Page 23 of To Wed a Witch (Reluctant Brides #3)

T he morning after the events at Agan's Glen dawned bright and clear, as though the mist had washed the air clean. Sìne woke to find Bhaltair's arm wrapped protectively around her waist, and Aidyn sleeping peacefully in her cradle which they had moved closer to their bed.

Later, Sìne had barely finished breaking her fast when the kitchen maid who had first spread the alarm appeared at her elbow.

"My lady," the girl said shyly, "the whole clan is speaking of what happened last night. How ye risked everything for the wee bairn, and how we all came to defend ye."

"Aye, ye did. And I am so grateful for yer part in alerting others." The girl blushed, and Sìne noted the proud gleam in her eyes. "If not for ye, no one would ken where I was. As for my bravery, none was braver than Ada. She is the one ye should be praising."

"Och, I did no such thing!" Ada replied as she walked into the room to clear away the dishes. "I perhaps made things worse rather than better."

"Ada! Ye are supposed to be abed and resting after such an ordeal."

"Dinnae fash, mistress. As I told the laird, I cannot abide lying abed when there's much to do." With that, she quit the room again.

The girl smiled and excused herself. But before she left, she said, "There's not a Ferguson alive who wouldn't follow ye into battle now. Ye're truly one of us."

The words warmed Sìne's heart more than she could have imagined. After months of feeling like an outsider, her clan had shown their loyalty in the most decisive way possible.

Throughout the morning, similar sentiments were echoed by servants and clansmen alike. The baker's wife nodded when Sìne passed through the kitchens. Elderly men doffed their caps with obvious respect. Even the stable boys smiled brightly when she checked on her horse.

"They love ye," Bhaltair observed, watching the interactions with obvious pride. "Last night showed them who ye really are, not the rumors Paisley spread, but the woman willing to sacrifice everything for those she holds dear."

The mention of Paisley brought a shadow to Sìne's mood, and Bhaltair noticed immediately.

"There's something I need to tell ye," he said quietly, leading her to the private solar where they could speak freely. "About Paisley and the others who fled..."

Sìne's heart clenched. "What is it?"

"My men found them this morning. Paisley and three of Sutherland's hired swords.

" Bhaltair's voice was gentle but direct.

"At the bottom of the ravine, about a mile from the glen.

Their necks were broken. It seems in their panic to escape through the fog, they lost their way and went over the cliff edge. "

Sìne closed her eyes, feeling a complex mix of emotions wash over her. Despite everything Paisley had done, the betrayal and the lies, she had once been someone Sìne cared for.

"I ken she deceived us all," Sìne replied. "I ken she would have taken Aidyn from me, maybe even killed me. But still..."

"Ye have a kind heart," Bhaltair said, pulling her close. "It's one of the things I love most about ye. But dinnae blame yerself for her choices, Sìne. Paisley chose her path long before she ever came to our Keep."

"I ken ye're right," she replied, leaning into his warmth. "It just... it hurts when someone I trusted, someone who held my daughter, betrayed me."

"She's gone now," Bhaltair replied. "She can't hurt us anymore."

***

B Y MIDDAY, THE GREAT Hall had been prepared for the formal proceedings regarding Laird Bryce Sutherland. The man himself sat under heavy guard, his earlier arrogance replaced by sullen defiance. Word had been sent throughout the clan that any who wished to witness the confrontation were welcome.

The hall filled quickly. Farmers and craftsmen, servants and warriors, young and old all came to see justice served to the man who had threatened their kin.

Laird Ewan MacNeil, who also happened to be a Justiciar of the king, was to oversee the proceedings as a formal witness. He in large arm chair in front of the hall.

Bhaltair took his place in the laird's chair, with Sìne beside him and Lileas flanking them. The MacNeils' presence lent additional weight to whatever decisions were made.

"Bryce Sutherland," Ewan's voice rang out across the packed hall, "ye stand accused of kidnapping, attempted murder, and acts of war against Clan Ferguson. How do ye answer these charges?"

Sutherland lifted his chin defiantly. "I was reclaiming what rightfully belongs to my family. The MacKay lands should be ours."

A murmur of anger rippled through the assembled clan, but Ewan raised his hand for silence.

"Ye had no claim once Sìne MacKay legally wed Bhaltair Ferguson," he replied coldly. "And even if ye had, kidnapping a child and threatening harm to Lady Ferguson are the acts of a coward, not a rightful laird."

"I did what was necessary!"

"Ye did what was evil," interrupted a voice from the crowd.

Everyone turned to see a woman stepping forward with her son Drew at her side. The boy looked healthy and strong now, with color in his cheeks and bright eyes that showed no trace of his recent illness.

Ewan acknowledged her. "Ye have something to say?"

"Aye, Laird MacNeil." Her voice shook with emotion as she pointed directly at Sutherland. "That man there is the traveling healer who came to our cottage. The one who told me my boy was beyond saving, who warned me about our lady's supposed black magic."

A shocked silence fell over the hall. Sutherland's face had gone pale, but she wasn't finished.

"Drew," she said gently to her son, "tell Laird MacNeil what ye told me about the sweet."

The boy stepped forward bravely, his young voice carrying clearly in the hushed hall. "This man gave me a candied fruit. Said it would help me feel better. But it tasted funny, and soon after I felt sick."

The implications were not lost on the crowd. Sutherland had deliberately poisoned a child—an innocent boy—all to frame Sìne as a witch and turn the clan against her.

The murmur that rose from the crowd this time was dark and dangerous. Several men stepped forward with hands on their weapons, their faces murderous.

"Ye poisoned the lad," Bhaltair said, his voice deadly quiet. "A helpless boy, to serve yer own ambition?"

"I... that's not...he lies!" Sutherland stammered, but his guilt was written across his features for all to see.

"Draw and quarter the bastard!" someone shouted from the back of the hall.

"Let us have him, my laird!"

Ewan stood, his hand raised for order. "Much as this man deserves whatever justice ye would give him, we follow the law, even when dealing with those who do not."

He turned his attention back to Sutherland. "As ye are a laird, we cannot keep ye imprisoned indefinitely. But ken this, a formal complaint will be dispatched to the king, detailing yer crimes. Once Laird Ferguson signs it, I will attest to the truth of it."

Sutherland's remaining defiance crumbled at the mention of the king. "Ye can't prove anything!"

"We have witnesses," Bhaltair cut him off. "We have yer own words, heard by dozens when ye confessed yer crimes in the glen. And we have the testimony of this brave lad and his mother."

He then gestured to where Greig and Ada stood among the crowd.

"Greig and Ada heard yer cousin Paisley confess to spreading lies about my wife. They heard ye threaten to kill innocent people for yer own gain." Bhaltair's voice grew colder with each word. "Ye have no defense, Sutherland. Ye have only our mercy, and that is wearing thin."

The hall fell silent as Ewan pronounced his judgment.

"Ye and yer remaining men will be escorted to the border under armed guard. If ye or any bearing yer name set foot on Ferguson or MacKay soil again, ye will be killed on sight. And when the king's justice finds ye—as it will—remember that ye brought it upon yerself through yer own choices."

Two hours later, Sìne watched from the battlements as Sutherland and his surviving men were marched away under heavy guard. They cut a sorry figure in the afternoon sunlight, defeated, disgraced, and facing an uncertain future.

Bhaltair joined her at the wall, slipping his arms around her waist as they watched their enemies disappear into the distance.

"It's over," he said.

"Aye," Sìne agreed, leaning back against his chest. "Finally over."

***

T WO DAYS LATER, THE time came for the MacNeils to return to home. The parting was bittersweet. In the space of a few short days, they had become more than allies. They were true friends.

"I cannot thank ye enough," Bhaltair said as they stood in the courtyard, preparing for the MacNeils' departure. "Yer counsel, yer support, yer willingness to stand with us in our darkest hour."

"That's what friends do," Ewan replied, clasping Bhaltair's arm firmly. "And ken this: should ye ever have need of MacNeil swords, ye have only to send word."

"The same holds true in reverse," Bhaltair assured him. "Whatever ye may need, whatever troubles may come, the Fergusons will stand with ye."

Lileas embraced Sìne warmly, her bright eyes sparkling with mischief. "I do hope ye'll consider visiting us for Yuletide. The MacNeil Keep throws quite a celebration, and I'd love to show ye my whiskey making cottage."

"I would love that," Sìne replied sincerely. "And thank ye, Lileas. For extending yer friendship to my husband when he felt quite alone."

"Nonsense," Lileas waved off the thanks. "Ye would have done the same for us."

As the MacNeil party rode away, Sìne felt a deep contentment settle over her. The crisis was past, the truth was known, and her place in Clan Ferguson was secure beyond any doubt.

That evening, as the clan gathered in the Great Hall for the evening meal, the atmosphere was one of celebration and renewed unity. Stories were told of the previous night's adventures, toasts were raised to their lady's courage, and plans were made for the future.

"I've never been prouder of this clan," Bhaltair announced as the evening wound down. "When it mattered most, when our family was threatened, ye all came together. Ye showed what it truly means to be a Ferguson."

The cheer that went up from the assembled folk was deafening, but it was the individual expressions of loyalty and affection that meant the most to Sìne. She was no longer the MacKay Witch or an outsider who had bewitched their laird. She was Lady Ferguson, mistress of the clan and their kin.

Later, in the evening, Sìne found Dugald sitting alone, staring morosely at nothing.

"Dugald?" she said gently. "Are ye well?"

The old warrior looked up, his face creased with sadness. "Paisley," he replied simply. "I had developed feelings for the lass. Even thought about asking for yer permission to court her properly."

Sìne's heart ached for him. "I'm so sorry, Dugald. I ken this must be difficult."

"I just cannot believe she was a threat to ye and the bairn all along," he continued, shaking his head. "She seemed so honest. So caring."

"People are not always what they seem," Sìne replied, settling beside him on the bench. "But that does not mean yer feelings were wrong, or that the woman ye cared for never existed. Perhaps there were parts of Paisley that were real, even if her intent was false."

Dugald was quiet for a long moment. "Perhaps," he said finally. "It just makes a man question his judgment, ye ken?"

"Ye're not the only one she fooled," Sìne reminded him. "She lived in my home for months. I trusted her with my daughter, confided in her, considered her a friend. If yer judgment is flawed, then so is mine, and Bhaltair's, and everyone else's who welcomed her."

"Thank ye, mistress," Dugald replied with a small smile. "Ye've a kind way about ye."

As Sìne made her way back to the dais, she reflected on the strange turns her life had taken.

Less than a year ago, she had been a lonely healer living on the edge of MacKay lands, viewed with suspicion and fear by those around her.

Now she was surrounded by people who loved and valued her, protected by forces she did not fully understand, and blessed with a family that meant more to her than life itself.

The voices in the mist had guided her home, just as they had promised. But more than that, they had given her the strength to fight for that home when it was threatened. As she sat beside Bhaltair and Aidyn, Sìne smiled with contentment realising she was right where she was meant to be.

***