Ceci Giltenan

by Highland Solution

  “Aye, my lady. I’ll try to forget he called me a maid.”

  “He called ye big and ugly, too, Turcuil,” observed Edna.

  “Aye, love, I won’t argue about being big and ugly, but I am no maid.”

  “Well, if Fingal doesn’t want me to put bitter herbs in his broth, he’d better not call ye ugly, either.”

  Fingal rolled his eyes, causing Katherine to laugh as she left them to look for Tomas.

  ~ * ~

  Katherine found Tomas tending Mab in the stable. “Father Colm said ye were looking for me earlier.”

  “Aye, I was. I have to tell ye something, but we need to be alone.”

  “We could go to my room. Will that do?” He nodded and they walked to the keep, going straight to the east tower. Katherine had barely shut the door to her chamber when Tomas’ arms were around her, holding tight as if he were afraid of something. “Tomas, what is it, sweetheart?”

  “Da told me to rest yesterday and I went to my room but I just couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking Mab might need me. Mama, I only wanted to go out to the stable for a few minutes to check on her, and I was going to go back to my room and rest like Da said to.”

  “So ye snuck out to the stables when ye were supposed to be resting? Is that what has ye so upset?” He seemed awfully distressed over something so small.

  “Nay, I didn’t get to the stables. When I walked down the stairs, I heard two people talking in the stairwell. They were whispering and I couldn’t understand most of it, but one of them said Da was going to die.”

  “What?” Tomas, maybe ye misunderstood.”

  “One person said something was going to end in Da’s death and Duncurra would finally be the other person’s. Mama, I don’t want Da to die.” Tomas was near tears.

  “Tomas, don’t worry, Da isn’t going to die. Sweetheart, did ye hear them say anything else?”

  Tomas nodded, tears slipping down his cheeks, “The other person said something about pretending to be something for too long, and being sorry he wouldn’t be the one to kill Da, because he wanted Da to know it was him.”

  “Then the people ye heard talking were men? Did ye see them?” Katherine asked.

  “I think they were men. I don’t know, they were whispering. I didn’t see them. Mama, I was scared and I went back to my room. I was afraid to come out. When Fineen brought me downstairs I wanted to tell ye, but I didn’t want—anyone to hear me tell ye. Then I tried to find ye this morning, but I couldn’t.”

  “It will be all right, Tomas. Stop crying, sweetheart. As soon as your da comes home, we’ll tell him. He will know what to do.” Katherine tried to reassure him, but her own mind spun as she tried to process what Tomas told her. She didn’t understand what, and perhaps more importantly, who Tomas had overheard.

  “I don’t want to go down to the great hall. I want to stay here with ye.”

  “Ye can stay here, Tomas. I will just let Edna know ye are not feeling well, so I will be here with ye here for a while. That way she can find me in case anyone needs me.” She decided not to worry Tomas more by telling him Fingal was injured. “I will be right back.” He nodded, looking forlorn.

  Katherine went downstairs, found Edna, and explained that Tomas wasn’t feeling well and she was going to sit with him for a bit. She asked Edna to send up some soup and bread, then returned to Tomas. Diarmad was on his way downstairs after having checked on Fingal, and met Katherine on her way up. “Diarmad, Tomas isn’t feeling well, if ye see Niall, will ye ask him to come up?”

  “Certainly, my lady, but the laird went out with a hunting party and I don’t expect him back until late this afternoon. Tomas seemed upset earlier, is there anything I can do?”

  “Nay, thank ye, Diarmad, it is probably just a combination of rich food and late nights,” she assured him. Because Tomas had no idea who he had overheard, she did not intend to tell anyone the real problem until she had talked to Niall.

  Nineteen

  Finally, very late in the afternoon, Niall returned from hunting. He learned of Fingal’s accident immediately and left his horse with the stable master. He intended to go straight upstairs to check on his brother, but Malcolm called to him when he entered the great hall. “Niall, lad, come join me,” he said, motioning to a servant to bring another tankard of ale.

  “I’ll be down in a few minutes, I just want to see how my clumsy brother is faring.”

  “There is no need to rush to Fingal’s side,” teased Malcolm, “it was merely a flesh wound and your wife has tended him well. She has been absent from us all afternoon. I’m sure if there were any problem with Fingal we would know about it. Come, sit and warm yourself.”

  Niall scowled. “If it was only a flesh wound, why was it necessary for Katherine to spend the afternoon tending him?”

  “Well, ye know women, They all love the attention of handsome young men. A captive audience is irresistible.” He winked.

  Niall fumed as he headed for the east tower. He went straight to Fingal’s chamber and entered without knocking, only to find Fingal alone and asleep. As he left the room, Niall met Diarmad in the corridor.

  “How fares your brother this evening?” asked Diarmad.

  “He is asleep.”

  “He has been most of the afternoon. Katherine gave him a potion when she stitched him up.”

  “Katherine didn’t stay with him?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t think so. Turcuil and Edna have kept an eye on him and were to notify Katherine if anything changed. Although with love blossoming, I am not sure they would notice. I believe she is in your chambers with Tomas now, he apparently is not feeling well. She wanted to see ye as soon as ye returned from hunting.”

  “Tomas is ill, too?” Niall headed to the stairs without waiting for an answer. When he reached their chamber, he found Katherine sitting with Tomas on her lap telling him a story.

  She looked up and her face flooded with relief, “Oh Niall, I am so glad you’re home.” She stood Tomas on the floor and crossed the room to hug him.

  He returned her hug, and put his hand on Tomas’ face, saying, “Diarmad said Tomas was ill.” Although Tomas appeared to be upset, he didn’t feel feverish.

  “He isn’t ill,” Katherine explained. “Something very upsetting happened yesterday and I wanted to talk to ye about it. I thought it better to keep him away from—everyone, until I did. Tomas, Tell your da what ye told me.”

  Tomas told the same story about slipping downstairs unnoticed and overhearing the whispered conversation. “Da, I don’t want ye to die,” said Tomas as he burst into tears again.

  Niall felt the anger rising in him but he tried not to let it show. “Stop crying, Tomas, I am not going to die, but I need ye to tell me as much as ye can about what ye overheard. Were they men? Did ye recognize either voice?”

  “They were whispering and I couldn’t hear them well. I think they were men, but I don’t know for sure.”

  “What exactly did they say?” pressed Niall.

  Tomas looked scared and Katherine said, “Tomas, Da isn’t angry with ye, he just wants ye to try to remember everything ye can.”

  Tomas said, “One person said everything was arranged and it would end in your death, Da, and he said Duncurra would belong to the other person then. The other person said he pretended to be something for too long. He was the one who said he was sorry he wasn’t the one who would kill ye, because he wanted ye to know it was him. That’s all I remember, Da.”

  Seething, but not wanting to scare Tomas more than he already was, Niall said, “It will be all right, Tomas, don’t worry.” Then Niall sent for Rab and instructed him take Tomas to his chamber and to let no one other than himself or Katherine in the room. When they were finally alone, he turned to Katherine and said with barely contained wrath, “It must be Fingal.”

  “Fingal?” Katherine said, aghast. “Niall, it certainly is not Fingal. He is loyal to ye—he loves ye.”

  “Nay, Katherine, he loves ye,”
Niall spat. “It can only be him. He thinks he would be Duncurra’s heir if I died. My dear little brother may have waited too long. He doesn’t realize there is another heir on the way.”

  “Niall, I think ye are jumping to conclusions. Talk to Fingal about this rationally.”

  “I will talk to Fingal, but I can’t right now because he is sleeping off the potion ye gave him,” Niall snapped. The stunned look on Katherine’s face did not cool his anger even though part of him knew he was being irrational.

  Katherine stammered, “I-I just gave him something to help with the pain.”

  “Well, we certainly wouldn’t want Fingal to be uncomfortable, would we?”

  She remained silent for a moment, then said softly, “What are we going to do about Tomas?”

  “We aren’t going to do anything. Tomorrow, after Fingal wakes, I will get to the bottom of this. If ye aren’t too busy tending my brother, I will take ye down now for the evening meal. Don’t speak of this to anyone.”

  Katherine said no more. During the meal Niall knew by his people’s reactions his unusually short-temper was clearly apparent. Katherine remained subdued and quieter than normal. Fine, everyone will assume we are arguing and there will be nothing to explain. As soon as dinner was over, Niall offered his apologies to Malcolm and Eithne, retiring with Katherine. On their way up the stairs, Katherine said, “I would like to check on—”

  “Fingal?” Niall said sharply, “Don’t ye think ye have offered him enough comfort for one day?”

  Katherine folded her hands in front of her and took a deep breath before saying with a controlled, calm voice, “Niall, I would like to check on our son before we retire. It is not necessary for me to check on Fingal. His wound is not serious. I’m not sure what I’ve done to anger ye, but I have not seen Fingal since I stitched him up this afternoon. As soon as I bandaged his wound, I gave instructions to Turcuil and Edna to look after him. I have not been back since then. If anything goes awry, they will let me know.”

  Niall wondered why she would say this when Malcolm had clearly told him she was with Fingal, but he didn’t call her on the lie. “I will go check on Tomas. Ye go to bed.”

  “Niall, he is afraid, I want to see him and kiss him goodnight.”

  “Do not argue with me tonight,” he growled, opening the door of their chamber for her. She walked silently past him and he shut the door before she could say anything else.

  When Niall returned, he found Katherine combing her hair, getting ready for bed. She looked so very beautiful and even though he was angry, he ached with need for her. Why had she spent the afternoon with Fingal and lied to him about it? He pulled her roughly into his arms. With one arm he held her to his chest, knotting his other hand in her hair so she could not turn away. His lips slanted across hers and his tongue plundered her mouth relentlessly. She responded to him by wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his kiss ardently.

  He broke the kiss and asked, “Why did ye lie to me?” searching her face for a clue to what she was thinking but seeing only confusion.

  “Niall, I don’t know what ye are talking about. I have never lied to ye and I never will. I love ye.”

  He gave her another searing kiss, wanting to believe her. He remembered the unbearable pain of betrayal at the hands of a woman whom he thought he loved, and didn’t think he could live through that again. When he drew away from her, he said fiercely, “Ye are mine, Katherine. Ye are mine. I will not share ye!”

  “Aye, Niall, I am only yours, completely and forever. I love ye.”

  He wondered if he was mad for believing those words, but he wanted them to be true. He carried her to the bed and made love to her urgently and passionately. She responded to his every touch with abandon. He wanted her, needed her, as he had never wanted or needed another person. How could she possibly understand that, and how could she possibly feel the same way about him? He poured his searing need into their joining, as if by the sheer intensity of his love-making he could convey all of this to her.

  ~ * ~

  Afterwards, when they both lay spent, his slow, regular breathing signaled that he slept. She lay with her head over his heart, gently stroking his chest and shoulder. She wondered if he would ever release the pain and doubt plaguing him, which made him so uncertain of her devotion. Eventually her mind turned to the events of the day.

  Who had Tomas overheard? Katherine didn’t want to believe, couldn’t believe, Fingal was one of the men involved, nor could she understand why Niall believed it with such assurance. She decided surely Niall would realize this when his anger cooled. Perhaps in the morning he would see things more rationally.

  In the wee hours of the morning they awoke to the sound of Diarmad pounding on their chamber door. “Laird, wake up! There has been a raid to the southwest. The fires have been spotted by the watch.”

  Niall jumped out of bed, dressing in an instant. He strapped on his sword before turning to Katherine, who had arisen and was dressing as well. "Ye stay here, in this room. Don’t leave for any reason until I come back,” he ordered sternly. “I mean it, Katherine,” he added even more forcefully, and strode out of the room, slamming the door.

  Katherine stared at the door in wide-eyed shock. She wasn’t sure if he had confined her to their chambers for her own safety or for some other reason, but she would not provoke his ire further by defying him. She did not leave the room.

  ~ * ~

  By the time Niall and a contingent of his men reached the site of the raid, the small cluster of farmers’ cottages and barns had burned to the ground. The raiders had completely destroyed everything in the dead of the night. Unlike the other raids in which they stole animals or burned hay, this time they had senselessly slaughtered the animals and set fire to the whole lot. The only thing for which Niall could be thankful was that the raiders had pulled his people from their homes before they torched the buildings. Even so, they killed three men, who had apparently tried to interfere. Surveying the ruins, he knew Matheson intended to send a message by this devastation. Diarmad approached him and asked, “Do ye want to send men to follow the raider’s trail?”

  Niall shook his head. “There is no need. We know the trail will lead to Matheson and we have little hope of catching them now. We must get these people back to Duncurra. When they are safe, I will decide what needs to be done.”

  Diarmad nodded and said, “Apparently, Matheson has returned your message. Old Una just told me the leader said to tell ye, ‘Duncurra is next.’”

  ~ * ~

  Niall brooded silently as they rode back to Duncurra, arriving after daybreak. He and Diarmad went to the great hall and he asked Cairbre and Alan to join them. He trusted these three men above all others. Once they arrived, he dismissed the servants and told his men about the conversation Tomas had overheard.

  Diarmad said, “Do ye think the pair he heard were somehow involved in this raid?”

  Niall shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. He heard them say ‘everything was arranged,’ but he also seemed to think whatever they were talking about would end in my death.”

  Diarmad answered, “Maybe they were lying in wait, assuming ye would follow the raiders.”

  “Ye didn’t track the raiders?” asked Alan.

  “It seemed pointless. They had already wrought the destruction and I decided it was more important to get my people safely back to Duncurra. Now I wish I had followed the spineless curs.”

  “Well,” said Cairbre, “If they were lying in wait, ye can bet ye would have been significantly outnumbered. Cowards are more likely to rely on numbers than skill. They lose more of their own, but achieve the outcome they desire. If it was their plan to ambush ye, your compassion for your clan has thwarted their attempt.”

  “Perhaps,” said Niall, “but regardless of whether this attack was what the conspirators were discussing or not, I have a much bigger problem. Someone here, at Duncurra, is plotting my death and the evidence points in one direction.
..Fingal.”

  His men stared at him in astonishment. Cairbre was the first to respond, “Laird, that isn’t possible. Fingal has worshipped ye from the moment he could toddle. There is no one more loyal to ye than Fingal.”

  Niall turned on him darkly. “Really?” said Niall with derision. “Whoever it was admitted to pretending to be something he wasn’t. Fingal’s devotion could all be pretense. Tell me, who else would inherit Duncurra?”

  “Laird, I know it looks damning, but I, too, can’t believe Fingal is behind this,” said Diarmad.

  “What is Fingal behind?” said Malcolm casually as he walked into the great hall.

  “Well, ye may as well know, too,” said Niall, before quickly running through the events of the last few days.

  Malcolm looked shocked and concerned. “I have trouble believing Fingal could be involved in a plot against ye, Niall. Perhaps young Tomas misheard or imagined the whole thing. Maybe he just made it up for the attention.”

  Niall shook his head. “Nay, I have questioned him at length, his story doesn’t vary, and he’s terrified. I believe Tomas heard what he said he did. Fingal thinks he is the one who would inherit Duncurra.”

  “Isn’t he?” asked Malcolm.

  “Nay. Katherine wanted to wait to make the announcement, but she is with child. If something were to happen to me, the bairn stands to inherit Duncurra, not Fingal.”

  Niall’s men congratulated him, their happiness dampened somewhat by the serious circumstances in which they found themselves.

  Niall said, “Perhaps Fingal worried about something like this. The attacks increased after I married Katherine. Maybe he was hoping to seize control before there was an heir.”

  Alan said, “Niall, I can’t explain what Tomas overheard, but like Cairbre and Diarmad, I cannot believe Fingal is behind this.”

  “If ye are sure the lad is telling the truth, now, as I think more about it, I’m not so sure it isn’t Fingal,” Malcolm said. “Fingal certainly would expect to inherit Duncurra. He also knows, and by all accounts, was friendly with Tadhg Matheson while they were in training. If Matheson was aiding him, it would explain why the conspirator bemoaned the fact he would not be the one to kill ye. He expected Matheson or one of his men would. Maybe Fingal staged his own accident to ensure no one suspected him.”