I said, “That auld man just called Wilfrey’s wife a whore in front of him. If he has any stones he will be wantin’ a brawl, I daena see how he can let that pass without at least demandin’ anapology. Dost ye think he can handle himself in a duel, dost we need tae intervene?”
Sean said, “I daena want tae intervene, but Wilfred deserves an apology. I want one as well,yeneed one, Lizbeth deserves a groveling begging for forgiveness. I hae half a mind tae join with Wilfred. I hae been called a bastard.”
I groaned. “Growin’ up, I was called it everyday, as though some thought if I wasna reminded I would forget. In yer case tis nae true, ye ought tae let that one go. I daena mind; tis true in my case, and so the only people insulted are our sister and our mother.”
“Och, more the reason, I want tae kill him.”
“Get in line.”
CHAPTER 24
KAITLYN
WE CANNA LET WILFREY GO ALONE
The doors of the Great Hall swung open with more force than was needed and Lady Mairead stalked through, and sort of stumbled. I gasped.
Her head was held high, but so pale, she looked close to passing out. One hand clutched Wilfrey’s arm and the other pressed flat to her sternum as though holding herself together by will alone. She had that look, imperiousness, but under it was a trembling signaling imminent collapse — she wasn’t weak, she was furious. But it was a new kind of fury, one I hadn’t seen before, she wasn’t on top of it, using it to smite her enemies. Instead she was suffering it.
And now she was suffering it in public.
The hall went quiet in the way of a room that hushed under suspense — would Lady Mairead lash out, and at whom, or was she going to break down in tears, and had anyone ever seen that before? There was shock, curiosity, fear, and a little bit of pity, which was something Lady Mairead would be even more furious about. I hoped she wouldn’t notice
I set down my cup and stood, meaning to help her to a chair, but I was also a little afraid to offer.
Wilfrey was a half-step behind, his hand at her back — guiding, steering, trying to get her a chair, looking a little like I felt, unsure how to help.
His face was not his usual calm and handsome. He looked pissed — his jaw clenched and unclenched and clenched again.
Mairead crossed the hall with her chin up, not looking at any of us.
She made it almost to her chair, then the gravity of the situation, her trip across the Great Hall while a crowd very quietly stared, and how the room had gone hushed like they had all been talking about her — which, of course, they had been — caught up with her: she had been publicly humiliated by the Earl.
And her knees buckled. She muttered, “They are talking of me?”
Wilfrey caught her with his arm around her waist before she stumbled to the ground.
Magnus was up. “Och nae, what happened up there? What did he do?”
Sean answered darkly, “By the look of it he has gravely insulted our mother.”
Magnus and Sean stood somberly, their hands on their swords, as Wilfrey brought Mairead to the seat nearest the fire and sat her down, crouching in front of her. She leaned back in the chair and Wilfrey grabbed a cup from the table and pressed it into her hands.
She drank and looked absolutely wrecked. “What am I supposed tae do about him?”
Sean and Magnus crouched down beside her. Wilfrey was crouched in front. They formed a huddle. I moved closer to hear. Fraoch stood with his shoulder to the group, listening, but giving them space. I asked one of the maids to take Jack to the nursery. I didn’t want to miss what happened, at all.
Hayley whispered, “She doesnotlook good.”
Lady Mairead’s eyes swept around looking at all of us. She looked like how I imagined she was, years ago, when she had her first run in with the Earl and lost, just a young woman, barely sixteen, in love, her spirit crushed. Here it had happened again, even though Lady Mairead was now the mother of a king, a force to be reckoned with.Still,she had walked into a room with the Earl, who despised her, and had come out the other side of it, broken.
Sean said, “Mother, what did he say tae ye?”
Magnus said, “He has been an arse before, many times before, but he is causin’ ye tae suffer this time… what happened?”
She closed her eyes, drawing in a slow breath. “I daena want everyone tae hear what he said, we ought not — where is Lizbeth?”
Magnus said, “Mother, everyone has already heard what transpired.”
