affirmed the words he had just said out loud.
“Yer big bowlful o’ raspberries might have something to do with that,” she whispered - her tone every bit as sarcastic and biting as his own words had been.
“What was that ye said?” Gawain wanted to know.
“Naught,” Emer said glibly, “I only mentioned the big shipment of gold coming into port this week wouldnae be enough for me to spy for ye anymore.”
When Gawain’s eyes grew large with excitement when he heard this, all of Emer’s suspicions were confirmed, “I ken well ye have nae other motive in yer heart than to enrich yerself in some way through these tactics, sir. And afore ye begin with yer blandishments again, ken this: the Wylie girls are nae blind. Sooner or later, me sister will see through yer cajoling ways as easily as I do, and then ye will be undone.”
The charming smile Gawain had plastered on his lips twisted when he listened to Emer’s pointed words. Seeing his cozening ways were of no more use to him, Gawain resorted to blackmail.
“Let me see now,” he mused out loud, “A pair of girls, not from these parts, and the two most recent additions to the castle keep, want to spread rumors about the younger son of the auld Laird...,” he pressed one finger to his lips as though giving the proposition much thought, “Hmmm, let me try to hazard a guess. Who will be believed? The Laird’s son or the newcomers?”
Emer, disgusted with his thinking, retorted, “Leave me sister out o’ yer calculations, sir. She still enjoys listening to yer sorry tarradiddles about how loathsome yer brither is.”
Gawain gave her a self-satisfied grin, “Ah, aye, she does love to listen to whatever I choose to tell her. But, unfortunately, ye dinnae.”
A dreadful silence descended over the room. Gawain and Emer stood with locked eyes; one defiant and revolted, the other scheming and thoughtful.
“I never trusted ye entirely, ye ken,” Gawain said, “ye’re half as trusting as yer sister and twice as sharp – nae a good combination,” he sighed, as though what he was about to say next pained him, “Fortunately, I prepared for something like this. I have hidden damning evidence proving ye are, indeed, spying for the Sutherlands. It’s secreted in an unknown compartment in yer bedchamber, so dinnae try looking for it – ye will fail.”
Emer did not think it was possible for her to hate someone with whom she did not even have great familiarity, but she was wrong. At this moment, she hated Gawain Maclachlan.
Gawain was not ready to let his concerned facade disappear entirely. He continued,
“Ye have nae proof I had anything to do with the spying, the sabotage, the attack, or the letters, Emer. Are ye really willing to bet yer life, yer job, and yer sister’s happiness on a vague suspicion?”
Seeing her waver, Gawain continued, “Go away a few days and give more thought into what ye’re claiming. The son of the auld Laird and brither of the new one is trying to destabilize how the clan earns its money; is giving away their secrets, pacts, and agreements? For what gain? And to their rival clan of all people? It makes nae sense what ye’re saying.”
Emer hesitated. What Gawain said, in point of fact, sounded plausible. But there were so many other things that simply did not add up. She felt helpless, powerless, and realized she might have acted without even knowing if her hunch was correct. The inappropriateness of what she had said to Gawain and how she had behaved wanted to make her sink into the ground with shame.
Satisfied his words had finally made her rethink her stance, Gawain went to the door, unlocked it, and flung it wide open.
“Go,” he said to her, jerking his head in the direction of the dressing room, “think about what I’ve said, and remember I can have ye and yer sister outside the castle keep’s gateway in the blink of an eye, before the year’s much older.”
Emer did as she was told.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Thank ye, thank ye, dearest sister! These clothes are so pretty. Where did ye get them?”
Davinia was jumped around gleefully in their bedchamber. Emer still felt numb from her encounter with Gawain at dinnertime earlier in the day but had managed to hide it well as she had finished up her tasks and household chores. The two girls had gone up to bed together after Emer had helped Davinia complete her kitchen duties.
If she was honest with herself, Gawain’s treacherous behavior had made Emer completely forget the thrilling present she had received that morning.
“Um..., maybe it’s from a secret admirer, Davi, or from one o’ the upstairs guests who sometimes visit the keep. I have to attend many rich chieftain’s wives when they stay over and have the chance to tell them how beautiful they look in all their finery. Perhaps one felt sorry for me and gave me her auld garments? I really have nae idea, but let’s nae look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Davinia was too happy to make further enquiries.
“Really, ye think so? What a wonderful gesture of kindness. These clothes seem to be brand new. If ye have a secret admirer in the keep, let’s hope he keeps wooing ye!” After making this statement, Davina gave what she had just said a bit more thought and then added the proviso, “As long as it’s nae Mister Banting,” she pulled a face, “He could give me an entire closet of ballgowns, and it wouldnae be enough for me to want to marry him!”
Emer gave a tired chuckle at these words, “ Me too,” she agreed, and the sisters got ready for bed; one whose mind was full of how she could flash her new petticoats at Gawain the next day, and the other with her mind in turmoil over what Gawain had said to her at dinnertime.
