Wilfrey shifted, and ran his hand through his hair. “Alright, I am going to ask for an apology. How?”
Magnus said, “Ye say, ‘As the husband of Lady Mairead, I demand an apology for the things ye said about her.’”
Lady Mairead said, “Wilfrey, ye are allowing yerself tae be led astray by these Campbell men.”
He said, “They are your sons, my step-sons, they are not leading me astray, they are advising me how to defend your honor.”
“I hae let the Earl’s cruelty pass for decades, my whole life I hae let it go because tae demand due respect would cause too much trouble for my children — now ye are here for one day and ye are ready tae cause all the trouble.”
“Your honor, Mairead, is more important than the trouble.”
Lady Mairead said, “I canna talk ye from it?”
“No, I cannot be talked from it, it was too much. What kind of man would I be if I did nothing?”
“Fine, but yepromisenot tae make too much trouble, Wilfrey, promise ye winna make it impossible for us tae be here.For Lizbeth and Sean tae be here right now. We canna leave in the night, the shame would be unbearable.”
He nodded, turned, and stalked toward the stair.
The hall watched him go in silence.
Sean looked at Magnus. Fraoch looked at both of them. Liam exhaled.
Magnus said, “Well, men, we are goin’ tae confront the Earl.”
Fraoch said, “Looks like we hae tae, Og Maggy.”
Sean said, “We canna let Wilfrey go alone.”
Fraoch said, “Grab yer swords, men, carry yer courage, bring yer wit, we are goin’ tae need all of it tae help the Young Wilfrey on his dark errand.”
“Aye,” they said, and jogged after him.
I glanced at Hayley, “Are we going?”
“Hell yeah, girl, we gotta see.”
I glanced at Lady Mairead. “She will need someone, I’ll stay.”
Lady Mairead gripped the arms of her chair and stood. “Nae one needs tae remain in the Great Hall on my account, I am going tae see what will happen.”
CHAPTER 25
KAITLYN
WHAT HAE YE DONE, CHILD?
We hurried across the Great Hall, watched by other members of the household and servants, some who rushed away, likely to get back to work, some to go up back stairs to listen at the other end of the hall, and some filing in behind us. Far ahead I could see Magnus, Sean, Liam, and Fraoch moving fast to keep pace with Wilfrey.
Hayley said, “Keep up! This is like one of the after-school fights, all suspense and bluster and then over in a minute.”
Liam paused at the door, allowed us through, and then stopped the rest from following. “Nae, ye canna come, ye canna watch, ye will hear of it soon enough, tis none of yer business.”
I glanced over my shoulder as we got to the door and apparently nobody was capable of staying in the Great Hall. It had emptied out.
Lady Mairead was in front of me, going slower than I liked, her crimson dress giving her a regal, warrior queen look. She had a hand on the wall, climbing the stairs with focused determination. Hayley and I followed behind her, clomping onthe stairs, my hair mussed from the exertion. I blew my bangs up off my forehead. How did Lady Mairead remain unflappable? Hayley and I were totally flapped.
Hayley whispered, “Are we really doing this?”
