Over and over she replayed what had happened in her mind, recalling every word of his explanation--justification--whatever it was he was trying to make.
It was bad enough that they were on opposite sides of a war, but did he honestly expect her to understand that he had to destroy her clan? Kill her father, the man she admired most in the world? All for some kind of revenge?
Justice, he'd called it.
She didn't want to listen to his explanations or understand his reasons. Nor did she believe the horrible lies he'd spouted about her father for one moment. Her father could never have killed a man so dishonorably.
He'll do anything to win. She pulled the pillow tighter around her ears, wanting the feathers to block it out.
Ask him, Arthur had challenged.
She didn't need to ask him; she knew the truth.
But Arthur had been so certain about what he'd seen ...
Anna slid out of her bed as the first rays of dawn spilled across the floor. After hurrying through her morning ablutions, she slipped past her sisters on her way out of the chamber.
She knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to prove Arthur wrong. Then she'd be able to put this behind her and stop the miserable aching in her heart.
The trestle tables had yet to be set out, and some of the men were still stirring from their pallets in the Great Hall, as she rushed to her father's solar. Though it was not yet an hour past dawn, she knew her father would be up. He barely slept when readying for battle.
She heard his voice as she neared the entry. "I don't care how long it takes, I want to know the names."
"I don't know how much more he can--"
Alan stopped abruptly, seeing her enter the room. One look at his face and she knew something was wrong.
Her father was seated behind the table, his henchman, the captain of his guard, and her brother Alan standing before him. His gaze narrowed angrily upon seeing her. The others seemed to look away, almost as if they were avoiding meeting her gaze.
Thinking her father's anger was because of her interruption, she bid a hasty retreat. "I'm sorry. I will return when you are done."
"Nay," her father said. "I want to talk to you. We're finished here." To Alan he said, "No more excuses. Get me what I want. Whatever it takes."
Alan's mouth fell in a thin line, but he nodded. Anna felt a prickle of unease when he left the room without a word or even a glance.
She took a seat on the bench opposite her father, folding her hands in her lap. The intensity of his gaze was making her vaguely uncomfortable. He was angry, and it wasn't about the interruption.
"If you have something to tell me, you are too late."
Her heart sank. "T-tell you?"
He pulled a folded piece of paper from his sporran and tossed it on the table before her. A chill swept across the back of her neck when she recognized the map. "Aye," he said. "Like where you'd seen this before."
Shame flooded her cheeks. How had he found out?
He answered her question for her. "Your reaction. Looking for him right away confirmed the source."
Had her father been watching them the whole time? Nay, maybe in the courtyard, but he couldn't have seen them in the garden--it wasn't visible from the Hall. Yet he'd obviously seen enough.
"I expected better from you, Anna."
She bowed her head, his disappointment cutting sharply. She had no excuse. She wanted to say she hadn't been sure, but she had. The moment she'd seen the map, she'd known he was a spy. "I'm sorry, Father. I wanted to give him a chance to explain."
Her father's voice was as biting as a whip. "And did he 'explain' to your satisfaction?"
She shook her head. Though she knew she had a duty to tell him everything, the words were still difficult to say. Arthur was gone, she reminded herself. "He is loyal to Bruce." She paused, peering up at him cautiously. "He said that Bruce has won the hearts of the people. That he is Scotland's best chance to be free of English tyranny for good. And that we are going to lose and should submit."
Her father's face turned red with rage. "And you believed him? Arthur Campbell would have said anything to gain your sympathy. You foolish girl, he was using you to escape. We will never submit and we willnotlose."
