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“Because my family is sick,” Niall said darkly.

“And I’m sorry for that. I truly am. I want tae help. We should be working taegether tae find a way tae cure them, nae pointing fingers and arguing. What use is this daeing? What good is this daeing anyone?”

Niall mumbled something unintelligible and folded his arms, resting his chin against his fingers. Moira ran her hand over her face, wiping away some of the angry and frustrated tears that had simmered out of her eyes.

“I dinnae know what tae dae now,” she said hopelessly. “I hae tried tae tell ye the truth, but ye just wilnae listen. This marriage was supposed tae strengthen the alliance, but if ye wilnae believe what I say, then what’s the point of it? The alliance needs both of us for it tae work, Niall. I came here. I left my home, my family, everything I hae ever known and loved tae be yer wife. I hae tried tae dae right by ye. I hae tried tae be what our clans need us tae be, and I was actually starting tae believe that we could hae a good life taegether. But I know that when ye look at me, ye cannae see anything other than a Monroe, can ye?”

Niall’s silence spoke volumes. Anger vanished and was replaced by sorrow. It sat like a stone in her heart. Moira choked back a sob and pressed her fist to her mouth. Niall began to look apologetic, but the damage had been done. When he spoke again, it was in a quiet voice, subdued and lost, like a child who was unsure of their place in the world.

“I dinnae know what tae believe anymore. I wanted peace more than anything, more than the chaos that came before. When I looked at my father, all I saw was a man twisted and bitter, ready tae strike out at the world no matter what was against him. He wanted war more than anything, and all I could think about was what it cost. I knew there haed tae be another way, but this…I dinnae know what tae dae. I feel sae lost.”

“All I want is peace tae, Niall. That’s all any of us haes ever wanted. We all want the same things, but ye are the one making it impossible. I thought I haed a home here, but ye hae shown me that I’m never gaeing tae be anything more than a stranger. I’m gaeing tae sleep somewhere else. I hoped that we might be able tae solve this, but clearly ye cannae see anything other than a Monroe. I thought our marriage meant something more. I thought we were gaeing tae change things for the better, but I see now that it’s nae possible. When ye decide what tae dae, ye can come tae me, but if ye cannae find it in yer heart tae trust me, then perhaps it’s better that I should gae back home.”

Moira pushed herself away from the bed and past Niall, flinging the door open. He reached out to try and grab her, but she was just out of his reach. She ignored him calling after her and didn’t look back as she made her way to another room and slammed the door, locking it behind her. She flung herself onto the bed and immediately began sobbing into the pillow.

All the sorrow flowed out of her in a torrent, and it didn’t seem as though there was any way to stop it. Everything she hoped for had crumbled around her, and she knew there was no way to get it back. Niall had become everything she feared. It was pointless being his wife if he was always going to mistrust and suspect her. All she wanted to do was help, but nobody there appreciated it.

How she longed for home and the comforting familiarity of her old room. In her mind, she traveled back and thought about what it was like to wake up to share breakfast with her brother and sister-in-law, and then to play with her niece and nephew. A warm glow filled her heart, but even that was tainted now.

Before, she had always been content with playing the role of the fun aunt, but after experiencing a glimmer of happiness with Niall, she had begun to think about having a family of her own. Now it didn’t seem enough to just be an aunt. She wanted more. She wanted everything, and after all she had been through, she felt that she deserved it. But who would want her if this marriage failed?

Moira buried her head in the pillow. She kept one ear pricked in case Niall came to her door, knocking and seeking forgiveness. How she hoped he would so that there was still a glimpse of hope to cling to.

How she wished that he would come in and be the warm, charming man who had first welcomed her into her new home, who had embraced her with love and passion and had shown her what it was like to be a woman.

But there was no knock at the door.

16

Moira awoke with a yawn. She looked around the cold, empty room, and sighed despondently. The morning sun peeked in through the shutters, creating dancing shadows.

The walls were bare aside from a wreath that hung above the bed. Moira smiled wryly and wondered how Niall could entertain Grizel while also mocking her behind her back. She wondered if it was something similar to what he had been doing with her. He had asked for her hand in marriage, had actually insisted on it if Marcas’s account was anything to go by.

He had been charming He had spent time with her. They had made love, and a whole world had been opened up to her, and yet that had not been enough to win his heart or his trust apparently. There seemed to be a cold stone where his heart should have been, and Moira just wanted to break down and cry.

She wiped an errant sob away from her eyes, but in truth, she had cried enough through the night to last a hundred lifetimes.

Niall hadn’t come to her. She thought he would want to salvage some of their feelings; she had hoped that her words were have drawn some compassion from him or tugged at his heartstrings. Instead, they had only brought about a silence as cold and inexorable as the walls that surrounded her.

As Moira’s gaze drifted around the room, she sighed again and thought how much this place was like a prison. Was this how Kirsten had felt when Uncle Roderick had condemned her as a murderer and thrown her in the dank dungeon? Moira’s thoughts turned to home, to Marcas, Kirsten, Gregor, and Lileas. A smile tugged at her cheeks at the thought of her niece and nephew running around, causing mischief, with the loyal hound Max circling them like a dutiful maid.

It was such a happy thought, and vivid emotion burst in Moira’s heart, which was followed by sorrow that was as sharp as a knife, as she knew that it was all happening without her.

In that moment, she hated Marcas for ever agreeing to this marriage, even though she knew he was just doing what was right for peace. But the end result was that she had been torn from her home with barely a chance to say goodbye and taken to this world where her husband saw her as the enemy. When they had been making love, Moira had not seen any trace of deception or suspicion in Niall’s eyes. Had he hid it well or had she simply deluded herself into believing that this marriage was going to end like one of the happy stories she told to Gregor and Lileas to get them to sleep? Well, nothing was ever like the stories. Monsters were never obvious and gruesome.

Sometimes they could appear to be the most charming creatures in the land, and sometimes they could promise happiness, which was a far more tempting commodity than gold.

This place was supposed to be her home. The old building surrounded by the forest was going to be her fortress. The beautiful shoreline was going to be her horizon. The small villages dotted around were going to be hers to mold into a new, prosperous clan. These people were supposed to be her people, but instead, they were strangers to her, and Moira was left forlorn.

She was Lady Calbraith in name only. When even her own husband did not trust her, how could she expect other people to? She had to allow herself a dry laugh at the thought that the only person who had actually shown her genuine kindness was the old hag who everyone said was crazy. Well, she and Isobel, Moira supposed.

But she might never get the chance to call Isobel a true friend, and Moira worried deep in her heart for Isobel and Jamie. Despite the way Niall had treated her, Moira was still concerned about them and all the other people who had fallen ill.

Her thoughts turned to the words the healer had told her, and she furrowed her brow. She had been certain that she would have found something near the well, but nothing had revealed itself. All she wanted to do was help, but Niall was standing in her way. The man was like a huge boulder standing in a mountain pass, and there was nothing she could do but stand in its shadow, shrug, and walk away.

She had tried to talk to him, to appeal to his heart, but each time, her words bounced off him as surely as a thin sword would bounce off a giant boulder.

It was hopeless, and the only way she could preserve her dignity now was by being allowed to return home. It may well mean that the alliance would be broken, but with such suspicion emanating from Niall’s mind, it was never going to last very long anyway.