20
THE TIPPING POINT
“This is a trap!” Lachlan accused, pointing a finger at James. “How can we trust anything he says?”
“Now ye ken how I felt about ye,” Finn quipped.
“It is nae a trap, I swear. If ye find anything false about my story,” James pleaded, “then I will stand here and let ye run yer sword through me without a fight.”
“Trust me, I will.”
Finn’s threatening look had Aila frightened, even though it hadn’t been directed at her.
“The lad, where did ye find him?” Lachlan asked.
Aila still had a firm grip on Christopher, both bundled in the chair closest to the fire to warm the boy up.
“I found him camping in the woods just beyond the castle gates. He startled me as much as I did him. When I asked what a lad his age was doing out in the woods by himself, he told me he was waiting for Lachlan and Aila. I could nae have left him out in the cold like that. So I brought him in with me.”
“Is that the truth?” Aila asked Christopher gently.
He nodded, his eyes full of tears and the fear of being a disappointment.
“How did ye even get this far?” Lachlan asked the boy.
Opening his mouth to answer, Christopher was cut off when Arran bolted inside, the MacKenzie children trailing after him, all covered in snow, smiling with glee. He skidded to a stop, his smile dropping as soon as he took notice of the expressions on all the adults’ faces. His eyes went wide when he noticed just who was sitting in Aila’s lap. Lachlan looked between the two boys, slowly putting things together.
“Arran, did ye ken about this? Did ye have some part to play in Christopher following us?”
Arran’s eyes found the floor before coming back up to meet his godfather’s stern look.
“Aye,” he openly admitted. “I discovered him in the woods the first night we left.”
“I begged Arran nae to tell ye,” Christopher blurted out, distressed. “I could nae let ye go off to save Taryn without me. I-I could never forgive myself if something happened to her and I did nae try to help.”
“So ye took off after us in the dead of winter? That is the most reckless, foolish thing I have ever heard,” Lachlan lectured. “Ye could have been caught by some verra unfriendly people. Ye could have gotten frostbitten. A thousand other things could have happened to ye, and then where would ye be. What were ye thinking?”
Christopher sat straighter, jumping out of Aila’s lap to face his Laird head on.
“This is nae the first winter I have been stuck out in the cold. I ken how to take care of myself without any help. Besides, Arran would bring me food and make sure there was a path for me to follow. I have nae had a mother before. I-I,” he sniffled, all bravado gone from his speech. “I could nae lose Taryn too.”
Tears streamed down his face, his admission striking them all deeply. Aila pulled him back into her lap and whisperedassurances that everything would be alright. Lachlan let out a heavy sigh as he turned towards Arran again.
“We will deal with both of ye later. For now, take him to the kitchens, Arran. See that he gets enough food to fill his belly and warm clothes. Then both of ye, get to yer room and stay there until I come get ye.”
Nodding, the boys scampered off, leaving James to still be addressed.
“Just because ye were telling the truth about Christopher,” Lachlan said pointedly, “does nae mean ye are telling the truth about everything.”
“I agree with Laird Kincaid,” Finn chimed in. “Yer story does nae make sense. If ye were the one to capture the lass in the first place, why would ye be coming to them now to help ye save her?”
Aila’s mind was racing at everything James had already told them; Taryn’s capture, his change of heart, and that she was now imprisoned by her uncle, but she was glad that at the very least, Lachlan and Finn finally agreed on something.
“Because I did nae see the full picture. I thought that she was this selfish woman who kent all that would happen when she left. I let her family convince me, as they have the rest of the clan, that she was the perpetrator of this entire situation.”
“She is nae?” Finn questioned, still unbelieving.
“Nay! She was just scared; a young woman being sent to marry a man with a reputation for murdering his wives. I would have run too, had I been in her shoes. It is nae her fault my clan is in this situation. The blame lies solely on the Laird’s shoulders. But he refuses to accept that and continues to blame Taryn. The entire clan does. They are all in an uproar.”
