14
Mary pulled back the bed curtains and shook Laura’s shoulder. “Lady Laura? Ye must awake. There is quite a clamor and commotion in the hall!”
Her eyes flew open, and she sat upright. “Send down word to the kitchens for hot water, Mary. I will dress as fast as I can.” Her heart was pumping. The feeling of dread she had carried inside her for many days intensified.
“I have hot water in the washstand for ye already, mistress,” Mary said. “And I’ve taken the liberty of laying out a riding coat and skirts…it sounds as if we might have to leave this place with great haste.”
Laura knew better than to waste time demanding more details from her old maid. The sooner she went into the hall to ask her questions, the sooner she would have answers. She had no idea how her plans to run away with Bruce had been discovered, but images of him lying strapped to a table in the dungeons with hot coals pressed to his feet crossed her mind.
Her fingers fumbled the buttons of her riding coat. Mary was busy tying the ribbons around her stockings and lacing up her boots. Thanking her maid for her help, Laura ran downstairs to the great hall in the lodge. It was bustling with men. The only women seemed to come in the form of female servants.
“Ah!” Laird Roy Halkerston announced when she entered the room. “Our temptress has arrived.”
Laura looked toward her father to see his reaction, but Laird Anderson had a dark frown on his face. He came and took her by the elbow and led her toward the stone dais on which Laird Halkerston and some of his soldiers were sitting. “Here is my daughter to answer these accusations,” he said, dropping her arm and going to stand on the dais with the other men. They took their time, calling for servants to bring chairs and benches, ordering for drinks and snacks to be brought out, as if they planned to be an audience to the events that were about to unfold.
Laird Halkerston stared down at Laura from the lofty position on the stone dais. “Word has come to me ears that ye have been makin’ free with one o’ me men. It comes as nay surprise to see ye dressed for ridin’. Ye seem to have a particular affection for riding out with one man in particular. Can ye explain yerself?”
Laura felt her knees tremble. She did not know if he knew about her plan to flee Huna Lodge with Bruce. She decided to make her own attack. “Word was always in me own ears, laird, and would ye like to ken what those words were? That ye are only after me gold. No banns have been read in kirk yet. I have no’ broken faith with ye. Until such a time as the announcement is made in front of the congregation, I can ride with whomever I please.”
Laird Halkerston said nothing but inclined his head so he could address a question to Laird Anderson. “Are all the women at Fisher Castle so lax with their good name or just this one?”
Laura’s father blustered. “I trust my daughter to be alone with any man and no’ succumb to temptation! She’s nay straw damsel needin’ to take a tumble in the hay to scratch an itch!”
Laird Anderson addressed his daughter. “Tell these men the truth, Laura! Tell them that ye are pure and remain a prize worth bargaining for!”
Roy interrupted. “With such a besmirchment on her name, I’m no’ sure if I even want the girl anymore. And I think I deserve compensation for the waste of me time!”
Laura closed her eyes. The image of her love’s face swam in front of her. She gathered up her courage, saying loudly, “He is me soul’s other half! I don’ care about gold or titles or fine things. I want to be his wife an’ no one else’s!”
Not one man in the hall doubted which man she was talking about. A wide grin spread over Roy Halkerston’s face. “Och dear me, ye and a dozen other wenches must have said those words before, Lady Laura. What makes ye think ye are the first of his willing victims?”
Laird Halkerston shouted down the hall, “Bring him in! Leave the others out there for now.” The guards standing on either side of the closed doors lifted the barrier plank up. One of them went out and returned with a casually dressed soldier with him. The man seemed very alert, even though there were dark rings indicating a long, sleepless night under his eyes.
“Well, Davey Torrens, what have ye to say for yerself?” Laird Halkerston raised his voice loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear what he was saying. The soldier called Davey Torrens began to speak in a similar loud tone, walking from one side of the hall to the other as if he were an actor on the stage.
“M’laird, ye ken how soldiers like to find amusement wherever we can? Our lives are harsh and can be cut short at any time, so let nay man judge us for how we choose to amuse ourselves.”
Roy Halkerston grunted. “Och aye, whatever ye please, lad. But continue.”
“We all noticed this lady’s fondness for a certain tall soldier in our ranks. He held an advantage over all o’ us: he had met the lady afore while bonded to another laird who attended a reeling at Fisher Castle.”
Laird Anderson stood up. “Are ye suggestin’ that me daughter holds a fondness for men of low rank? If so, I have a problem with that.”
Davey cringed back, but Roy held out one hand in a placatory gesture. “Let us wait for the man to tell his story in full before we jump to judgment, please, Laird Anderson.” Laura’s father sat back down again.
Speaking in a more respectful manner, Davey continued. “Aye, well, I offered Duncan a bet. I told him that if he kissed the lady, I would pay him. Many other of us fellows took part in the bet—some laying wagers that the lady would be scared off by the man’s fierce size, others claiming the lady’s heart was lost from the start and the two o’ them would nae be able to keep their hands off each other. The rules of the bet were simple, m’ laird: he must give her a proper kiss with two other men as witnesses.”
Laird Anderson growled from the dais. “Disgraceful!” but then held his peace when the other men hushed him.
“To be fair to Duncan, m’laird, he was nae keen on the idea at first. But when he heard that the lady was to marry ye, he seemed to warm to the idea.”
The captain of the guards shouted out into the hall. “Treason! Treason against our laird!”
Davey Torrens gave a wise nod of his head. “Aye, that’s right. It was all very well for us lads to make such a bet when the lady was not spoken for, but the moment she agreed to negotiate for her bridal price, there was no need for banns to be read; the agreement is considered to be on the table! But that only served to add more spice to the bet as far as Duncan was concerned! He told us to hide and wait, and he would kiss the lady outside on her bedchamber balcony.”
There was a hushed silence in the hall. “Well, what happened?!” The captain of the guards barked out the words.
“He did nae do it, sir. But turns out there was no need, for last night, the lady came outside and buttonholed Duncan on duty in the stables. They took a light and went into the barn. I went back and fetched no’ one but two other soldiers to witness it!”
