The weight of her knife pressed into her thigh, and her right hand rested on her skirts above it.With one flick of her wrist, she could have her skirts up her leg and the knife in her hand if she needed it.
“I thought I’d find ye here,” he answered, his voice as terse as the rest of him.Two riders joined him – one at his left side and the other closer to her.That was the man she kept her gaze on.He was close enough to strike if he moved on her.
“Why are ye looking for me?Is William well?”
No matter how angry Eoghan looked, William was her greater concern.Was William okay?
His shoulders tensed, and in reflex, Ailith mimicked his move, gripping her skirts to grasp hersgian-dubh.
“Nay, lass.He’s no’ well.No’ since he’s married ye.”
Her hand froze on her leg.Since he married me?That didn’t make sense!Had Betris and Mairi been whispering in his ear?
“Eoghan, I dinna know what ye have heard, but William has been fine since we were wed.Ye just saw him yourself yesterday –”
“’Tis no’ what I mean.I mean his safety, both physically and spiritually,pagan.”
His emphasis on the final word was tinged with disgust.
Pagan?What?Why was he calling her that in such a sour tone?
Many pagans still lived in the Highlands.From what she could recall, pagans were nearly as populous in the eastern Highlands as Christians in the early Middle Ages, especially with the influx of the Norse and Danes.What issue did he have with pagans, and why call her one, when he hadn’t seemed bothered by either before?
He spat to his side.“A pagan witch such as ye will do naught but cause William’s downfall, and he’s too good a friend, too good a man, for that to happen.”
There it is.A pagan witch.Her hand slowly worked her skirt, raising it in preparation.This again?More accusations?
It had taken Ailith longer than she had presumed to be accused of witchcraft.That had been her primary concern when she’d first arrived.A charge of witchcraft now served what end?The MacDougals or Gordons would pay the fine or fight for her innocence.And the Grants were MacDougal allies, so their chieftain would not let the allegation stand.
This accusation did nothing but cause strife between the clans.Why would Eoghan do this?
Yet something about these men told her there was more to this encounter than a mere accusation and fine.She slid her hand under her skirt, reaching for the handle of her knife.
The man next to her must have noticed her movements because he grabbed her elbow and yanked her backward.She gripped the horse with her knees just tight enough so as not to be jerked to the ground.
“Eoghan!”she shouted.“What are ye doing?”
“Your actions as of late have caused the death of many in Alba, including our own Grants.‘Tis something uncouth with ye, Ailith.Ye are no’ what a woman should be.I spoke to our abbot.He, too, fears that ye are a danger to the Highlanders, in deed and in spirit.Only a pagan witch can be as dangerous as ye have been.And I’ll not let ye lead William down this path.No’ while I can do something about it.”
Her shock at his words left her momentarily confused, and that was enough time for the man by her side to get a better grip on her arm and drag her off her horse.Her feet crashed against the ground.Bonnie Bride whinnied at their intrusion.
“Get your hands off me!”Ailith shouted as she twisted in his grip.
If she could get her arm up, she could swivel away, but how did she do that when her opponent was twisting her arm from atop a horse?This was not something covered in any of her martial arts classes or with William!
“Eoghan!Ye dinna know what ye are talking about!Just wait for William, and he can tell ye everything.”
“Everything ye have charmed him to say?Everyone can see how ye have bewitched him!Nay, this is a Christian land, and ye are doing more to destroy it than any king that might claim the throne.One woman.Onefeckinglass.Nay, we’ll deal with ye before ye can sink your claws into William and have him risk himself for your ruinous ways.”He turned to his men.“Get her.We must bring her to the Grant village.Abbot Graham awaits us there.”
The man holding her arm jerked her again, and Ailith was forced to leap onto his horse lest her arm be yanked from its socket.As she tried to settle on the rear of the horse and decide what her next course of action would be, Eoghan rode up and tied her wrists with rope, then secured the rope to the saddle.She cursed herself for not grabbing her knife when she had the chance.
“Why are ye doing this, Eoghan?Why can ye no’ wait for William, or at least let me defend myself?”
“I’ll no’ let me or my men fall for your poisoned words.William will see the truth of it, if he hasn’t already.He’ll no’ come for ye, that I can promise, not once I tell him of all ye have done.He will no’ stand for ye once he knows ye are a pagan witch who charmed him into defending ye.Even your sister-by-law sees ye for what ye are.Ye have brought the Highlands to the brink of destruction, and everyone sees ye for what ye have done.Nay, dinna expect any of them to give ye aid.They have all turned from ye.”
Ailith’s chest felt hollow and aching as Eoghan finished tightening her bindings.What if he was right?The MacDougals and Gordons could not afford to lose their alliances with the Grants, not in the precarious state of Scotland.
Eoghan had mentioned the wordcharmed, and even William himself had said he was ensorceled with her.Did others believe the same?What of Seocan or Muire or Sine – did they believe these scathing lies?What if William believed them as well and was turning from her?Hardening his heart?
