“We’d best get ye clean for yer wedding,” she remarked, grinning nastily. “It’s a rough cloth and the water is cold, but that’ll only make ye skin look better, eh?”
Freya’s eyes widened, and she backed away as far as the ropes would allow her. Scowling, the matron wrapped a meaty hand around Freya’s ankle, hauling her unceremoniously back.
“Ye want to do this the hard way? Very well, then…”
The door swung open with abang, making all three of them jump. The matron straightened, scowling at the man who stood there.
“Ye! Out!” she bellowed.
He flushed, holding his ground. “I was sent to fetch Lady Freya. She’s to come down to the courtyard. Laird Grahame has summoned her.”
The matron blanched. “The wedding? Already? I was told I’d have more time to get her ready.”
The man shrugged. “I don’t know. Doesn’t look like a wedding. Shall I go back and tell him ye won’t bring her?”
The woman shuddered, and shook her head. “No, no. I’ll bring her now.”
She glanced at Freya out of the corner of her eye, and scowled. “Well, lassie, looks like we’re going now. I hope ye are ready for whatever awaits ye down there.”
Almost certainly not,Freya thought, fear building up inside her.I don’t think I’ve ever been ready.
The crowdsin the halls were so thick that the soldiers and the matron had to force people aside to get Freya through. She caught snatches of conversation as she pushed by.
“Is it really him?”
“Aye, looks to be so.”
“This isn’t what I hoped for. What any of us hoped for.”
“What happens now?”
“No one knows. Nothing good, I’m sure.”
Then, quite abruptly, they were out into the open air and weak sunshine, a light breeze stirring Freya’s hair around her face.
The courtyard was full of people, soldiers and common men and women alike. She spotted a few familiar faces, mostly advisors and nobles she’d met when she was first here. The advisors, the ones who made up the Laird’s council, gathered in a corner, huddled together as if for protection, whispering urgently.
There was a great space in the middle of the courtyard, where Laird Grahame himself paced like a hungry, mad lion.
He was not a tall man, and although he was stocky in his later years, strength was clearly visible in the lines of his body. There had been rumors about his health declining, rumors which he set out to viciously combat. His hair was gray, sticking out around his head, making him look even more like a caged beast. There was the same glassy, unfocused expression in his face that Freya had noticed before, when she decided beyond doubt that she had to escape.
His gaze flitted over her, barely seeming to land, barely seeming to register that she was there at all.
Why would he consider me at all?she thought, with a burst of anger.He’s won. I’m caught. His pretty bird is returned to its cage. He never wanted it that badly, but nor did he want it to escape.
Her hands had been retied behind her back, a fur cloak draped around her shoulders to hide the fact that she was bound at all. The matron kept a tight grip on her upper arm, hard enough to bruise, and forced her forward. Maggie had disappeared somewhere, and Freya couldn’t blame her.
She was pushed forward a few more feet, and she saw at last what all the commotion was about. Her knees buckled, and shewas almost glad of the matron’s unyielding grip, keeping her upright.
Brendan knelt in the middle of the courtyard, water from a puddle soaking into his trousers at the knees. He was not bound, but there was a cluster of soldiers around him, each with a blade aimed at his neck. Behind him was Noah, the man who’d come to see Brendan before, also kneeling, with his head hanging between his shoulders in defeat.
As she watched, unable to believe what she was seeing, Freya saw one of the blades wobble, just a little, as if the man holding it was notsure, not happy to be in this position. The man glanced over at one of his companions, who shot back a stern, meaningful stare.
Then the moment was gone. Abruptly, Laird Grahame began speaking, and absolute, terrifying silence spread over the courtyard.
“My son thinks to come back and challenge me.Me!” His voice was hard and unwavering, but there was an edge of hysteria behind his words. Something unpredictable. Somethingdangerous. “After spending years running away from his duty and his people, he comes back and thinks to take the seat from me. Ha!” He spread out his arms, turning in a circle. “Will we allow this?”
Perhaps he’d expected a roar, a resoundingno, but all Laird Grahame got in return was a taut silence. He looked around, but everybody pinned their gazes to the ground as his eyes swept across them. Freya kept her head up, meeting his eye squarely when he looked at her.
