Page 25 of McKenna’s Honor (The Clan MacDougall #4)
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“’ T was ye, wasn’t it?” Arline asked pointedly. She had slept the day away and had not awakened until long after the evening meal. The castle was quiet for most everyone was tucked away for the night.
She stood now, alone in Robert Stewart’s private chamber for the third time that day. He sat quietly in a chair near the fireplace. Arline stood but a few steps away from him, her hands folded in front of her.
It had come quietly to her, in her dreams, just who the mysterious man in the shadows of her husband’s bedchamber was. She stood now, in front of the accused, waiting patiently for his admission.
Robert eyed her closely for a minute, but said nothing.
“’Twas ye in Carlich’s chamber that night, my lord. I am certain of it.”
“Now, why would I be in yer husband’s bedchamber, my lady?”
Arline tilted her head slightly before answering. She tried to appear nonchalant, as if the revelation wasn’t as important as it actually was. “I ken that ye and my husband are verra good friends. I also ken that my husband respects you, my lord. He holds ye in the highest regard.”
Robert had no response. He took on that same indifferent air that Arline held. He rested his head against his index finger, and appeared unmoved by her statement.
“Ye have a certain gait to your walk, my lord. Even though ye had remained in the shadows and did not allow me to see your face, I ken, without a doubt, that ye were in my husband’s chamber just days ago.”
“Tell me, my lady, what else is it ye think that ye ken?”
Arline took a deep breath as she took a step closer to the fire. “It was ye that gave Carlich the documents.”
Robert blinked once, then again. “Now, why, pray tell, would I do such a thing?”
“We ken that there is no love lost between ye and Seamus, my lord. If ye had presented the documents, people might have believed his accusations that the documents were indeed forgeries. However,” she paused briefly, choosing her words carefully. “If the documents came from his own father, or me acting on behalf of his father, then people would give it more credibility.”
Robert shifted in his seat, crossed his legs, and bade her to continue with a wave of his hand.
“So it could no’ be known that ye had the documents. Angus was working for you. I imagine, though I could be wrong, that it was Angus who gave ye those documents. I ken that Aric mentioned Neville’s Cross. What happened there, my lord?”
Robert took a deep breath before he answered. “Neville’s Cross,” he said the name woefully. “Things were going verra well fer us, until Neville’s Cross. ’Twas there that Aric tried to kill King David.”
Arline gasped, her eyes widened with shock. “Oh, Good Lord!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“Aye. Had Angus not been there, had he not been just a few steps from David, then Aric would have been successful. Angus saw Aric come fer David. Angus had tried his best to push David out of the way, but Aric’s blade managed to cut him. Angus was able to convince Seamus that it was no’ yet the right time to take David’s life and that is why he stopped Aric from killin’ him. While Angus was busy with Seamus and Aric, Duncan managed to get David to cover, under the bridge at River Browney while he went to get help. There was so much chaos happenin’ at the time, that we’re no’ quite sure what happened after that. But we think ’twas Seamus who found King David and led the English to him.”
Arline felt her legs growing weak and she sat down in the chair opposite Robert’s. “I never trusted Seamus. Och! The clan adored the man. But there was something, something I could not quite put my finger to. It made me no’ trust him. Or Aric.”
“Yer instincts are good, lass. Ye might want to always listen to them.”
Arline sat quietly for a time, stunned at what Robert was telling her. When she thought how close she had come to dying just a few days ago, when she and the MacDougalls were attacked, she shivered.
They stared at one another for several long moments before Arline spoke again. “Who is the man in the shadows now, my lord? The one standing in the corner near your curtains?”
Robert raised an eyebrow. “Yer powers of observation are verra good, my lady. The identity of the man who stands in the shadows is of no importance to ye. But ken that there may be more traitors among us. Men who worry that Seamus or Aric will talk. These men might not take too kindly to ye givin’ me those documents.” Robert stood and came to stand before her. “Ken this well my lady. Until we ken for certain that we have all the men involved in this event, ye might no’ always be safe. There will always be a man in the shadows, watchin’ over ye, to ensure that ye are kept safe.”
She felt the sting of fear deep in her belly. It is not over.
“A few weeks ago,” Robert’s voice broke through her quiet thoughts, “Aric convinced his uncle, Phillip Lindsay, that Angus was the true traitor in all of this. That is when Phillip had Angus and Duncan arrested and taken to Edinburgh. While they were arresting them, Aric and his men kidnapped Isobel and Aishlinn. What Aric and Seamus didna ken was that Phillip kent the truth. Phillip had been workin’ with us.”
She couldn’t fathom why that bit of news surprised her. It was difficult to think that someone she had lived with for the past three years was capable of such nefarious deeds. Nay, she never liked Aric or his father. But she had always assumed it was because neither of the men hid their distaste of her.
“How did they come to be here today?” Arline asked.
Robert smiled at her. “The men in the shadows, lass. They’d been watching Aric and Seamus. They were there the night they took Isobel, Aishlinn and the babes. They were able to steal them away from the hut they were held prisoner in, just as soon as Aric and Seamus left. I’ve had the women and the babes here, at Stirling, for weeks now. But I could no’ let anyone, no’ even Angus and Duncan ken that. No’ until I could prove, without a doubt, that Aric and Seamus were guilty.”
“That is where I came in,” Arline stated solemnly.
“Aye, lass. That is where ye came in.”
“It was Aric or Seamus that attacked us, wasn’t it?” she asked quietly.
“Aye, ’twas Aric. But the men in the shadows were there that night as well, watchin’ over ye. But as it turned out, the MacDougalls kept their word and did no’ let any harm come to ye. They be good men, lass. Ye can always count on them as ye can count on me, should the need ever arise.” He placed a hand on Arline’s shoulder.
“Ken this, my lady. I will always be here to help ye in yer time of need. I will always keep a man in the shadows near ye. Ye won’t ken who he be. But he will be there.” Robert walked to the desk that sat in front of the tall windows. He opened a drawer and pulled out Carlich’s box along with the key. He brought the items back to Arline.
“Ye return Carlich’s box to him now, my lady. Inside it, I have placed a letter, with me seal affixed to it. Should ye ever find yerself in trouble and ye canna find or see the man in the shadows, use this letter.”
Reluctantly, Arline took the box and the key from him. She slipped the box into the pocket of her skirt and held the key in her hand. She knew it was a false sense of security she had in the letter, still, she was glad for it. The letter itself could not actually keep someone from slicing her throat, but, who knew if or when it would ever become useful.
“Now,” Robert said as he turned away. “On the morrow ye will be returned to Carlich. Ye will have a full escort of me men to see ye safely returned.”
He was done discussing the matter. Arline began to wonder if she would ever again feel the bliss of safety.
Robert turned back to her. “Scotland thanks ye, my lady. As does King David. ”
Arline left the room as quietly as she had entered. She wondered if the man in the shadows was going to follow her back to her room. She was uncertain if that thought brought comfort or fear. If the men in the shadows were near her then danger could not be far behind.
She could only pray that someday she would be able to live her life without looking over her shoulder, without wondering if someone was lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Arline had a decision to make. She could live her life in fear of the unknown, or she could live as if she had not a care in the world. Good sense told her to live her life as best she could, but keep an ever vigilant and watchful eye. A watchful eye that would look to the shadows for help if needed and answers when necessary.