Chapter 17
Moira sat in the chair, a tankard of ale before her, but every time she thought to drink it, her stomach curdled in response.
She wished that she could do like the other members of her clan did and drown her sorrows and worries in the ale, but even if she did this evening, come morning the pain would still be there.
Her heart was broken. She had loved and lost and doubted she would ever be the same.
The keep was quiet despite the revelry at the battlefield.
Most of the servants and her own family left to enjoy their drink.
Only Fennella knew what had happened between Moira and Tavin and though she had offered to bring Moira back to the keep, Moira had asked her to stay.
She did not want to dampen anyone’s fun because of her misery.
Besides, come the morning, she would tell the elders to choose a husband for her and move forward with her life.
Rubbing her forehead, Moira felt the sting of tears in her eyes once more. She had cried enough tears over Tavin, and she would have to eventually forget about the handsome Scot. Why hadn’t he told her about his feelings?
Did he have any at all?
The keep door opened and Moira watched as Will walked in, his jaw set. “Mah lady,” he said as he came to stand before the chair. “Something has happened.”
Moira stood, her thoughts to her family. “What is it? What’s happened?”
Will rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking uneasy. “’Tis Tavin.”
Moira opened her mouth and then shut it. “I dinnae wish tae discuss him.” Even the mere thought about his smile had her heart aching all over again.
“He’s a Stuart.”
Moira just stared at her closest confidant, the name not registering to her at first.
But then, she remembered why that was important. “A Stuart? Truly?” But she knew what the Stuart brothers looked like. She had seen them lurking around the gathering, choosing to ignore them as everyone else did. They were traitors to the country, cowards that ran in the face of danger.
That did not sound like Tavin at all.
Will nodded. “Aye lass, he is. My source is not wrong about this. He dinnae deny the fact when I confronted him.”
Moira fell back into the chair; her entire body numb. “Did he say why he was here?”
“Nay,” Will replied. “He spouted nonsense and that information has been confounded by mah warriors. There is no threat.”
Moira bit her lower lip. Tavin was more than just the man that broke her heart. He was a fraud.
But the moment she thought of him, the more she questioned his real reasoning for being here.
For meeting her. Was it just fate that had brought them together or did he have other intentions? “What else did he say?”
“Ye dinnae need to know.”
Moira slapped her hand on the table, startling them both. “What else did he say?”
Will blew out a heavy breath. “He said he loved ye.”
The air was sucked out of her lungs and Moira found it hard to breathe. Had he hidden his feelings because he had been ashamed of who he was? She of all people knew that the actions of their parents did not define them as a person.
And unless Tavin was an exceptionally good manipulator, he did not act like the tales she had heard about the Stuart clan.
Will reached out and touched her hand, something that the burly Scot rarely did. “I know ye had feelings for the bloody Scot but ye cannae be fooled by the first one to turn yer head, especially a bloody Stuart.”
Moira heard his words but, in her heart, she did not feel the same as she should. Tavin had never once told her whose clan he belonged with nor had he provided her any sources to who he truly was.
But it didn’t mean that he didn’t care about her. Moira wanted to know if he cared.
She needed to know if he cared. “I must see him.”
“Nay,” Will said immediately, shaking his head. “Ye will not see him. Ye have the gathering tae focus on, not some traitorous trash.”
Moira clenched her jaw tightly. “I am the lady of the keep and I demand tae see mah prisoner!” The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but she held her head aloft, exacting her power for the first time against her second-in-command. “I’ve listened tae all ye have tae say. Now I will listen tae him.”
Will opened his mouth to reply but the keep’s doors burst open and one of their warriors hurried to them, his eyes wide with fear. “There is a fire! In the village!”
Her heart in her throat, Moira and Will both hurried to the door, the smell of acrid smoke heavy in the air.
Already there were horses coming from the battlefield, having seen the fire in the distance.
Moira picked up her skirts and followed Will as they exited the courtyard and into the village, gasping as she saw several huts on fire. “Water!” she shouted. “Get water!”
There were already villagers that were handing full buckets down the line, dumping them on the burning huts to keep the spread to others.
Moira forced her way into the line and passed bucket after bucket until her shoulders ached, and her mouth dry from the taste of smoke that hung in the air.
No one spoke, with the occasional shout to direct the water elsewhere, but by the time the fires were out, Moira had no strength left to even give orders.
“Mah lady,” Will said, his face streaked with soot and his voice raspy. “Ye shouldnae be out here.”
“Oh, hush Will,” she said tiredly, placing her head on his shoulder. “These are mah people. I will be out here if I see fit.”
He patted her back lightly. “And that is what makes ye a right fine leader.”
Moira gave him a tired smile and after inspecting the damage and seeing to the needs of the displaced families, she trudged back to the keep, barely able to keep her head up. “Moira!”
Moira turned to see Fennella hurrying toward her, her own gown streaked with water and soot. “Sister,” she said, collapsing in her arms. “Our family.”
“’Tis fine,” Fennella told her, hugging her. “Everyone is fine. The huts can be rebuilt.”
Moira pulled back, her eyes filling with tears. “Tavin is not who he seems. He’s a Stuart.”
“The Stuarts are here?” Fennella asked, surprise filtering through her expression. “But are ye certain?”
She nodded, knowing she looked a fright with her tear-stained cheeks and dirtied clothing. “Will found out the truth about him. He lied tae me.”
Fennella squeezed her arms. “Are ye certain that he did Moira? I saw the way he looked at ye during the games. He’s in love with ye.”
Moira shook her head. “He cannae be. I fear ’tis his family that is behind the fires.”
Fennella’s jaw clenched. “Then we must tell Aleck and the others and bring the Stuarts for questioning. Where is Tavin?”
“The dungeon where he belongs,” Will announced. “As where the rest of them will be.”
“Come,” Fennella said, tucking her arm in her sister’s. “These are times that one must push aside any personal feelings for the sake of the clan. If it is found that Clan Stuart is guilty of these fires, then they must face judgment.”
Moira’s heart sank. She turned to Will, who was eyeing her with some concern. “How long have ye had him there?”
“Before I came tae ye,” he stated firmly. “But he could still be part of this.”
Perhaps so, but Moira didn’t believe that Tavin would intentionally set fires to her village. “Go find the rest of the clan. We must take them as a threat.”
He gave her a sharp nod and spun off to do her bidding, leaving the two sisters alone amongst the chaos. “I dinnae know what tae do,” Moira whispered, leaning her head on her sister’s shoulder. “I am confused.”
“There, there,” Fennella said, patting her back. “We will find the truth.”
But Clan Stuart was gone. Moira sat in her keep nervously, her eyes glancing down the hallway more than once that would lead her to the dungeons if she so wished to confront Tavin.
When Will told her the news, Moira felt a bit of relief. “Perhaps they have realized they have been found out.”
“Do ye want tae cancel the rest of the games?” he asked quietly.
“Nay,” Moira decided. The clans were already here and there was no need to hold off anything that had been planned.
Including the fact that she needed a husband. “We will be vigilant, but I believe the worst is behind us.”
“Aye,” Will replied. “Get some rest mah lady. Morning will be fast approaching.”
“I am going tae bed,” Fennella yawned, just in time for her husband to come into the great hall. Moira watched as Aleck touched his wife’s shoulder briefly before she stood, placing her hand in his. That was what she wanted with Tavin, but now that she knew the truth, she could not have it.
Pushing out of the chair, she all but stumbled to the stairs, intending to seek out her bed.
When her foot placed on the step, she glanced back at the hall.
She could not help Tavin now. As much as she wanted to go to him, it would only hurt her to see him in that cell, knowing that he had lied to her about who he was and potentially how he felt about her.
He had allowed her to fall in love with him knowing that in the end, she could never pick him once she learned that he was a Stuart.
But as the thoughts arose in her mind, Moira did find it interesting that he had been the one to say no to her proposal of him being at her side. Had that meant something?
Moira shook her head and forced herself to make her way to her chambers for a few hours’ sleep. Life must go on and so should she.