Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lindsay tried to control her breathing and adjusted the maid’s clothing she wore as she served the head table. Meaghan thanked her when she filled her cousin’s glass with more wine before shakily moving to her father’s. It was so like the man to not realize it was his own daughter who poured his wine. Servants were beneath his notice. He shoved in another bite of food as Lindsay moved to the laird next, then Deirdre’s glass.
Even if Deirdre had looked at her, she wouldn’t have recognized Lindsay, as the two had never met, but Lindsay was nervous.
As was the plan, the laird announced he’d sent off a messenger with an invitation to Cluny.
“I know you said they rejected your invitation, but I want you to have your family here for our wedding. I want them to share in our happiness,” he told her.
Lindsay watched as Deirdre’s face went pale.
“I told you I didn’t need them. I only need you.” It was clear the woman struggled to keep her annoyance reined in.
The laird smiled and kissed her temple. “I only want you to be happy, dearest.”
The quickness in the way the woman’s expression transformed was otherworldly. Lindsay thought perhaps she truly was an enchantress with the speed at which she shifted into the guileless bride.
“You make me happy. But I have a bit of a megrim and should like to go lie down.”
“Of course. I will escort you myself.”
“Nay. You have an important guest. Stay and enjoy the entertainment this evening with Laird Wallace. I understand Ranald will be playing. I do know how much you enjoy his talent.”
She bowed quickly and left the hall.
Lindsay watched as something akin to worry came over the laird’s face when his betrothed fled to the stairs. It was obvious he was plagued by doubt. The next part of the plan would make everything clear.
He excused himself from the table, and Lindsay’s father continued devouring his meal with no more than a grunt of acknowledgment as she moved toward the stairs.
“I’m sure we will find this to be a waste of time,” the laird said as he joined Lindsay in the alcove across from his study. They pulled a tapestry across the opening to hide and wait.
“I hope it’s a waste of time. I do not wish to cause you the pain her deceit would bring. I want to be wrong more than you can know,” Lindsay said, but she knew she wasn’t wrong.
They only needed to wait a few minutes until Deirdre arrived at the door to the laird’s study. When the laird gasped, Lindsay feared Deirdre would hear and change tactics, but the woman was not to be distracted from her plan.
“I’m sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met,” Deirdre told the guard, her voice silky and the bodice of her gown tugged down to reveal her heaving bosom.
“I am Roger, mistress.”
“Roger,” she purred and drew her finger under his chin. “The laird has gone off riding this afternoon, and I fear for his safety alone. Would you see that he is safe?”
Joshua had told the guard to leave his post if approached by Deirdre, so the man gave a quick nod and left his place in front of the door. When Deirdre went inside, Lindsay cast a frown at the laird. His gaze remained on the heavy door as if he tried to see through the thick wood to what was happening within.
Lindsay had her suspicions and knew they wouldn’t need to wait long to see if she was right. In a matter of minutes, Deirdre would reveal herself as the feckless thief Lindsay had predicted and this man’s heart would shatter. She wished she could save him from that, but at least she could spare him from losing everything. This way, his happiness may be forfeit but he’d be able to feed his clan.
The door creaked open slowly. Deirdre’s head popped out first, looking in both directions to make sure no one lingered in the corridor, before she stepped out and closed the door behind her. She grunted with the effort of handling the leather sack that clinked when she shifted it to her other arm.
The laird stepped out from the shadows of their hiding place, and Lindsay joined him. “Deirdre, what are you doing?”
The woman was so startled she dropped the bag. The weight of the coin broke the ties, and gold spilled out onto the stones, some rolling on their sides to scatter into the shadows.
If Lindsay had expected the woman to give up and confess her crimes, she’d been wrong. Deirdre had spent her life perfecting her lies, and like a devious spider, she wove another tale with a blink of an eye.
“You have invited my stepson to the castle. You don’t know him like I do. He will raid your coffers while you’re distracted with the wedding. I thought only to protect your assets. I will always look out for you, my love.”
“You mean you will always look out for yourself.” Lindsay couldn’t help but speak her mind. “Shane would never steal from a clan he calls an ally.”
Deirdre sneered at Lindsay and turned a coy look back on the laird. “This woman clearly doesn’t know my stepson as I do.”
“I believe she does,” the laird said, crossing his arms and frowning at the woman.
Seeing her ruse was crumbling, Deirdre turned on him. “What are you doing with this serving maid, hidden away in the shadows?” she screeched. Tears overflowed her stunning blue eyes, trailing down her cheeks as she sobbed. “You have already turned to another and forsaken me. I thought you loved me. I thought you would love only me.”
“This woman and I were hiding to witness as you proved yourself false.”
“You planned to steal from him as you did the MacPhersons and the MacColls,” Lindsay said.
“Who are you to tell my betrothed such lies?”
“I am…” She swallowed and forced the words out, even though she suddenly felt she had no claim to them. “I am Lindsay MacPherson, Shane MacPherson’s wife and the lady of Clan MacPherson, and you will give me back what you’ve stolen from the MacPhersons and the McColls, as it rightfully belongs to my husband.”
The woman gasped and stuttered a denial that Lindsay ignored. The laird tilted his head and said only, “How could you do this?”
Deirdre glared at him. Lindsay thought they might finally be seeing the real Deirdre. Lindsay stepped closer. “As you can see, this woman is a thief. Please have a guard come and hold her. I’m sure my husband will wish to have her charged for theft.”
Deirdre’s face went pale for a moment before she stood taller. The gesture was unimpressive, since she was much shorter than Lindsay. The laird bellowed for a guard, and Deirdre’s expression changed to that of a trapped cat. She spun away. Lindsay made to grab her, but the woman ducked out of her grasp and ran for the steps.
She pulled down an oil lamp from the wall and threw it to the stones, catching the dry rushes on the floor to flame. Lindsay grabbed a pail of water and quickly put them out, but the corridor was filled with smoke and she couldn’t see where the woman had gone.
The laird ran through the cloud of smoke, and Lindsay followed, waving her hand and coughing. But they were met on the stairs by the guards coming up.
“Where is she?” the laird asked.
“She didn’t come down the stairs,” Joshua said.
“But she ran this way and did not come back up,” the laird said.
“Christ save us, the witch moves like a specter,” the other guard said while crossing himself.
Lindsay didn’t believe such a thing. She tried to think of what Deirdre would do next. She must have slinked past them in the hall while they were dealing with the fire.
“Where is her chamber? She won’t want to leave the rest of the money.”
Lindsay followed the man down the corridor toward Deirdre’s chamber as Joshua ordered the warriors to search every room.
Halfway down the corridor, she saw Deirdre fumbling with a key in a door. Lindsay assumed it was her bedchamber. Of course she would have kept the room locked. She wouldn’t have trusted a maid to clean it and find all the loot she’d hidden inside. A thief afraid of being robbed. It was poetic that it kept her from getting to the money herself.
Lindsay rushed forward with the laird and the guard pushing closer. She saw the fear in the woman’s eyes when she realized she wasn’t going to retrieve her spoils. She raced in the opposite direction, just as Meaghan stepped out of a room at the other end of the corridor.
Pulling a dirk from her waist, Deirdre grasped onto Meaghan and held the blade to her throat. Meaghan’s hand went instinctively to the slight bump of her stomach where her child grew.
“Stay back or I’ll have no choice but to kill her,” Deirdre said as Meaghan stared past Lindsay with fear in her eyes.
Joshua gasped and held his arms out, blocking anyone from moving forward. “Hold. She has my wife.”
Lindsay watched in horror as a drop of blood welled on her cousin’s neck when Deirdre attempted to pull Meaghan toward the steps on the far side of the castle. They had to get Meaghan away from her before she was harmed. Deirdre was desperate for escape, her eyes flicking from side to side as if searching for a way out.
Lindsay remembered her training with her father’s retainers. When they’d left Riccarton for Cluny, her guard had told her to fall or fake a swoon if she were captured. It was more difficult for someone to lift dead weight.
“Meaghan, I hope you don’t faint!” Lindsay shouted her hint to the other woman.
A warrior behind Lindsay sniffed as if she had lost her mind. “Why would ye say such a thing? It’s clear she’s already frightened.”
But Joshua understood and nodded.
“Aye. Should you need to swoon, I’d understand,” he called.
Awareness flared in Meaghan’s eyes, and with a quick nod, she went slack and slipped down Deirdre’s body to slump on the floor. Deirdre tugged at her arm, but when Meaghan didn’t move, Deirdre realized her only option was to flee. She turned to run as Joshua flicked a blade through the air. It caught Deirdre in the arm, causing her to cry out, but she kept running. The men continued on down the stairs after Deirdre while Lindsay stopped to see to her shaking cousin.
“Are you hurt?” Lindsay asked.
“Nay, but I was so afraid I’d be killed.” She pulled in air, her eyes pooling with tears. “All I could think about was the babe.” She placed a loving hand on her stomach.
As she held her cousin and tried to soothe her rattled nerves, Lindsay considered her own situation. Seeing her cousin rounded with child had caused a small flare of jealousy, but it was quickly pushed away by her joy for Meaghan and Joshua. But now she thought of the last time she’d had her courses. Could she be…?
Lindsay was helping Meaghan to her feet when Joshua rushed to his wife.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his eyes frantic.
“Nay. I’m fine. Did you get her?”
He shook his head and fisted his hand in anger. “She must’ve been prepared for a quick escape. She slipped away into the woods. We found a place that had been dug up.”
“The money,” Lindsay whispered. “I must check her room.”
Joshua called for a man to send the chatelaine, who pulled the chain of keys from her waist and made quick work of opening the door. Lindsay coughed from the smog of heavy perfumes in the room. It looked like the room of a queen. Ornate gilding, jewels, and silks gave the impression that someone of great wealth stayed there rather than a vicious criminal.
They searched the room.
Under the bed, Lindsay found two leather bags, heavy with coin. She closed her eyes in relief. She guessed it wouldn’t all be recovered; some of it had surely been buried in the hole they’d found in the woods. But to recover anything pleased Lindsay. The money would be returned to the MacPhersons so the clan would have enough food for the winter. Did that mean she’d be returning to Cluny as well?
One of Joshua’s men came in to give him a report. “She stole someone’s horse and ran. Six warriors are giving chase.”
“She’s a snake,” Lindsay said, remembering what Shane once said about the “laird’s stepmother.” She now knew Deirdre was his own stepmother. What a fool she’d been to not put it together.
She knew Shane would want the woman found so she could be held to face justice, but if that didn’t happen, at least they had some of their money back.
“What is all this?” the Wallace laird asked as he entered the room, looking at her.
“Your daughter has spared my people a devastating winter and myself a great amount of pain.”
Her father laughed and looked about as if waiting for someone to tell him it was a jest, but when no one did, he straightened his shoulders and gave her a nod. “I am happy you’ve a sound head upon your shoulders.”
She detected something she thought might be pride in his words and could only stand there blinking until the laird called everyone to the hall to finish their meals.
…
The next morning, with the MacPherson money secured in her own room, Lindsay went down to the hall to break her fast. Many eyes were on her as she entered and made her way to the high table.
“My honored guest,” the laird said, gesturing to the seat on his left that had up until today belonged to Deirdre. The man frowned as she sat.
“Thank you.” She offered a smile, and she could see the pain in his eyes. Was her own pain as easy to see? Perhaps it was only noticeable to those who knew what heartache looked like. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for how things turned out. I know it hurts a great deal to learn someone you loved had other intentions.”
He tilted his head as he studied her. She thought maybe he did see her pain, for he nodded once, and then, with a deep breath, he brushed off her sympathies.
“I owe you my gratitude for saving me from the same fate as the other lairds in Deirdre’s path. You’ll be rewarded for your efforts.”
“Restoring what was taken is all the reward I need,” she said, though she wondered if she shouldn’t ask for more.
If she was with child, she’d need to make sure she could provide for her and the bairn.
“I wonder if I might stay here longer than just a visit?”
He smiled. “Nothing is more important than having a home.”
“If ye are looking for a wife, mayhap we can arrange something,” her father said.
Lindsay pressed her lips together to keep from bursting into tears at his words, but the MacKenzie laird was the one to answer.
“I believe it’s much too soon for such things.” He turned back to Lindsay. “While I’m not able to offer marriage, I’d be pleased if you wished to call Leod your home.”
Lindsay’s lip trembled. She’d not planned to make a home with the MacPhersons, but she missed it a great deal. Her dog, their cottage, but most of all…Shane. She did miss him, no matter how much he’d hurt her. She loved him.
“We do not need to speak of such things now. Let us take some time to heal a bit before discussing such tender topics,” the MacKenzie laird said.
“Thank you, truly,” she said but was unable to stop a single tear from escaping.
…
Shane seemed to live in a daze. He knew he sat on a horse next to Alec and Ronan. They’d met up with their brother the day before, and he was accompanying them to Castle Leod.
Shane also knew they were headed to find Deirdre. He knew when to eat and when to sleep and when to press his lips up in the form of a smile, but everything happened without his heart playing a part in any of it. He was as numb as he’d been after losing Maria, but at least he knew Lindsay lived.
Still, he was lost without her. The more he thought of her, the less he believed she’d left him because he had no money. She’d never cared for trinkets or fancy gowns, even when he’d tried to purchase them for her. But he did worry that she didn’t trust him to provide for her.
If he was able to get his hands on Deirdre and recover the money she’d stolen, he’d be better able to take care of Lindsay, as well as the rest of the clan. Perhaps his wife would forgive him and agree to come home if he proved himself capable. He’d need to find her first.
The men sitting around the fire had gone quiet, and when he looked up he found himself in the familiar situation of being spoken to and not realizing it. “I’m sorry. What was said?”
“Never mind. I’m not going to repeat the entire conversation because you weren’t paying attention.” Alec rolled his eyes.
“It seems you’re only with us in body, brother. Your mind is elsewhere. I had hoped being home would have healed ye,” Ronan said with concern.
Ronan knew everything. He’d known Maria, had been standing next to Shane when he’d said his vows. And he knew how heartbroken Shane had been after her death. As Shane had struggled with his pain, he’d lashed out at Ronan, blaming him for pulling Shane away from the camp and leaving his wife. It wasn’t true. Shane had made the choice to leave Maria unprotected. Ronan had nothing to do with it.
Ronan shook his head. “I’d never have thought you’d marry again. I expected the duty of heirs would fall to Alec.”
Their younger brother grunted and shook his head. Shane decided to confide in these men who were his family. “I think of Lindsay all the time. I try to come up with ways to get her back. She returned to Riccarton, to her home. She and I are still wed. But I worry that when I return from this errand, I’ll find annulment papers waiting. It would mean the last thread connecting us will be severed.”
The flames from their fire cast the other men’s faces in harsh shadows, making their laughter seem sinister.
“Perhaps I’ll never go back home,” Shane said. Then he’d never get such a message and never have to end his marriage.
Alec’s eyes went wide. “Ye must return home. I’ve told you. I have no interest in becoming laird. The clan needs ye.”
“You’re lucky, brother, that no one is attempting to steal your birthright.” Again, Ronan’s face turned grim.
“Are you having troubles with the Grants? You have only to ask, and my sword is yours to command,” Shane said.
“I thank you, but I’m dealing with things on my own. I just don’t always know who to believe.”
Shane nodded. “I’m blessed with Alec. I’d trust him if he told me the sky had turned green rather than blue. There’s something reassuring in that, even with everything else in chaos.”
For Shane, everything hinged on finding Deirdre and getting back his money. Then he might find Lindsay and beg her to remain his wife. He was more certain than ever that he needed her by his side. She was unlike any other woman.
Tomorrow, they’d arrive at Leod, where he hoped to find the woman who had caused him so much trouble. And he could start to put things back to rights in his life. And in his heart.
…
Shane and his men were greeted the next morning by the MacKenzie laird himself as they rode into the bailey. When Shane introduced himself and his brothers, the MacKenzie laird held out his hand and clasped his strong grip along Shane’s bracer as if they were old friends reunited after many years apart. But Shane knew he’d never met the man—Gillen MacKenzie.
“We’ve just finished the noon meal, but come inside and I’ll have food brought for ye and we can discuss why you’ve come.”
Shane nodded and followed the man inside his empty hall. He spoke to a woman who startled at something he’d said before scurrying away as if frightened. Gillen was still smiling as he sat himself in the center of the high table and offered the seats next to him to Shane and Ronan.
“Tell me why you have come.” The laird got the conversation underway as soon as the ale and bread were served.
“I was told Lady MacPherson has come here. I need to speak with her.” He needed to hang her scrawny neck from a rope, but if this man intended to marry her, he didn’t want to show his hatred for the man’s betrothed.
“Ah, yes. There were actually two Lady MacPhersons visiting. One ran off after I caught her trying to empty my coffers, though, thanks to your wife, I didn’t lose anything but my pride from the short relationship.”
“My wife?”
“Lindsay MacPherson. I understand she’s married to you?”
Good God, his wife was here. He’d have his chance to make things right.Shane stood and looked around, not wanting to waste a second. “Where is she? I must see her right away.”
Gillen laughed again, then tilted his head.
“You didn’t know she was here, did you?”
“Nay. But I still want to see her.”
“I sent her cousin to bring her down. But know this—her father has gone on. And I’ve offered her use of my home for as long as she wishes to stay. It will be up to her if she wants to return with ye.”
Shane wanted to bristle at another laird telling him what he could and couldn’t do with his wife, but the man was right. Shane could only thank him for seeing his wife safe. He’d not be able to throw Lindsay over his shoulder and take her back to Cluny. No matter if it was the way of the past, he wasn’t a monster.
If she was happier here with her family, he’d not ask her to leave.
When the laird looked toward the stairs, Shane followed his gaze as Lindsay and the other woman who’d been in the hall earlier came into view. Lindsay looked beautiful, dressed in a lovely gown of gold and green. Her hair was set on her head in a proper manner, and all he could think was how much he wanted to release her midnight tresses from the tidy coiffure.
She paused. He didn’t know what to expect. She swayed as if deciding if she wanted to run toward him or away.
“Lindsay,” he said and took the first step to bring them together. To his relief, she stayed where she was. When he was close enough to reach out, he lifted his hand to touch her but let it drop before making contact, unsure if she’d want him to pull her into his arms and kiss her as he wished to do. Things were broken between them. He needed to fix them but wasn’t sure how to start.
“You’ve come for your money. I’ll have it brought down so you may return home.”
“My money?”
“I was able to recover it from Deirdre’s room after she ran off. She got away with some of the coins she’d hidden in the woods, but it appears most was left behind.”
He watched her, feeling like he was getting a rare gift to just see her again. He knew how silky her dark hair was. He knew how soft her lips were, how she fell apart in his arms when he made love to her. The sounds she made when she reached her release and held on to him so tightly, he’d thought she’d never let him go.
But she had, because he’d been willing to give her up and she knew it. He didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know any words that could tell her how sorry he was. Instead, he watched her as she spoke, telling him the story of how they’d set up a trap for Deirdre so the laird would know if she was unfaithful.
Women came in from the kitchens, bringing food for them. Lindsay stepped back and turned as if she planned to leave.
“Please stay,” he begged and didn’t care who knew.
She shook her head. “I should get back to the solar. When you’re done eating, please send your men to carry the bags down.”
He nodded and watched her walk away. When she was gone, Shane slumped back in his seat and let his head rest on his fists. The pain of seeing her was more than he could bear. If he’d had any question before of what he was to do, he knew the answer now as clearly as he knew his own name.
“I’ve lost her.”
“I can’t turn her out of my keep. For what she was willing to do to spare me and my people, she will always be welcome here. But I hope for your sake you can win her back.”
The laird waited a moment before whispering, “Tell me your plan.”
Shane explained that he’d thought Lindsay had left because he had no money.
The man laughed. “Did you really believe that?”
“After months of failing, it seemed reasonable, until I looked in her eyes just now. Now I’m certain it wasn’t about the money.” He shook his head.
“No. It wasn’t,” Gillen said. “So, what will you do?”