Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Gavin held the sword that Kirsty had thrust into his hand. After witnessing Iain’s murder, the weight of it did not feel natural, though.
The blade was clean, and he wished he had been able to coat it in Laird Sinclair’s blood. Instead, the only blood on his hands was the blood of an innocent man.
It sickened Gavin to think that yet again Laird Sinclair survived while others died, and now his lies would permeate the Keep.
Once again, Gavin would be painted as the evil one, a man who murdered Laird Anderson and stole Lady Anderson.
They would be determined to wage war, and who was left to give the orders?
Laird Sinclair.
And they’d all be willing to listen to him.
Kirsty and Kai led them to the gates. The guards had been knocked out and two horses waited.
“Come, we must be swift. It will nae be long before the alarm is raised,” Kai said, he and Kirsty were each unfastening the horses from the hitching posts.
“Ye should gae. I should return and finish this. It will only mean war, and Sinclair will be leading the clan now. I can end this once and for all,” Gavin said.
Isla turned on him. Her words were filled with venom, and tears stained her cheeks. Her hair was wild, and intense emotions blazed in her eyes.
“Does yer revenge ken nae bounds?” she asked. “Hae there nae been enough killing taenight? Ye would gae back in there after…” she trailed away.
Gavin stared at her and said nothing. What could he possibly say?
“We cannae tarry. Come, we must leave,” Kai said urgently. “Whatever ye hae tae bicker about, ye can resolve it later.”
“This is nae a joke, Kai. Iain is dead,” Isla practically screamed.
She curled her hands into tight balls and faced Gavin.
“That’s his blood on yer hands, yer tunic. Is it true what Father said? Tell me, what happened? Why is Iain dead?”
Her voice grew with intensity as she questioned him, and punctuated her questions by thumping her fists against his chest. He braced himself against the blows and looked into her eyes, wondering if the truth mattered any longer.
Before he could say anything, they heard noise stirring in the Keep.
“If we dinnae leave now, we are dead,” Kai said, grabbing Isla and pulling her towards a horse.
Kirsty gave Gavin an expectant look and pointed to the horse. He mounted and she followed. Kai and Isla shared the other one. They rode away from Anderson lands swiftly, using the darkness as a shroud.
“How did ye come here?” Gavin asked.
Kirsty chuckled. “I told ye that ye hae a couple of days, although I thought ye might end up making a mess of things. Which ye did. I was never gaeing tae let ye rot in that Keep. I thought the wedding was the perfect distraction. Although I dinnae think we would interrupt… whatever that was.”
“That was a mess,” Gavin said.
“Ye are gaeing tae need a change of clothes and tae wash yer hands. Is that truly Anderson’s blood on yer hands?”
“Aye,” Gavin grunted.
The rhythm of the horse thundered against the ground.
Kai and Isla were just ahead. Gavin’s gaze kept drifting towards her.
This was exactly what Iain had warned him about.
This was the life that awaited her with Gavin, and what kind of life was it, sneaking away under the cover of darkness not knowing where they were going to end up.
She had been made a wife and a widow in the span of a few hours, and all of this sorrow was because of him. If he had just listened to her and stayed away, then he would have never been captured and Iain would never have been in the dungeon and if…
If…
“Gavin, what happened?” Kirsty asked, a wary tone creeping into her voice.
“Dae ye believe I killed him?” Gavin fired back.
“If ye did, I’m sure ye dinnae hae any other choice.”
“He died on me. I’m sure that’s the only thing that matters tae her,” Gavin murmured.
Kirsty sighed. “I would nae be sae sure of that. She needs the truth, whatever it is.”
“Or maybe she needs someone tae blame,” Gavin replied.
They rode on in silence. Gavin kept his thoughts to himself, and Kirsty kept her questions to herself.
They came to a stop in a copse of trees. Kai and Kirsty offered Gavin and Isla cloaks. Isla grabbed hers and trudged off to the very edge of the copse, turning her back to Gavin. Kai went after her this time.
“I dinnae want tae speak, brother,” she spat, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and frowning deeply.
“Good because we need tae be quiet, although it dinnae seem as though they are following us,” Kai said, turning his gaze to the deep shadows.
There were no torches, no sound of hunting parties, just the hooting of owls and the rustling of leaves, and the pale moonlight.
“I’m sorry for rushing ye out of there, but I hae tae set ye free. If only I could hae gotten tae Da,” Kai said.
Isla felt the emotion erupting within her again. She turned and beat his chest now. Angry tears poured down her cheeks.
“All ye think about is killing, the lot of ye. But dinnae ye realize the true danger? What about Ma?”
“Ma is safe in Stormhaven. She’s eager tae see ye.”
Isla gave Kai a scornful look. “Hae ye truly been away from us for sae long tae be that naive. Da hae spies everywhere. Naething is beyond his reach. Why dae ye think I was playing his game? I hae him, Kai. He thought he could bend Iain’s ear, but I was gaeing tae talk Iain intae daeing what was right.
I ken I could dae it, but then… then…” she trailed away.
Kai looked at her firmly. He took her hand, uncurling her fist so that he could squeeze it properly.
“Ye were nae safe there. I was nae about tae let ye suffer.”
“Ye dinnae ken best, Kai,” Isla glared at him. “Ye might be the eldest, and ye might be the only son left, but I am still here and ken how tae be a fox better than anyone. If ye think this is a victory, then ye are a fool. Ye should ken Da better than that. I dae.”
Kai dipped his head and his words became more intense.
“Ye think I dinnae ken our Da? I watched our home burn because of his orders. Trust me, our mother is protected. Da preyed on yer fears, and I will nae let him succeed. There is naething back for ye in that Keep. Besides, I thought ye might appreciate being able tae reunite with… ah… old friends,” he said, throwing his gaze over his shoulder and looking towards Kirsty and Gavin, who were maintaining their distance from this discussion between siblings.
“I want tae be as far away from him as possible,” Isla said bitterly.
“I thought?—”
“It dinnae matter what ye think. Things change. If he hae nae come tae find me, then Iain would be alive.”
“I dinnae think that’s a reason?—”
“I never asked for yer opinion, Kai. Stop offering it when it is nae wanted. Nae everyone wants tae ken what ye think.”
Kai pressed his lips together.
“If that’s what ye want, fine. We shall ride for Stormhaven after our rest. Ma is waiting for us there, and ye will see for yerself that she is safe.
Whatever Da said, it was all lies. That’s what he does, Isla.
He lies.” Then, his tone softened. “I ken that ye and Iain were friends for a long time. He always struck me as a good person. Mourn him. I will fetch ye when it is time for us tae leave,” he said, and moved away.
Isla kept her back turned on the others.
She bowed her head and kept her sobs as quiet as possible, for she did not want the others to hear her weep.
Now that she was away from the Keep and had a few moments to herself, the sorrow flowed more freely.
She thought of Iain who had only been kind to her suffering because of her father, the man she loved, and most of all, her.
She might have railed against Gavin, but really she wanted to rail against herself. There were so many things she could have done differently. There were so many different choices she could have made and if only she had been more open to him on their wedding night he would still have been alive.
She thought she could save the Highlands, but she hadn’t even been able to protect her husband. So much for the vows she had spoken. So much for the promises she had made.
She wasn’t a savior.
She was just a girl with a misguided sense of her own importance.
She arranged some stones and placed a long stick in the mud.
This place had no significance for her or Iain.
There were none of his remains here. The only thing she did to mark the grave was tear off the material of her night dress and wrap it around the stick.
It would have to do for now because she didn’t think she would get a chance to mourn him properly.
The funeral would be held in the Anderson Clan, far too soon after a wedding.
Everyone there would curse her name and rue the day when she had arrived in their clan.