Page 42 of Bound to a Scot (Sins in a Kilt #2)

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

M acfie had pulled out all the stops for the feast. The great hall was adorned in finery, and musicians played lively tunes. Never-ending platters of roasted meats, vegetables, sweet cakes, and a host of other delicacies were brought out. Serving girls circulated through the hall, refilling glasses of wine, mead, and whisky. The atmosphere in the hall was celebratory and Maddox didn’t think the royals even had affairs so grand. It only made him feel all the more uneasy.

He stood off in a corner with Lorn and Emmeline, watching the revelry going on all around them as he sipped from his cup of mead. The buzz of conversation was thick in the air as people from the clan, all dressed in finery, milled about eating, drinking, and shrugging off their own cares for a night of feasting and revels. He supposed he couldn’t blame them for that.

“Have ye seen Burchard yet?” Emmeline asked.

Maddox shook his head. “Nay. Nae a hair of the man.”

“I dinnae like this,” Lorn said. “Somethin’ feels off.”

“Aye. I was just thinkin’ that too,’ Maddox said.

As if speaking his name had summoned him, the door in the back of the hall opened wide and Burchard stepped through, a pair of guards flanking him and Laith, the obsequious weasel, following behind. Standing on the top steps of the raised dais where Cecilia sat alone at the table, he surveyed the crowd. When his eyes alighted on them, a slow, feral smile unraveled on his lips that sent a rush of ice flowing through Maddox’s veins.

“He’s up tae somethin’,” Maddox muttered behind his cup. “Somethin’ bad is about tae happen. I can feel it.”

“Aye. I hate tae admit it, but I think ye’re right,” Lorn said.

“We need tae be ready tae act,” Emmeline said.

“Nay,” Lorn said stiffly. “We let this play out.”

Burchard held his hand up to silence the room. The musicians stopped playing and all conversation around them ceased. It was suddenly silent as a tomb and Maddox felt a shadow cross his heart as his certainty that something terrible was about to happen only deepened. Lorn and Emmeline, standing beside him, wore tense, grim expressions. From where they’d told her to remain, Cecilia looked at them with evident concern. She seemed to feel the gathering storm too.

“Good people, thank ye fer bein’ here tonight,” Burchard began. “Tonight was supposed tae be a night of celebration and joy and I truly wish it could be. But I’ve just come intae some distrubin’ information. Heartbreakin’ information really. I stand before ye tonight a heartbroken man. And I’m nae afraid tae tell ye that.”

The mood in the room immediately grew somber as the assembled crowd cut glances at one another, questions on all their faces. Maddox gritted his teeth as a cold feeling of dread settled down over him. Macfie caught his gaze, and Maddox couldn’t help but see the glimmer of mirth in his eyes. He tensed and started to take a step forward, but the war chief put a hand on his arm.

“Steady, lad,” Lorn said.

“I have learned that I have been betrayed by those closest tae me,” Burchard said. “I have learned that me own daughter, me own flesh and blood, conspired with me war chief tae usurp me.”

A loud gasp burst from the crowd and the whispers immediately began. Maddox could see the heads turning toward Lorn, whose face darkened as his body tightened. On the dais, Cecilia paled and her mouth fell open. The two guards who’d come in with Macfie stood behind her, looming over the poor, frightened girl.

“Having discovered this treason, I have nay choice but tae take Lorn MacMillan and me daughter, Cecilia, intae custody and have them executed fer their betrayal,” Macfie intoned.

As a pair of guards moved through the crowd toward Lorn, the harsh whispers of the crowd filled Maddox’s ears and he felt the weight of their accusing eyes on his new friend. He stepped in front of the war chief, his hand on the hilt of his dagger. But Lorn put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around, his face stern.

“Dinnae dae this,” Lorn said. “I’ll nae have ye throw yer life away on me.”

“I’ll nae see ye hang fer somethin’ ye didnae dae.”

“Easy, lad. I’ll appeal tae the king. It’ll all work out.”

“Bollocks—”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Emmeline stepping forward. “Stop this,” she called. “Cecilia had naethin’ tae dae with anything. ‘Twas me. ‘Twas all me.”

Maddox and Lorn both spun around, eyes wide, stricken expressions on both their faces.

“Emmeline,” Lorn said. “What are ye doin’?”

“’Twas me who ordered Lorn tae rifle through yer office and seize yer papers,” Emmeline called. “I am the lady of the castle and he had nay choice but tae dae as I said. ‘Twas me with the plan tae usurp yer Lairdship. Nae Cecilia. And nae Lorn. Me and me alone.”

“What in the bleedin’ hell are ye doin’?” Lorn hissed.

“Emmeline, stop.”

She turned to them, her eyes filled with fear but her face a mask of steely determination. It was then that Maddox realized what she was doing. She was going to protect Cecilia by any means necessary. Even if it cost Emmeline her own life.

“Dinnae dae this,” Maddox whispered.

Her smile was small and sad. “I must,” she said. “Like Lorn said, it will all work out.”

The buzz in the hall grew louder as the tongues wagged in earnest with accusations and condemnations of Emmeline. Maddox clenched his jaw. He couldn’t stand by and let this happen. He stepped closer to her and Emmeline put a hand on his shoulder gently, giving him a small shake of her head as her eyes glittered with tears.

“Dinnae dae anythin’,” she said. “It will be fine.”

“It willnae be.”

Maddox glanced at Macfie who stood on the dais, his eyes gleaming and a predatory smile on his lips. It was then that he understood this was what Macfie wanted. That this was part of his plan. He knew of his wife’s affair with him and he knew she would protect Cecilia with her life. This was his way of getting rid of her once and for all.

“Very well,” Macfie said, his voice echoing through the hall, which had fallen silent once more. “Emmeline Macfie, fer yer treason, ye shall be put tae death.”

“Laird Macfie,” Maddox called.

“Guards,” he said, ignoring Maddox entirely. “Take her away.”