His father was not dead.He looked very healthy, with a full trencher of food set before him.
"What," Cormac said very slowly, very carefully, "is going on here?"
"What do ye mean, son?"his mother replied.
"Ma."Cormac's voice was deadly quiet."Did ye or did ye not send me a missive saying Da was dead?"
There were audible gasps around the table.
"Och, that.I may have stretched the truth a wee bit, but I needed ye to return home, and nothing short of a death would have brought ye," she replied.
"Ye exaggerated a wee bit?"Cormac's roar echoed through the hall."I rode two days without stopping!I thought I was coming home to bury my father!"
"Now, now," his father interjected, shooting a glare at his wife."Dinnae fash, there's no need to shout, lad.Besides, I knew nothing about this ridiculous plan until ye arrived."
"Liar!"Cormac shot back."Ye're terrible at deception, Da.Ye always have been."
"I'm excellent at deception.Remember that time I convinced the Buchans that we had twice our actual numbers?I had them convinced for a fortnight."
"That was twenty years ago!"Cormac exploded."And everyone knew ye were lying.The Buchans just pretended to believe ye because they felt sorry for ye."
"They did not feel sorry for me.It was a masterful ruse."
"It absolutely was not," his brother Ninian interjected cheerfully, finally looking up from his chicken."Their laird told me so himself.Said Father was the worst liar he'd ever met, but because the Buchans were tired and wanted to go home, they let it go."
"Ninian, that's not helping," his sister Nessa murmured.
"I'm not trying to help," Ninian replied with a grin."I'm trying to enjoy watching Cormac lose his temper.It's been ages since we've seen him properly riled."
Cormac turned the full force of his glare on his younger brother."Ye knew about this harebrained scheme of Ma's?"
"Of course not," Ninian replied, before chortling."I'm as shocked as ye are."
"This is not funny!"Cormac roared.
"Och, 'tis a wee bit funny," his mother replied.
"'Tis not funny at all.What is the matter with all of ye?Are ye not even slightly superstitious making up falsehoods about someone's death?What if ye've cursed Da with yer lies?"
"Dinnae be daft.'Twas just a wee lie to get ye home.And it worked, didn't it?Here ye are, in the flesh."
"Ma, I left important matters unattended.I nearly killed my horse getting here."His voice cracked slightly."I thought I'd lost Father."
The room went quiet at that admission.
"Son, I'm sorry.Truly.If I'd kenned it would affect ye this much, I would have put a stop to it," his father said, his expression softening.
"Would ye?"Cormac asked pointedly.
His father hesitated just a fraction too long.
"That's what I thought," Cormac muttered.
Before he could say anything else, his family rose from their seats and descended on him like a flock of birds, greeting him like the prodigal son and thinking nothing of his outburst.
Ninian clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to bruise."Calm down, brother.'Tis not like ye were doing anything important.Last we heard, ye were riding about the countryside like a common bard."
"For the last time, I am not a bloody bard!"
