Niall had obviously had enough. “Lachlan, if ye don’t calm down, I will let ye join Darcy in the courtyard. I don’t know what happened, but I am fairly certain Tadhg had nothing to do with it. And don’t start in about the betrothal—MacKenzie made the choice he thought best for his daughter, just as ye did.”
A tense silence ensued until both older men stood down.
When it was clear a war wasn’t going to erupt imminently, Niall motioned for Tadhg to join him away from the others.
“What have ye learned? Who found him?” Tadhg asked.
Niall answered, “Keavy, one of my other guardsmen, found him. I’m not sure when it happened. Peadar said Rowan had gone outside for air earlier, but didn’t remember seeing him return before Peadar left with Rhona to return to the MacKenzie encampment. With so many people around, someone must have seen something. My guardsmen are questioning everyone, but so far we have had no luck.”
“Is it as serious as Lachlan thinks?”
“It is serious. Just as Lachlan said, he looked like death when he was discovered. Katherine and Lady MacKenzie are with him.”
“I don’t mean to borrow trouble, but ye’ve barred the keep and the gates. What do ye think will happen if Rowan doesn’t make it?”
“I don’t know for sure. Lachlan is as angry as Cathal, and Cathal was already irritated with me for offering Rowan a position with my guard in the first place. Rowan was attacked in my castle, under my protection. I will do whatever I need to do to appease them, but it may not be enough for a grieving father. Blood feuds have started with less provocation. Having both of them in here, separated from what amounts to a small army outside my gates, seems prudent.”
“Aye, with the lairds of the assembled clans inside the keep, there might be some posturing and sword rattling outside the gates, but nothing more. We need to keep things calm within.”
“Then I can count on your support?”
“Niall, I will not raise a sword against my father-in-law, but short of that, unless it turns out ye were the one who clouted Rowan, ye have my support.”
Niall chuckled. “It wasn’t me. Like yourself, I had already retired with my sweet Katherine.”
“By all the saints, I pray this is resolved soon. I wouldn’t risk Mairead’s safety for anything and ye have effectively locked out all of my guardsmen except Hamish.”
“I’m sorry, Tadhg, if I let your men enter and no others it is likely to spark tempers again.”
“How many of Mairead’s brothers are in the keep?”
“Only Quinn, but Cathal has him guarding Rowan. I have several guards on Rowan as well. If someone was attempting to kill him, they might try to finish the job and I won’t put Katherine at such a risk. The fact is Katherine is hopeful Rowan will recover. She said his breathing is normal, he groaned as she sewed the gash in his head, and he is restless at times. Apparently, these are good signs. Cathal knows this, but I’ve told no one else. If the attacker thinks Rowan might recover and identify him, it could drive him to redouble his efforts. Still, I understand your concern for Mairead. If ye would like, I will assign one of my men to guard her, too.”
Tadhg hesitated before answering. “I would appreciate that, Niall, but Mairead is a bit skittish around strangers.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I will assign Turcuil.”
“The great hairy giant ye have in your employ? Are ye trying to scare the wits out of her?”
Niall laughed. “Turcuil looks a bit scary, but he can be as gentle as a kitten and has a heart of gold. Trust me, he is the best choice.”
“I believe ye, thousands wouldn’t.”
~ * ~
Mairead awoke with a vague sense of disquiet just as dawn was lightening the sky. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Tadhg had left already and she assumed his absence was the source of her uneasiness. She dressed quickly, trying to ignore her slightly queasy stomach, before cracking the chamber door open to peek into the hall. Hamish stood guard there, but instead of one of Tadhg’s other guards, there was a huge man with a bushy black beard whom she recognized as a MacIan guardsman. “Hamish, where is Tadhg? Is something wrong?”
“Good morning, my lady. The laird asked me to send for him when ye awoke. Turcuil here has been keeping me company. He is one of your brother’s fellow guardsmen. Turcuil, would ye mind popping down to the great hall to let Laird Matheson know Lady Matheson awaits him in their chamber?”
Mairead arched an eyebrow—someone the size of Turcuil doesn’t “pop” anywhere. “That won’t be necessary. If Tadhg is in the great hall, ye can escort me down.” However, Turcuil was already lumbering toward the stairs.
Yes, lumbering, that is the word, not “pop.”
“Ye see? The laird will be up here in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
“What’s wrong, Hamish? Why can’t I go to him?”
“My lady, please be patient. There was a little upset early this morning. Ye know yourself, things can get tense when so many clans are gathered. The laird will explain it to ye in a moment.”
“I suppose I will have to wait for him, then,” she said, stepping back into the room and closing the door, but his explanation did not appease her. There had been at least as many clans in attendance at her wedding and nothing untoward happened. It didn’t take long for Tadhg to join her but, as anxious as she was, it felt like ages. As Tadhg told her what happened, panic began to rise.
“This makes no sense. Why would someone want to hurt Rowan?”
“We don’t know yet, love.”
“I have to go to him, Tadhg. I have to help.”
“Sweetling, he is being well tended. Both your mother and Lady Katherine are with him. They think he just needs a bit of time to recover.”
“I can’t stay up here,” she moaned plaintively. “I need to be with my family.”
“Ye needn’t stay up here. I will take ye downstairs, but, pet, most of your family was outside the walls of Duncurra when this happened. Niall has closed the castle to ensure everyone’s safety. No one can enter or leave for the moment. Quinn is with Rowan, but I’m sure your father will take comfort in having ye near. Mairead, as ye can imagine, the situation downstairs is volatile. Either Hamish or I will be near ye at all times. Turcuil will be close as well. If anything happens, do as we tell ye, instantly, even if your da or one of your brothers tells ye something different. Do ye understand?”
“Aye, Tadhg. I love ye and I trust ye.”
He pulled her into a fierce hug. “Everything will be fine, Mairead. Things will sort themselves out.”
Mairead hugged him back tightly. She wished she had the same confidence.
Twenty
When they arrived downstairs, it looked as if every living soul within the keep had gathered in the great hall. The tension was palpable. People clustered in small groups engaging in furtive conversations. Niall MacIan was having an intense discussion with his commander, Dairmad, but on seeing Tadhg enter the hall, motioned him over.
“Mairead, love, I’m sure your father would like your company. Hamish will stay with ye. I am just going to see what Niall needs.” He kissed her on the cheek before joining Niall and his men.
“Is there any new information?”
“Perhaps it is nothing, but one of your men, a man named Bryant, said he witnessed a Matheson lass speaking with Rowan earlier in the evening. He says Rowan seemed to become irritated.”
“Who questioned him? What else did Bryant say?”
Alan, one of Niall’s captains, stepped forward. “I spoke with Bryant, Laird. He said the lass had been standing on the steps to the keep. He was on the other side of the courtyard and wanted to dance with her, but by the time he wove through the throng she was gone. He kept looking and caught a glimpse of her walking toward the back of the keep. He still tried to catch up with her, but she entered the hall through the doors to the kitchen and he lost sight of her again. I was surprised that he pursued her so persistently just for a dance. He said she has been known to cause mischief, and as her father is a fellow guardsman, he thought to keep an eye on her, so he kept searching. He finally caught sight of her near the buttery, talking to Rowan. Apparently Rowan had her by the arm and looked angry. Before he could reach them, she was gone again. He continued looking for her outside the castle, but never found her. He assumed she had returned to the encampment.”
“Did he say who she was?” Tadhg asked.
“He called her Meriel.”
“Meriel?” Tadhg asked in disbelief. “That lass has stirred up trouble before, but I can’t believe she had anything to do with injuring Rowan.”
“No one is saying she did,” assured Niall. “Perhaps she witnessed something or knows something that will point us in the right direction.”
“I could find out what she knows, but I sure as hell am not leaving here without Mairead, and she will not want to go with me while her brother lies so gravely ill.”
“I’ll send for Meriel and have her brought up to the keep,” said Niall. “No one will object to one wee lass entering Duncurra.”
“Her father is one of my captains. He will want to accompany her.”
“He can escort her to the gate and another of your men can escort her from there. She will be in no danger.”
“Niall, put yourself in his position. Ye have a daughter, would ye want her thrown into this mess without your protection?”
“His daughter has my protection, as well as yours. That will have to be enough.”
Niall’s stubbornness frustrated Tadhg, but he recognized that he had no real choice. “Fine, send for her.”
~ * ~
Those camped outside the walls had been told very little about what had happened. The only piece of information anyone had was that someone had met with an accident, and it was being investigated. Everyone suspected there was much more to the story than they had been told. Why would Duncurra have been closed otherwise? However, no more news was forthcoming.
Meriel’s father had been livid when she returned without Finola. To make matters worse, the gates were closed before he could go back in to find her. Meriel wanted to tell him she had tried to get Finola to come with her, but Finola simply refused. In fact, Finola had intentionally eluded her until Meriel had no other choice but to leave without her. However, it seemed disloyal to lay the blame on Finola, and Meriel thought perhaps she could have tried harder, so she accepted her father’s censure while holding her tongue.
Later that morning, it became clear to Meriel that something was seriously wrong. Her father strode angrily toward her from the direction of the castle gates. His accusatory question, “What have ye done this time, Meriel?” only confirmed it.
“I’ve done nothing wrong, Da.”
“Then why does the laird require your presence in the great hall, when Duncurra is closed to everyone else?”
“I don’t know, Da. Do ye know anything about what has happened or why Duncurra is closed?”
The anguish in her father’s face broke her heart. “No, Meriel. I don’t know what has happened or where your sister is. They won’t let me in to find her. Now they want me to send ye in to speak with the laird and I can’t go with ye.”
“Da, I swear I’ve done nothing wrong. I don’t want to go alone.” She could feel herself trembling and her father pulled her into his warm embrace and kissed the top of her head.
“I don’t want ye to go alone either, pet. I have no choice. Cael will be with ye until ye reach the hall, then the laird will see no harm comes to ye. If ye have any idea what this is about, please tell me now.”
Meriel hesitated. In her soul, she had no doubt this had to have something to do with the conversation she overheard, but she hadn’t done anything wrong. She had only told Rowan the truth about what Eara and Rafer were planning.
He deserved to know, didn’t he?
Aye, he did, but even though he told her not to speak of it, her father deserved to know, too. “Sit down, Da.” She told him the whole story.
“Oh, Meriel,” he moaned. “By all the saints, lass, this is bad. Are ye sure ye weren’t mistaken?”
“Da, I’m sure. I only told Rowan exactly what the couple said. He is a kind man and Lady Mairead’s brother. After what she has done for me, I couldn’t ignore what they said. I had to tell him. They even said after the wedding, he might meet with an accident and as a widow, Eara might be able to choose her next husband. I didn’t tell Rowan that part.”
Her father stiffened. “An accident? They said the word ‘accident’?”
“Aye, Da. Why?”
“Meriel, the only word we have from the castle is that there was an accident. If someone arranged for Rowan to have an ‘accident,’ it will be your word against Eara Fraser’s, lass. She might even twist the story to implicate ye. Is there any chance someone else was there? Perhaps someone who can confirm your story?”
“I don’t know Da. I—I don’t think so.”
He put his arms around her again. “Then I’m not sending ye in there.”
“But ye have to. Ye can’t defy an order.”
“To protect my daughter, I will.”
“Da, I’ve done nothing wrong and we don’t know what is happening. Rowan may need a witness. If I don’t go, it will look as if I have something to hide, on top of which, ye will have broken your oath to the laird. I’ll be fine, Da.”
Less than three quarters of an hour later, as she was ushered into the great hall filled with people, including several of the most powerful lairds in the Highlands, she wasn’t quite as sure she would be “fine.” The one bright spot had been Finola rushing to her as she walked through the village with Cael. “Meriel, do ye know what’s happening? I tried to follow ye back to the camp last night, but they wouldn’t let me through the gates.
“Finola, Da was so worried about ye. Go to the gates and send word to him ye are all right.”
“Where are ye going? How did ye get in?”
Cael answered her, “Finola, Laird Matheson needs to speak with Meriel. Go give your father some peace, lass.”
Finola ignored him. “Ye’ve been called to the keep? Alone? Nay, I’ll not let ye go alone.”
Cael tried again. “Finola, she has no choice. Laird Matheson will protect her.”