Chapter Eighteen
Miran waited forthe guards to walk by before she slipped out of the opening of her shelter and ran behind the next tent, where the soldiers slept. Judging by the height of the moon, it was verra late, and she hoped to get to Kai without being caught. Aye, she had much to say, though she still loved him.
Another soldier trudged by, looking left and right, before he moved on, beyond the edge of the encampment, probably told to patrol farther in case Igor and his band of marauders tried to attack. Miran blew a stray hair from her face, wondering if Colin and Tiva had been reunited yet. She had prayed in earnest for them, having already decided she would do everything she could to make sure no one interfered with their future. She liked Colin.
Peeking around the side of the tent, she dinna hear or see anything. Good. She ran the distance to Kai’s tent, inching along the back of it, once again pausing to make sure she was alone.
“A mhic Ifrinn! A mhic an uilc! ’S e plaigh a th’ annad!”O son of Hell. O son of evil! Ye are a plague!
What woman would be inside Kai’s tent, and why would she curse him? Surely she wasna imagining it, for she had drunk an extra serving of potent wine earlier, making it easier to abide by Kai’s refusal to let her go with Colin. She shook her head as if to clear her mind and listened harder.
“Do ye know how long I have waited to exact my revenge? To see ye laid low?”
Her jaw dropped.Jesu.Should she find the guards? Or leave Kai to fight his own battle, for the woman inside his tent could be a scorned lover. The thought broke her heart. Were one of her maids secretly bedding him? Jealously hardened her heart momentarily. Let him suffer the consequences of…
“Yer father was a lying bastard.”
Nay.Kai had said nothing in his own defense yet, and whoever the woman was, her voice was strained and filled with hatred and rage. Had she already hurt Kai?
Quickly, Miran braced herself for the worst outcome and forced her way inside. She wanted to see this woman for herself.
What she found frightened her!
“Cadha! What are ye doing here? And why are ye holding a knife to the captain’s throat?” Though Kai’s eyes were open, he dinna move, dinna even blink.
Cadha hissed and turned. “Miran. I could ask ye the same question. Why are ye in the captain’s tent in the middle of the night? Has he finally succeeded in making ye his whore?”
Miran growled. “How dare ye! Get away from him. Now!”
As soon as Miran took a step toward Cadha, she shoved the knife under Kai’s throat again. “Take another step and I’ll slit his throat ear-to-ear.”
The woman was obviously irrational, mad even. “Why?”
“Why?” The older woman laughed. “Do ye know how long I have bided my time? How long my family has planned for this moment?” She looked over her shoulder at Miran. “Aye, I see the confusion on yer pretty face, lass. I tried to protect ye, to give ye fair warning, even a whipping to make ye remember why cavorting with this heathen would hurt ye. But I see I am too late. So ye may as well watch while I kill him.”
“Nay!”
“There is nothing ye can do to save him. The bread he brought back to the camp was poisoned.”
How had she known about the bread? And Miran had eaten a piece. How was she unharmed? “I ate the bread.”
“Not enough,” Cadha said.
“How did ye know to poison the bread?”
“Twas my cottage Igor sent him to.”
Miran’s mind reeled with a hundred questions.
“Igor is my nephew. Cacalay my home. A decade ago, the Sutherlands sought experienced men for two ships they wanted to send to Constantinople, eager to trade for silk. My grandfather and brother, both seduced by the coin they were promised from the earl, left their wives and children behind to set sail for that heathen land.”
Miran gasped as understanding dawned. But ten years ago, Kai was but a lad. “Surely the captain had nothing to do with yer misfortune?”
“No’ directly. But his wicked sire, the regional governor and a powerful prince, ordered all of the men on my father’s ship to be executed after they were caught with stacks of the highest quality silk. A crime punishable by death, even now.”
“B-but…”
“Doona try to defend Prince Kuresh! He can hide behind his Highland name, dress as a MacKay, even speak like one, but he is still the son of Lord Kalil. He owes my family a blood-debt, and I will collect my reward!”
