She was angry with him. There was a part of her that wanted to shout and scream at him, and call him a fool for assuming the worst about her and failing to see the love she bore him.
The other, less volatile part of her understood why he was so guarded. Her familyhadtried to poison him after all. On top of that, he had lived a violent life, and not only had he witnessed considerable cruelties, he had inflicted a great deal of cruelty upon others. He was fierce, vicious, and brutal, and openly admitted that he had done things he was not proud of. Because of all that, he was damaged—which was why she felt she must be patient and allow him some time to accept the idea that she would never intentionally cause him pain.
A knock sounded at the door, and she sat forward in the chair, her heart beating fast. Was it too much to hope that Angus had come at last to reconcile?
She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and struggled not to get her hopes up. Pushing her chair back, she rose and padded across the plank floor. “Who is it?”
“It’s Mother.”
Gwendolen sucked in a breath of surprise, then quickly opened the door. “You’ve returned. What happened? Did you bring the English army with you? Please tell me that you didn’t change your mind about—”
Her mother entered and shut the door behind her. “Nay, I didn’t change my mind, and aye, we brought the English army. Colonel Worthington is here, and they are taking Murdoch into custody now.” Her eyes darkened with remorse. “But I don’t know if I will be able to live with myself, Gwendolen. What have I done? He is my only son.”
Gwendolen recognized the depth of her mother’s sacrifice and took her into her arms. “It cannot have been easy, but you did the right thing. Murdoch would have dragged us all into a hopeless war for his own selfish gains. You have saved many lives and ensured peace for our clan. It’s what Father would have wanted. He never believed in the Jacobite cause. He was a Hanoverian.” Gwendolen stepped back and looked into her mother’s eyes.
Onora wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Come and sit down,” Gwendolen said. “Tell me everything. What news is there of Lachlan? Did he return with you?”
Onora sat before the fire. “Aye. He’s with Angus and Worthington now. They are discussing everything over a bottle of whisky. As it turns out, your husband sent a dispatch to the fort, confirming what we already told Worthington about Murdoch, and we crossed the rider’s path on our way here. The colonel sent his army back to the fort and pushed on with a smaller number of men to arrest Murdoch. It seemed all the hard work of breaking down the gate had already been done.”
“Indeed it was.” And now Angus would know that she had been telling the truth about sending Lachlan to Fort William. “Have you heard anything of Raonaid?” Gwendolen asked. “No one has seen her since Angus escaped.”
“I’ve heard nothing, except that she promised to curse Lachlan for taking Angus away from her in the first place.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each reflecting upon the events of the past week.
“What happened between you and Lachlan over the past few days?” Gwendolen asked. “Did he forgive you for what happened in the passageway?”
Onora looked down at her hands on her lap. “He was upset with me, to be sure. As soon as we were out of sight of the castle, I thought he was going to wring my neck. Thankfully he kept his mind fixed on escaping and helping Angus reclaim Kinloch. By the time we sneaked away and made it as far as the forest, he was grateful for my assistance at least. As for gaining his forgiveness… Well…” Onora shook her head. “He has accepted my apology. That will have to be enough.”
Gwendolen poured her mother a cup of wine and gave her a moment to compose her emotions. “Is there no hope at all for something more between you? Perhaps someday in the future?”
Onora looked as if she had already given that question ample consideration and had made peace with the answer.
“None, darling,” she replied. “There is absolutely none, and strangely I am not heartbroken. I have, after all, done something brave this week. I stood up to my son.” She lowered her eyes to her lap. “I hope Murdoch will see the error in his ways and become a better man. It is possible, I believe, because I have just discovered that there may be something more to me than looks alone. I am beginning to understand that I do not always have to rely on my feminine charms to exert some influence in the world. I never believed it before, but I believe it now. People can change.” She glanced up at Gwendolen and managed a small smile. “Perhaps I, too, will learn how to handle a claymore.”
Gwendolen regarded her mother with a smile and raised her goblet into the air.
***
That night, the lion came to Gwendolen in her dreams—a beautiful golden spirit stalking across a lush green meadow. He sat down in the tall grass and waited for her to approach.
Gwendolen knelt down and smiled, and stroked his soft, tawny mane. The lion sniffed her ear and nuzzled her neck.
“I don’t know why you are so angry with me,” she said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Then he roared in her face. It was so loud, she felt it rumble in her chest and had to cover her ears and shut her eyes.
Gwendolen sat up and looked around her bedchamber. Everything was dark. Her heart was racing. “Angus? Are you here?”
But the door was shut. The room was silent. She laid her head back down on the pillow, and tried to go back to sleep.
***
Murdoch MacEwen was removed from Kinloch Castle the following day in a secured prison carriage. Gwendolen stood at the battlements over the East Tower, watching as her brother was taken away, escorted by Colonel Worthington, a few mounted officers, and a small company of foot soldiers.
A part of her felt unspeakably ashamed, for she had orchestrated the capture and arrest of her own brother. The more logical side of her knew, however, that it had been the right choice. Tragedy would have befallen their clan had she allowed Murdoch to continue toward his selfish ambitions of securing a dukedom for himself. She had to think of the welfare of her people, as well as her unborn child, and there was never any doubt in her mind that she was absolutely, unconditionally loyal to her husband.
She hoped that one day Angus would come to appreciate that fact and understand that she wanted the same things he did. Peace, most importantly. She had, after all, sacrificed her brother for it.
