Chapter Twenty-Five
Ailis McAfee wovethrough the crowd, Moira at her side. Ailis had hoped the evening would grant a reprieve from watchful eyes, but she worried that would not be the case.
“We’re like deer being hunted,” Moira whispered, her green eyes reflecting torchlight. Ailis nodded.
“Our freedom is an illusion here. We need to find answers so we can leave this place.” Ailis couldn’t wait to get home.
As they turned toward the throng, rough hands seized them. Ailis found herself caught by Bearnard. His rum-laden breath forced her head aside.
“Why do ye keep asking me to dance when it’s apparent ye dinnae have feelings for me?” Ailis asked.
Bearnard’s flushed face creased into sobriety as he tightened his grip. “I must perform all me duties, and this is one of me duties. Me father has commanded it.”
His gaze held hers, revealing a struggle between rebellion and obligation. She understood that bitter taste of duty mixed with personal desires.
“Why has yer father commanded it? Isn’t it odd he would try to force ye to spend time with a certain lass?”
He shook his head. “I do not question. I merely follow orders.”
“Let us dance then,” she conceded, placing her hand upon his. The hollow echo of their movements barely hinted at the joythe dance intended to evoke. Neither of them wanted to dance with the other, but they both knew their obligations.
Moira reluctantly clasped Horas’s hand as they twirled across the floor. The music now seemed a dirge for cherished freedom. As Horas faltered under excess drink, Moira used him to seek out the truth.
“Horas,” she asked, “who made the plan for ye and the others to dance with us?”
“Plan?” Horas murmured, struggling to focus on Moira’s face. “Ah, me father’s rule. We follow, as sons do.”
“But who came up with the scheme?” Moira pressed, curiosity sharpening her tone.
“Scheme? I cannot say,” Horas replied, confused.
Moira sighed, disappointed with his response. Duty obscured even the simplest insights.
Ailis found herself once again dancing with Lucas, who she loathed even more than Bearnard and Horas. His movements were calculated like a chess piece’s advance.
“Lucas,” Ailis asked, smiling sweetly, “the plan is working the way it was intended?” He seemed to be the most drunk of the three, so she held high hopes for the insight he could share with her. Surely, he’d tell her what she needed to know, and they could be gone in the morning before anyone knew what they were about.
“Aye,” he replied, gaze studying hers intently. “The dance proceeds without fault.”
“And who will rejoice at our adherence to this grand design?” she asked, carefully making her voice sound as innocent as she could. Perhaps she and Moira should have studied the Sutherland twins, knowing they had perfect the art of innocence.
“Me father and the Stewart man,” Lucas admitted.
Ailis’s heart quickened at this revelation. The Stewart? He must be kin to Queen Mary, and he had some sort of plot? Shemust learn more. She danced on, her mind weaving through implications while her feet moved in time to the music.
*
Ailis scanned thesea of twirling tartans and gleaming buckles under candlelight. She attempted to reach Lachlan with the knowledge she’d gained, but she was repeatedly blocked by clansmen.
Feeling the weight of her duty, frustrated by her thwarted attempts, she searched elsewhere and spotted Alisdair conversing quietly with Fiona. Navigating the throng with elegance, Ailis intercepted them. They were much easier to approach than Lachlan and Brodie. She didn’t know why the couple wasn’t watched as carefully as the rest of them, but it gave her the opening she needed to pass along her information.
“Alisdair,” she whispered before leaning closer. “I have learned something of grave import.”
As the revelry around them faded, Ailis whispered to Fiona and Alisdair, “One of the Stewart men is behind this plan.” Fiona’s eyes showed a flicker of concern, but she remained stoic.
“Can ye be certain?” Alisdair asked quietly.
“Lucas confirmed as much,” Ailis replied. “But the full plan remains unknown. The men are drunk enough that I believe they will tell me everything before the night is out.”
