“There were no witnesses to this handfasting.”
“You’re witnessing it now. Did we plight our troth, Isobel?”
“Aye, we did,” Isobel answered readily.
There was another long pause.
“Once she is examined,” the elder said, “and your claim confirmed, your father will be notified.”
The group shuffled out, taking the light with them.
They sat in silence for a long time, Isobel too frightened to think or speak.
Out of the darkness Philip suddenly spoke. “Know this, Isobel MacDonell. I’ve loved you since I first set eyes on you, I think—but I did not lie when I said I was afraid of you. I’ve been a fool and a coward, and if I could go back…” He trailed off and after a moment his voice came back to her, stronger, “If I could go back to that morning at Lochlaire, I’d never let you walk out on me.”
“And I vow that I’ll never walk out again, Philip.” She would have said more, but the lock jangled again.
Isobel had expected her “examination” to take place in a private room somewhere, so she was shocked when an old woman was brought down to the cellar. She shoved her filthy hands up Isobel’s skirts and groped around. Isobel cried out in mortified pain once and Philip’s fingers gripped hers reassuringly.
When the old woman straightened, she said, “She’s a virgin.”
“What?” The word exploded from Philip and the entire stake shuddered as he tried to lunge at someone. “That’s a bloody lie!” The cellar door slammed, plunging them back into darkness, but Philip lit a blue streak of swear words. From that Isobel gathered her “examination” had obviously been funded by Colin. Even if she was pregnant, Colin had no intention of letting another rival be brought into the world.
“It’s all right, Philip,” Isobel said. “I’m not afraid to die.”
He said nothing, but she heard a shuddering sigh in the dark.
“I’m just sorry you’re tangled up in it. You didn’t do anything but what my father asked of you, and now you have to die because of it.”
“I would gladly die protecting you.” Their fingers twined tighter. “At least we don’t face this alone.”
“What will happen?” Isobel asked. Though she’d read about witch burnings and heard the gossip, living in England half her life, she’d never seen one.
“They will send a man down—the executioner—to strangle us. He’ll bring a witness. It’s a merciful death, not having to burn alive.”
Isobel nodded into the darkness, hoping they strangled her first and knowing Philip hoped the same. She didn’t want to be alive even a moment without him.
“So they’ll just tie our bodies to a stake and burn us?”
“Aye, they’ll sew us up in a shroud. At least that’s what they usually do.”
Isobel thought of her mother and how they’d shown her no mercy. She had not been strangled first, and it had taken her an agonizingly long time to burn to death. But still, the thought of being strangled and shoved in a sack brought Isobel no comfort.
Neither of them slept that night. When the key in the lock sounded again, hours later, they both stiffened. It couldn’t be morning already! Isobel wanted to scream. She was not ready to die yet. Just a few more moments.
Several sets of footsteps echoed on the cellar steps, one ominously heavy. The footsteps stopped in front of Philip. “Colin,” Philip said, his voice strained and rough. “Have mercy, man, let her go. She did naught to you or anyone.”
“Mercy is not mine to give, brother. I’m only here as a witness, to be sure the deed is done.”
They’d brought lanterns down and Isobel turned her head, straining to see what was going on behind her. She saw the executioner. He laid several implements out on a wooden table near the far wall. He wore a black leather mask over his head, and when he turned, she saw small holes had been cut for the eyes.
“What’s he doing here?” Philip asked, contempt lacing his voice.
“Och, Mr. Kennedy paid for the privilege.”
Isobel heard the soft scraping footsteps before she saw him. Then Ewan Kennedy was before her, staring down at her with his close-set eyes.
“You tried to ruin my life, witch. I’m here to make sure you’re good and gone. It’s not unheard of for families to pay the executioner to stick some other corpse in the shroud.” He leaned down so his face was close to hers. “It ain’t going to happen this time.”
