“In case you haven’t heard, I am mistress of Kinloch, therefore you are my guest as much as you are his.”
Raonaid reached for the iron poker and stirred the fire. “What do you want from me, great mistress of Kinloch?”
“I thought you said you knew I would come,” Gwendolen replied. “Do you not know why? Do you not see everything?”
The oracle ignored her question. She finished tending to the fire, then leaned the poker against the hearth.
“Fine,” Gwendolen continued, “I’ll tell you why. You saw my husband’s death. I want to know how and why it happens.”
As she swung around to face her, Raonaid’s eyes burned with accusation. “You of all people should already know that, you manipulative slut. You’re the one who leads him to the noose.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
Gwendolen’s stomach turned over with dread. “You cannot possibly see the truth, Raonaid, because I would never betray my husband—which makes me question your so-called gift of sight. I do not want him dead. I love him. I want him to live.”
Good God, she had just declared her love for her husband. She had never spoken those words aloud before, not to anyone, not even Angus.Especiallynot him. She wondered how he would react if he knew she was here in his former lover’s bedchamber, pouring her heart out in this manner.
Would Raonaid tell him what she had said? If she did, he would probably take it as further evidence that his wife was a liar. Not long ago, they were enemies, and she’d wanted to shoot him through the heart.
She took a deep breath and fought to remain calm. “Angus told me that you saw his head in a noose. What else did you see?”
“What does it matter?” Raonaid replied. “He’ll be hanged, right here at Kinloch. What else is there to know?”
“Butwhyis he hanged?” Gwendolen asked. “It makes no sense. The English have already awarded him full custody of Kinloch. He has a powerful army here to protect him, and the members of my clan have accepted him. He has been a fair and generous chief.”
“But there is someone else you are forgetting,” Raonaid said with devilish taunting. “Your long-lost brother, who could return any day with an army of his own. Surelyhehasn’t accepted the loss of his birthright.”
Gwendolen pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and noticed uneasily that her fingers were trembling. “That may be true, but I am pledged to my husband now. I have given him my solemn vow that I will not betray him. If Murdoch returns, he will not find an ally in me. Not if he means to unseat my husband.”
It occurred to her suddenly that she had given very little thought lately to the possibility of Murdoch’s return. She had become so immersed in the pleasures of married life, she had all but purged it from her mind.
Raonaid’s clear blue eyes narrowed. She sat down in an upholstered chair and reclined comfortably. “The words you speak make you sound very sure of yourself, lassie, but your eyes tell another tale.”
“You see only what you want to see.”
“That may be true—but what is it, exactly, that you think I want to see? Enlighten me.”
Gwendolen chose her words carefully. “You want me to be disloyal to my husband, so that he will come back to you.”
The oracle threw her head back and laughed. “I couldn’t care less if I ever saw that man again.”
Gwendolen’s annoyance was beginning to stew. “Then why did you come here, if you care so little about him?”
“Because I gave him my word. You can say and think what you like about me, and most of it will be true—but one thing you cannot call me is a liar. I speak my mind, and I keep my promises. That’s why I told him the truth—the truth I see in your eyes now.”
“And what truth is that?” Gwendolen asked incredulously.
Raonaid leaned forward. “When your brother returns, you will stand by him, not Angus, because he is your mother’s son.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Are you sure about that?” Her eyebrow lifted knowingly. “He’s your brother, lass. Would you let your husband cut his throat?”
Gwendolen’s pulse began to beat erratically. “Of course not. I would try to come between them.”
“But you cannot come between them without choosing a side. You’ll do what you must to save your brother’s life.”
