A Spy at the Highland Court

by Barclay, Celeste

  The men had been searching for nearly three weeks when they made their way onto Stewart land. One of his men suggested that they at least inquire in case she was trying to make her way back to Stirling and was disoriented. Ric agreed, but held little hope of gaining any further news about Isa. He feared she was dead, and he would never find her body.

  He trudged up the steps to the main doors of the Stewart keep and was led into the Great Hall. He was unprepared to see his wife sitting next to a man on the dais, leaning into him as they conversed.

  “Isa?” Ric whispered then bellowed.

  Isa and the man sitting next to her turned to the commotion at the door as a man drew his sword and guards leaped forward to restrain him.

  “What the devil are you doing sitting with my wife?”

  “She is a guest in my home.” The handsome dark-haired man stood. Ric quickly noticed that he was taller and heavier than the man, but he would not underestimate any laird who survived in Scotland. Between the war with England and the clashes between the clans, surviving as a laird required cunning and fighting skills.

  “My wife is returning to her own home. Now.” Ric broke loose and charged toward the dais.

  “I don’t believe she wishes to go anywhere with you. I believe that’s why she is here to begin with.”

  Ric halted as he looked at the man and then at Isa who seemed to sit in suspended animation. She looked ready to rise from her seat, but she also had a staying hand reaching for the man’s arm.

  Ric looked at Isa and could not put his finger on what bothered him most. Perhaps it was the way she sat so cozily, or maybe the fact that she had traveled directly there apparently unharmed when he had spent three weeks failing to track her. Ric was fairly certain it was the fact that she looked relaxed and happy, or at least had before she saw him. She was in a gown that fit her perfectly and her hair was styled as it had been at court.

  “Where is the lady of the keep?” Ric looked around but saw no other lady who fit the rank of a laird’s wife.

  “She is right here,” the impertinent man looked over at Isa.

  “Where the hell did you get the clothes, Isa, if he has no wife to share them with you?”

  “They’re mine.”

  Ric was certain he saw red. He surged forward ready to impale the man who was not only harboring his runaway wife, but was clothing her, too.

  Isa leaned back in her chair, growing nervous as she saw rage fill Ric in a way that even his first encounter with Alasdair had not done.

  “You’re frightening my sister. She ran from you, and now you’re scaring her. Get out.” Andrew stepped toward the edge of the dais, and Isa pushed back her chair so hard that it clattered to the ground. She skirted around the table and tried to get between the two men.

  “Lady Isabella doesn’t have any brothers. Sisters yes, but brothers no.”

  “Actually Ric, I do. Put your sword away before one of Andrew’s guards runs you through for threatening the laird in his own keep.” Isa remained between her husband who had his hand on his sword hilt and her brother who carried more knives than even most Highlanders. Both Ric’s physical appearance and his arrival in her brother’s keep discomfited her. She waited until he let go of the hilt of his sword. “Andrew is my half-brother. Before my mother married my father, she was married to Andrew’s father, Laird Stewart. After his death, the king allowed my mother to remain here until Andrew was old enough to foster, then he ordered my mother to return to her clan, which she did. My mother was a Comyn, and her father arranged the marriage to my father as a way to form an alliance.”

  Isa did not need to add that the alliance was to fight against King Robert and to aid the English.

  “You never told me you had a brother.”

  Isa’s gaze hardened as she glared at Ric.

  “There is a lot we didn’t tell each other.”

  Ric seemed to go hollow before her eyes as he nodded.

  “That is true. Are you happy here, Isa?”

  Isa looked at Ric and wanted to tell him that she had been miserable, but she also wanted to protect herself.

  “Happy enough.”

  The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she had made the wrong decision. Ric looked at Andrew before looking at her.

  “If you’re happy here, Isa, I won’t force you to leave. I don’t wish to leave you here, but I don’t want to make you miserable either. If my men and I might benefit from a night’s rest in the barracks, we’ll ride out at dawn.”

  “You can’t sleep in the barracks.” Ric would have laughed at Isa’s appalled expression if he had not felt like he had just come out the losing side of the worst battle of his life. “Ric, you should have a chamber within the keep.”

  Ric shook his head, but Isa stepped down from the dais.

  “Ric, you don’t look well. Please stay in a chamber,” she whispered.

  “Why does what I look like matter to you?”

  Isa jerked back as though he had slapped her. She shook her head as she backed away, and Ric wanted to reach out to her, bring her back to where he could embrace her like he had so many times before.

  “Do as you like. You always do.”

  Neither Isa nor Ric had noticed Andrew speaking to the housekeeper until Isa turned back to the dais.

  “Sir Dedric, Mary will show you to a chamber. You are welcome to spend the night and be on your way in the morning.”

  Ric looked between Isa and Andrew before nodding. He trudged up the stairs behind the older woman, and Isa once again worried about how defeated he looked.

  “So how much longer are you going to punish the poor sod?”

  “Andrew, this was never about punishing him. I simply cannot live with him any longer.”

  “When are you going to tell me what happened? You arrived here in the middle of the night looking like a drowned rat, then slept for nearly two days and have barely eaten in a fortnight. Today was the first time you’ve laughed, and it ended when he arrived. What the devil did he do? You assured me he never raised a hand to you. Was that not true?”

  “He’s never struck me, and I’m sure he would kill any man who tried to.”

  “Was he unfaithful to you? Isa, you can’t expect that.”

  “That was part of it, but not the entire reason. Andrew, I can’t tell you.”

  Andrew pulled Isa in for a brotherly embrace, and she welcomed the comfort that he had always offered as a sibling ten years her senior.

  “Well, I think you will have little choice but to resolve this one way or another.”

  “It is resolved. He leaves in the morning.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Mary showed him to your chamber.”

  “Andrew, no! Dear God, what have you done?”

  Isa pushed past Andrew and bolted for the stairs. She ascended as quickly as she could and raced down the passageway before bursting through the last door along the corridor. She found Ric looking into one of her chests as he fingered the sleeve of a gown hanging on a peg.

  “You already have a life started here. How could you have had so many clothes made so quickly? Did you plan to come here even before we argued?”

  “No. I didn’t know this was where I would go until I’d led Bridei out of the keep. I—I thought you might get here sooner. Is Alasdair not with you?”

  “No. I made him stay behind in case you returned. I didn’t want you in the keep alone.”

  “Alone? With more than a hundred people coming and going each day, with an entire barracks full of warriors. I was never alone.”

  “You were if I wasn’t there to protect you, and the only other man I trust was gone too.”

  “Ric, you see danger where none exists. You seem to so easily forget that I grew up on that land. I know what life is like there just as well as you do. I may not have fought any battles, but I remember the raids when I was a child. I remember my father riding out and none of us knowing if he would return. I know the risks, but not every corner
has someone waiting to jump out and slit my throat.”

  “You don’t know that,” Ric whispered.

  “Then maybe you should have told me the truth. Maybe then I would have been appropriately cautious, but I never suspected I might be the target of both English and Scottish fighters.”

  “And making you a target is why I didn’t tell you anything that might be used against you or me. If one of Edward’s men thought he could gain information from you or kidnap you to coerce me, I might truly lose you. The less you know, the less anyone can force out of you.”

  “And if there’s a raid while you are gone? How do I know who to trust? How do I know if the warriors who arrive are friend or foe, there to kill me or there to save me?”

  “That’s why Alasdair remained at the keep whenever I rode out.”

  Isa threw her hands up in the air with an aggravated growl.

  “And this is why I left. You expect me to trust you, a spy, implicitly, when you don’t trust me at all.”

  Ric moved to reach out for her but dropped his hand when he was not sure how she would respond. She took a step closer but then caught herself.

  “You never did say how you came to have so many clothes here. How could you if you didn’t plan to be here?”

  “Because I often came here while I was at court. The king visited many times. Andrew’s father swore fealty to Edward, but much like my father, reversed his position. Unlike my father, Andrew’s father picked up the banner for Scottish independence, fighting alongside King Robert beyond just the days he owed as his fealty. Andrew has always been loyal to Robert. I came here for many holidays too, since my clan is not always in favor. It eventually became easier to leave clothing here than have chests hauled back and forth. This keep feels almost as much like home as Duchtag Moore and far more like home than court ever did.”

  “And you will serve as your brother’s chatelaine?”

  “If he asks me to, and I choose to remain here.”

  “You still haven’t decided?”

  “It will likely not be my choice to make in the long run.”

  Ric did step toward Isa until they came toe to toe, but he still did not reach for her.

  “I won’t force you to come back with me, Isa. I won’t hold you captive in the name of being married. But you are still my wife, so I won’t allow anyone to dictate where you live. It is your choice.”

  “Then why are you making it so impossible?” Isa’s eyes filled with tears. “I believed you all those times you said you would be faithful. Then the moment we arrive at what is supposed to be our home, you bring your mistress to it. You’ve hidden a horrible truth from me that could just as easily get me killed for treason as it could you. You’ve lied over and over. Everything has been a lie. The man I fell in—”

  Isa slammed her mouth shut and tried to turn away, but Ric’s hand lightly gripped her waist. It was the first time he had touched her since he arrived. Electricity sparked between them as Ric pulled her against him, and she did not resist.

  “I love you, Isabella.”

  Tears streamed down Isa’s cheeks as she shook her head.

  “Don’t say that,” she croaked. “No more lies. Please, not that one.”

  “I have never meant anything more than I mean those.” Ric took her hand and led them to the edge of the bed. “Sit with me, please, and I’ll explain everything.”

  Isa suddenly felt too tired to fight Ric, so she sat beside him. She wanted to lean against him but fought the pull until he wrapped his arm around her. She rested her head against his shoulder as the tears continued to fall.

  “Isa, I barely remember my father. He’s more like a mythical figure than a real man in my mind, but I do remember my mother. Clearly. I remember how she smelled, the sound of her laugh, the way she would offer me the first bite of the fresh loaves she baked. I remember the chamber I shared with them, and then only my mother after my father was killed. It’s where I watched the English assault, then murder her.” Ric’s arm reflexively tightened around Isa. “I’m terrified the same will happen to you. I was too selfish to leave you at court. I couldn’t overcome my need to be near you, but now I can’t stomach the idea of you dying the way my mother did. And for the same reasons. Isa, my father loved my mother, but he failed to protect her. He didn’t ensure she would have the protection she needed if he was gone. He shared things with her that the English tried to force from her. I won’t make the same mistake as he did. I do love you, Isa. More than my own life. I’ve told you from the beginning that there is nothing I won’t do to protect you, and I thought that meant keeping the truth from you.”

  Isa snaked her arms around Ric’s waist as she sobbed. He waited until her tears slowed, and she sat up.

  “But that isn’t love, Ric. Not completely. Maybe if I was your child, but I’m your wife. I’m the lady of the keep and responsible for the lives of our clan when you are gone. Besides myself, how can I keep our people safe when I don’t whether I can trust you or anyone else? Whose side are you on?”

  Ric looked into Isa’s watery green eyes and knew there was no avoiding explaining everything from the very beginning. He wiped the tears from her face before lifting her onto his lap. When she did not resist, he positioned them so they leaned against the headboard and stretched out their legs.

  “You know my past as far as being forced into service for Edward. When my tenure drew near to the end, I began to think about what I would do next. I considered moving to France, but there was no one there who I wished to serve, and there was no home for me either. I did not want to wander from village to village hiring myself out as a mercenary. I wanted to come home. I wanted to come back to Scotland and not to fight against my own people.”

  “I’m glad you chose to come here rather than France,” Isa whispered as a shiver ran through her at the thought of never meeting Ric.

  “When I fought for Edward, I fought more to stay alive than to defend his cause. I never believed he had a righteous calling to be the Hammer of the Scots. Lord Geoffrey Wingate was who I fought for when I first became a knight, and I did mean my allegiance to him. He was the closest substitute for a father that I had. I was his squire, and he taught me how to control my anger and grief and make those my weapon rather than what consumed me.”

  “I suppose one should count even small blessings. At least you had someone you could trust and respect.”

  Ric shrugged as he remembered how tenuous his relationship with Geoffrey had been in his early days as a squire. He had to admit that he missed the man who was a surrogate father.

  “Shortly after I received my spurs, the king summoned me to his direct service. I had little choice but to go, as I’d been forced down the path of knighthood before I understood what that commitment would mean. I felt I owed Geoffrey for the time he spent raising me and training me. Then I was bound to Edward. Within weeks of being at court, I met Bella.”

  Isa made a sound of disgust but nodded her head when Ric’s eyebrows shot up.

  “She flirted and fawned over me, and I thought I was in love with her. We began an affair I believed was leading to marriage. A month later, I learned that not only was she engaged in affairs with several courtiers, she had been tasked with seducing me, so Edward could measure my commitment to him. Obviously, the connection I believed I had with Bella was one-sided.”

  Isa remained tense as her dislike of Bella grew with Ric’s retelling of his past.

  “That was eight years ago, and I haven’t touched her since. After that, I wished to be away from court and Edward as often as I could. Time away quickly made me realize two things. First, I never loved Bella, but I was infatuated with her and the attention she paid me as a young, landless knight. Second, it confirmed that Edward is a man to never trust, not even the slightest.”

  “I count myself lucky then that the luster wore off all those years ago, or I would not be here with you,” Isa mused. “Sorry. Please, go on.”

  “I would see Bella when
I returned to court, but I kept my distance, and she had moved on to more important and influential men. She flirted once in a while, but she had about as much intention of bedding me again as I did her, which was none.”

  “Good,” Isa muttered under her breath before flashing a guilty smile.

  “I thought I was about to gain my freedom, but Edward sent me on one final mission. I was to spy for him among my clan. I was to become a MacLellan in truth, or the truth I presented, and then report to Bella what I learned. She has a relay of messengers and go-betweens that I’m sure exceeds anything the king has contrived on his own. Once I met the MacLellans, however, I couldn’t do it. My aunt is the exact image of my mother. It was like seeing a ghost.”

  “I can’t imagine how that must have felt after all these years.” A tremor passed through Ric, and she ran her hand soothingly over his broad chest as she waited for him to continue.

  “It would have been like I was the one to kill my own mother if I shared anything that endangered them. And once they got past my accent, I was welcomed as a member of the clan. It was there and then that I decided I couldn’t go through with Edward’s orders. Bella kept appearing at the most inopportune times, but it was intentional, so as fair turnaround, I intentionally fed her misinformation. I went to Robert’s court because I did want to make my home here, and I wanted to be done with England. If I had to fight for Robert in order to earn a plot of land, then so be it. I never imagined I would meet a woman that I fell in love with within moments of meeting her.”

  “I never believed it was possible to fall in love with someone so quickly, but I’ve hated every second of imaging my life without you. It’s an agony unlike anything I’ve ever endured.” Isa placed a kiss over Ric’s heart as their arms wrapped tighter around each other before Ric continued.

  “When I met with the king to arrange our betrothal, he named me a spy for Edward, but did not harbor any animosity to me. I’d proven myself before his brother and the Sinclairs. He did hold your hand in marriage hostage.”

  “What?” Isa broke in.