It was nigh impossible to find an opponent who was as close to Wee William in size or weight or in experience and abilities. He had not been defeated either in training or on the battlefield in nearly ten years. Anyone who had never seen Wee William fight or train, might be led to believe he could be defeated simply because he was so big. Philip Douglas was not so ignorant. He had been fighting against Wee William in three festivals to date and he knew there was a very good chance he’d not win again this day. Still, it was all in fun and he had to at least try.
The matched was called to a start and both men circled each other for a few moments, swords drawn and at the ready as they sized up one another. Philip was the first to swing his sword, to which Wee William answered by blocking it with his own.
Philip believed he might have a chance at beating Wee William if he were to wear the man down. Believing a man of such size would, hopefully, wear down easily, Philip took his time with small thrusts and jabs.
This was not Wee William’s first games. It took only a few moments to understand Philip’s intention. There were other fights to be won at these games and Wee William wanted to take his wife home so that she could make good on her promised boon. He debated momentarily on whether he should at least make it appear as though it was a battle well fought or end it quickly.
As they spun around the circle, he caught a glimpse of his wife. He could read her face as easily as he could read a book. She was attempting to look as though she was not worried about him, but he could still see her apprehension. He decided to end the match quickly.
In the span of three heartbeats, Wee William answered Philip’s upward sword thrust by blocking it with his own. He followed through with his left arm coming down hard on the back of Philip’s head, which sent Philip to his knees. A heartbeat later, Wee William had the young man on his back and his dagger a hairs breadth away from the young man’s throat. It was an easy win, but a win nonetheless.
The crowd erupted in a combination of applause and cheers and disappointment. Wee William knew they would have preferred a much longer and more challenging match, but the day was still early. There would be far better men to fight as the day wore on.
As Wee William helped Philip to his feet and dusted the man off, he looked to the crowd again for his wife. He found her still standing next to Aishlinn, but the look on Nora’s face wasn’t one of pride or adoration. Nora’s face was as white as a sheet and she looked as though she had just witnessed a most horrific sight. He watched in a state of confusion as Nora stared at something across the ring.
Wee William’s heart seized as he watched his beautiful wife fall to the ground.
Twenty-Six
Bree had decided earlier in the day that she must find out why Gillon had lied to her. No matter that Nora and Aishlinn had told her, that the why of his lies was not as important as the lie itself, Bree had to know. If there was something nefarious going on, something that would put her family and her clan in jeopardy, she had to know what it was.
So she set about to find out. In hindsight she questioned her plan of extracting information. Mayhap it would have been better to tell someone what her intentions had been. Mayhap she should have gone to her father and told him what Gillon had told her. Mayhap she shouldn’t have gone to Gillon and told him her own little lie in hopes of learning more.
For if she had done any of those things, she would not now be sitting atop a horse with her hands bound and her heart racing with fear. She would not be Gillon’s prisoner and heading toward Randolph lands.
As it stood, no one knew where she was or what had happened. There wouldn’t be hoards of MacDougall warriors in fast pursuit, at least not yet. Nay, she was going to have to rely on her own wits and instincts if she were to get out of this alive.
Doubt over her wits and instincts had taken hold however. Bree was no longer certain if she should rely on them further. It had been her instincts that had gotten her into the mess to begin with. She battled with the doubt and fear as they rode through MacDougall lands.
When she caught Gillon looking at her as though she were a piece of venison, her resolve to get out of this predicament alive began to return. Nay, she’d not let Gillon Randolph get away with this, not with any of it.
She returned his devious smile with one of her own. You can go straight to hell, Gillon Randolph.
Wee William rushed to his wife’s side, pushing people out of his way as he knelt to the ground. He could not fathom why she had looked so terrified just before she collapsed to the ground.
He lifted her head into his arms. “Nora!” His voice was laced with worry, dread, confusion, and fear. “Nora!”
Isobel knelt on the other side of Wee William and began to look for signs of wounds or other trauma. “What the bloody hell happened?” she demanded to no one in particular. The crowd around them murmured they did not know.
Wee William touched Nora’s forehead. It felt clammy and cold.
“Get her to the keep,” Isobel ordered as she stood.
Wee William scooped his wife up and raced toward the keep. He paid no attention to what anyone was telling him as his mind raced with a thousand reasons as to why Nora had fainted. His mind flashed back to when Elise and John were ill. He knew in his heart that he could not bear the thought of Nora being as sick as the children had been.
With his wife in his arms, he bounded up the stairs of the keep and directly to Aishlinn’s former bedchamber. Gently, as if she were made of glass, he laid Nora on the bed. His eyes scanned her limp body for any indication as to what would have caused her to faint. There was no blood, no signs of a wound of any kind.
Her skin was still cold, her forehead and hands damp. Wee William drew a blanket up and covered her with it as he spoke to her in soft, hushed and worried tones.
“Nora, please wake up,” he pleaded with her.
She did not stir.
Tears of worry filled his eyes as quickly as the terrifying scenarios that played out in his mind.
He held her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it while he pleaded quietly with her to open her eyes, to say something, to please not leave him.
Wee William could not say how much time passed before Isobel and Mary entered the room. Mary carried in a bowl of water while Isobel held linens in her arms. In very little time, they set about placing damp clothes on her forehead and began to examine her again.
Wee William’s head fell to rest near Nora’s. He was rubbing the back of her hand as he prayed silently that she would be well. Mayhap she had just become too hot in the afternoon sun. Or perhaps she had been far more worried over watching him spar than he realized.
Isobel had loosened the ties on Nora’s dress while Mary had removed her boots. Wee William paid no attention.
A short time later, Nora began to mumble and opened her eyes. She looked about the room, confused as to how she had come to be there.
“William,” Nora scratched out when she saw him at her side.
Wee William sat up with a start and the look of relief on his face was undeniable.
“Nora!” he cried out. He breathed a very heavy sigh of relief. “You scared the bloody hell out of me!”
The foggy cloud began to lift as she began to remember. Her heart felt heavy as the image of Horace came to the forefront.
“Horace,” she said.
Wee William looked positively confused. Why would she be thinking of him?
Nora tried to sit, but the wave of nausea roiled in her belly. She swallowed it down and hoped she would not throw up. She closed her eyes and waited for the wave to pass. “I saw Horace,” she whispered.
Wee William shook his head. Nay, it was impossible. Wee William had spent weeks convincing himself that if Horace Crawford had lived, he was too selfish and too big a coward to come to Scotland to retrieve his wife.
“Nay, lass,” Wee William said, trying to sound far more confident than he actually felt at the moment. A voice niggled at the back of his mind th
at warned him he might be about to lose everything he loved in this world if what Nora said was true. He pushed the thought away. He could not lose Nora.
“Mayhap you were just overly hot from the afternoon sun. Mayhap it was just someone who looked like Horace.” Wee William said. He was trying to convince both of them.
“Nay! I know what I saw, William!” Nora argued. To her very core she knew it was him, the man who had hurt her in so many possible ways. What she could not figure out was how. How had he lived? Rowan and Black Richard and the others had taken Horace and his brothers away, to kill them, to make her a widow. Wee William had told her as much.
It was Duncan’s voice that Wee William heard next.
“Nora speaks the truth.” Duncan said as he stepped into the room. “Aishlinn saw him as well.”
Wee William spun and looked at Duncan. Wee William felt as though his entire world was falling apart. He would have to be honest with his wife now. He could only pray that she would understand that he had done all that he had done because he loved her.
“Is Aishlinn well?” Isobel asked as she came to Duncan’s side.
“Aye, she’s in your room with the babe and Angus,” Duncan answered. His eyes were glued to Wee William.
“How could they still be alive?” Nora asked worriedly as she looked to her husband for answers.
Wee William stood then and let go of his wife’s hand. His heart felt lodged in his throat.
“William,” Nora said softly as she carefully sat up. “What is it that you’re not telling me?”
Wee William walked to the window. He did not see the crowds, the banners, or the children playing. He did not hear the sounds of laughter and music that floated up and into the room. All he saw in his mind was the image of a very angry and hurt Nora packing her things and leaving him.
“Lass,” Duncan began quietly. “Ye must ken that what we did, we did fer ye and Aishlinn.”
Nora turned her gaze to Duncan. “What do you mean?”
Duncan continued to look at Wee William’s back as he answered Nora’s query. “The men were under strict orders no’ to kill anyone. Rowan and Black Richard, they took Horace and his brothers far away from the farm. With no clothes or furs to keep the three of them warm, Rowan assumed the bastards would freeze to death. No one thought they’d find their way home let alone survive the night.”
The wave of nausea returned and Nora felt dizzy again. Her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts. Why would Wee William have lied about killing Horace?
Wee William turned away from the window and looked at his wife.
“Why did you lie?” Nora asked him. “Why did you ask me if I wanted to be a widow? Why did you let me believe Horace and his brothers were dead?”
“I saw the fear in yer eyes that night, Nora. I saw what the bastard had done to yer face. I canna explain to ye why I even asked ye that question. I just kent that I could no’ allow such a wee, bonny lass as ye to remain with a man who treated women with such contempt and hatred.”
Nora’s head continued to spin and race. She was still married to Horace. She had never been a widow. I’m married to two men at once! The thought made her feel all the more like throwing up.
“Ye made me an adulteress!” she yelled at Wee William. “Ye made me a whore, a bigamist, and adulteress!”
Wee William rushed to her side and tried to hold her hands. She refused him, could not look at him.
“Nay, Nora! Ye must believe me. Ye be none of those things!”
“How can you say that? I was not a widow when I married you!”
“Nay, ye weren’t,” Wee William said.
“You lied, William.” Nora’s voice had turned to ice. Her heart was shattering inside and the pieces felt like tiny knives cutting at her soul.
Wee William stood upright. Deep down he knew the day would come when he’d have to tell her the truth. He had hoped it would not have been for another thirty or forty years.
“Yes, I lied to ye then. I lied to protect ye.”
“Protect me from what? From Horace?” Nora spat at him.
“Aye! From Horace and from the fear that man had put into ye! To help ye gain a new life, to help ye to be rid of him and all the bad memories! I did it fer ye, Nora.”
She shook her head. “Nay, you did it for your own selfish reasons! You could have told me, from the beginning or every time after when I thanked you for making me a widow. You could have told me the truth. I’m not a weak woman, William. I could have dealt with the truth.”
“Nay, ye be no weak woman, I ken that. But yer my woman.”
Nora wished that she could have stood up to slap him, but the dizziness and nausea prohibited it.
“I’m your woman no longer,” she seethed. “Get out. Get out and do not come back!”
She could not have hurt him more had she run a sword through his heart. “If ye’ll let me explain,”
Nora cut him off. “I do not wish to hear more of your lies, William. Please, leave me now.” Leave me now before I change my mind.
Nora did not doubt that Wee William loved her. She would never question that. But she did not know if she had the strength or courage to stay with him, knowing he often lied or at the least, skirted the truth. It mattered not at the moment that he proclaimed that he had lied to protect her. The reasons why he lied were not as important as the fact he had lied. Had she not just told Bree the very same thing? And if he would lie about something as important as this, what else would he lie about? She doubted if she could trust him again.
“Nora,” Wee William said as he lowered his voice. He had to get her to see reason, to understand why he had done all that he had done. “I am sorry. Ye must ken the why of it.”
“No, I don’t William. I don’t need to know the why of it. I only know that I cannot trust you. You married me knowing full well that I was still married to Horace.”
Wee William let loose a frustrated breath. “Nay, ye were no’ still married to him. I had yer marriage to Horace annulled.”
Nora’s brow furrowed with confusion. “How on earth could you have gotten my marriage to Horace annulled without my knowledge or consent?”
The initiation ceremony had seemed like such a good idea at the time. It had been the only way to assuage his guilt over not telling her the truth. At the time, he felt rather proud of his plan. Now, when he looked into his wife’s eyes and saw the pain and sorrow he had caused, he no longer felt so proud.
“Do ye remember the initiation ceremony?” he asked.
It took only a moment for her to replay that day in her mind and another moment for her to figure it out. All the questions about Horace. All that she had said about what she would have done if she could have done it. It all made perfectly good sense now.
She was beyond angry, she was furious. “How many other lies have you told me? Wait! Do not answer that for I do not want to know!” She was shouting at him now and did not care one bit who might hear her.
She wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Nora was never one to wallow in self-pity, but this was beyond the pale. Thinking was nearly impossible with him still in the room, pleading with her, looking so forlorn and lost. Well, she thought to herself, it serves him right for lying, for not believing in her enough to tell her the truth of it.
“Please, William, leave me be for now. I need time to think.”
It took every ounce of willpower he owned not the sink to his knees and beg her forgiveness. His heart screamed for the chance to have her listen to him, to allow him to explain his actions. He studied her face for several long moments. The pain, the hurt, was all too apparent. Mayhap if he gave her some time to think things through and for the anger to subside, he might stand a better chance at explaining it to her.
Duncan walked to Wee William and placed a hand on his shoulder to guide him from the room. He whispered to Wee William, “She needs some time to think, Wee William. Do not fash yourself over it much. Aishlinn is just as angry with me as No
ra is with ye.”
He knew Duncan was trying to make him feel better, but it wasn’t working. Suddenly it dawned on Wee William that if both Nora and Aishlinn had seen Horace and his brothers, then there was a very strong chance that the two of them were in grave danger.
Casting another look at his wife, who lay in the bed with tears brimming in those beautiful eyes, Wee William relented. “I’ll leave ye now, Nora. All that I ask is that ye ken me heart. I love ye, more than I love anything else in this world.”
Nora responded by turning away from him. He could only pray that time would help to heal this chasm he’d put between them. He imagined that the one thing that could help him most now, was to find Horace Crawford and finally do what he should have done months ago. Kill the whoreson.
Wee William and Duncan stood in the hallway outside of Nora’s temporary chambers, trying to decide the best plan of action. Few people knew what Horace Crawford or his brothers looked like. Wee William was relieved to know that John and Elise were tucked safely away in Isobel’s chambers. They would stay in the keep until Horace and his brothers were found.
As they made plans, Nial and Caelen appeared, and neither of them looked very happy.
“What be the matter?” Duncan asked as the two men approached.
“Bree is missing!” Nial said. He looked positively beside himself with worry. “We’ve been looking all the afternoon for her and she is no where to be found.”
Duncan and Wee William cast curious looks to one another.
“And Gillon Randolph is missing as well,” Caelen put forth.
Wee William could not think of a time in all the years that he had known both Caelen and Nial that he had ever seen the two of them this angry or worried. It left a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Have ye told Angus?” Wee William asked.
“Aye,” Nial answered. “He’s putting together a search party for them now. One of the Carruthers’ men believes he saw Gillon and Bree leaving before the noon meal, riding out on horseback together. If they went out for a leisurely ride, they should have been back by now.”
Wee William's Woman, Book Three of the Clan MacDougall Series Page 35
