Chapter Eight

 

Mud. Sticky, dirty mud covered in rotten peat. That’s what he felt like. Of all the things she could have confessed to him, her lack of propriety was the last thing he expected. He looked back over the conversations they’d had for some clue that she was a loose woman, but there were none.

Deception seemed to be her greatest accomplishment. A wise woman and a former lady, she possessed all the attributes for such a life, and he was not experienced enough with women to know the difference.

His brother thought him daft to take issue with her choices. Coming from him he was not surprised. James had always been loose with his desires, but it was not Calum’s way. He had never shared his bed with anyone and thought this woman, with all her charms, possessed all the qualities he held to such high regard.

What a fool he’d been. What a fool he’d allowed her to make of him.

But all of that seemed irrelevant now. He and James had just returned from assisting in the release of Fergus MacKay. He was an outlaw no more, and Calum took pride in his part for seeing through the rough exterior to find the honourable man who lay beneath.

They now stood in James’s chamber. Gwen wept quietly as James paced and fired accusations at her.

“This is your fault! You should have stayed with her!”

James walked to the window and slammed his hand hard against the shutter, breaking it. Gwen jumped when pieces of it clattered to the floor. It was then Calum noticed a small patch of blood smeared across the stone floor. He bent there to inspect it.

Calum needed to get James to calm down and reason out how to resolve the situation. Though he had his own issues with Gwen, he could not stand by and listen to his brother accuse her of purposely allowing her lady to come to any harm. She might be promiscuous, but her loyalty could not be questioned where Lady Aileana was concerned. “James, surely there is another explanation.”

“How can you even think that?”

Calum placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder and tried calming him down, but James just shrugged him off.

“My wife is missing and she,” he said, pointing at Gwen, “is responsible! If she had performed her duty and stayed with Aileana, she would not be missing now.” He then turned to address her. “Did you plot this abduction with Gawain? Did you think you would somehow benefit in her absence?”

Calum’s heart squeezed at the sight of Gwen’s downturned head and shaking shoulders. She was distraught, but there was no reasoning with his brother. He needed to get him away from her. Whatever she was, she didn’t deserve this ill treatment. “James, we should speak to the guards and piece their reports together.”

“I do not wish to hear anything that band of useless lumps has to say. I must ride out now and begin the search.”

“I will ride out with you, but you have to admit, it makes sense to let the guards ride out first to see if they can find any trace of her.”

“Sense? Nothing makes sense in this! How is it possible Gawain managed to abduct Aileana twice? Twice!”

James glared back at Gwen. “Your life is forfeit if I do not find her alive. Do you understand?” His thundering declaration made her jump again.

“Aye, my lord. My life is forfeit, and I gladly give it.” Her voice was barely audible.

With that, James stormed from the chamber. Calum looked back once to her, but she did not look up. He wished he could comfort her, but he was still angry about the previous evening and he needed to see to his brother now more than her.

He caught up to James in the courtyard who was already mounting his horse. “Do you not intend to wait for me then?” Calum asked as he grabbed his own horse’s reins.

“If you wish to come with me, then you had better keep up the pace, else you might as well stay here.”

“Aye, and in which direction do you intend to ride?

“In all of them—until I find her.”

Calum shook his head and mounted his horse. All he could do now was to follow and look after his brother. Just one single evening ago he was the happiest man alive. Now he did not know up from down.

* * *

Gwen had never wept so much in her life. Between Calum’s rejection and her lady’s second abduction, there was only sorrow. Weeks had passed and still there was no word of her lady’s whereabouts. Chattan Castle mourned the loss of their lady, and the laird had not been heard from in a fortnight.

The last encounter she’d had with Calum still kept her awake at night and left an ache in her heart. Laird MacIntosh’s behaviour toward her on the day of Aileana’s abduction had been mortifying, but at the time, she had felt fully deserving of his anger. She should never have left her lady alone, and she had indeed been responsible.

“May I have a word with you, my lady?”

Gwen quickly turned to find Laird MacIntosh standing just a few feet away. She’d not heard him approach. Any time he had returned, the servants had given him a wide berth, so the normal commotion upon a laird’s return was not extended to him.

He was a very handsome man, but he now looked older, drawn. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his complexion was pale.

She stood and bobbed a quick curtsy, hoping he was not here to lambaste her again.

“Please, sit, I have much to say to you.”

A knot formed in her stomach and she feared the worst.

Please, please no!

“Have you found her?” Gwen whispered.

He shook his head. “No, we have had no luck. I did not come here to talk about the search. Well, I did and I did not.”

“I do not understand, my lord.”

The MacIntosh took a seat beside her and passed her a piece of parchment. She took it and noted the king’s seal.

“Open it.”

Was this a summons to the king’s court for charges in relation to Lady MacIntosh’s disappearance? Gwen’s hands shook as she broke the seal and unrolled the missive. She blinked several times as her gaze fell across the page.

“In time, I will add to this, but for now, please accept this as the beginning of my apology to you. It is real and signed by the king under my witness.”

Gwen read the page two more times before its words sank in.

“I have also bought a grey mare I wish you to have, if you will accept her and my…humblest—”

Gwen looked up. Tears streamed down his face. Her heart squeezed. How much he had endured. How much they’d all been through. But for a man such as this, to give her such a gift, and then bare his soul, was unheard of.

“Laird MacIntosh, this is not—”

“Necessary? Aye, ‘tis. This and more, as I have said. I wronged you, and I am man enough to admit it. Please accept this small token of my friendship. For I know there is only one other person on this earth who loves her and misses her as much as I—you.”

Gwen held onto her tears as much as she could. She did not want to break down in front of this or any other man. Did she trust her voice to thank him? “My lord. I cannot tell you how much this means to me. I am not deserving of such an elevation.”

“You are deserving, and by my estimation, should have never been stripped of your title to begin with.”

“I do not know what to say. I never expected anything like this.”

“You do not need to say anything, Lady Gwendolyn. I want you to move into a chamber of your choosing here at Chattan Castle immediately. Until my return, you shall be my voice. I will send word as often as I am able and soon, please God, I will have good news.”

“’Tis too much.”

“’Tis nowhere near enough.”

“Thank you, my lord. Shall I call for a hot meal and a bath for you?”

The MacIntosh stood. “I cannot stay. I am heading north into MacKay country to visit a friend and beg assistance.”

“Godspeed, Lord MacIntosh. I pray your search bears fruit very soon.”

“Aye, I wish that as well.”

Gwen nearly broke down when he embraced her as though they had been close friends all of their lives. A moment later, he was gone and she was left holding a king’s decree that she be reinstated with full title, effective immediately.