Page 47 of Devil Black

The captain gave him a sharp look. “I shall make that determination. Mistress MacRae, is it?” He gestured to Isobel. “Please, come in.”

Dougal’s own men stood nearest the door, their hands hovering above the hilts of their swords. They parted to make way for Isobel, whose feet still felt disconnected from the rest of her, and who could feel her heart pounding so hard it made her ill. The MacRae warriors glared at her as she passed, but she saw only the expression in her husband’s eyes, hard and unwelcoming as a wall of stone. He did not want her here—he feared she would speak words that would hang him.

But she would sooner die herself.

Lifting her head and drawing on every bit of comportment she had ever been taught, she looked up into the captain’s face. “Am I to be given the courtesy of your name, sir?” she asked.

He bowed smartly. “Your pardon, Mistress. Captain George MacBain, of the King’s Edinburgh regiment, at your service.”

“Captain MacBain,” Isobel repeated graciously. “Must we conduct such private business before an audience?” She indicated MacNab and his warriors. “Surely you and I might speak alone?”

“I will be damned,” Dougal muttered beneath his breath, but MacBain heard; his eyes swiveled to Dougal’s face and back again to Isobel’s.

“I protest!” Randal MacNab cried. “I am here on behalf of this woman’s father. I stand her guardian in proxy.”

The very idea turned Isobel pale. “The captain and I shall speak privately,” she declared, “or not at all.”

She could feel the intensity of Dougal’s stare bent upon her. Did he think she would betray him? Did he truly trust her so little?

She sent him a look in return, trying to convey assurance. He looked unconvinced. She knew how hard it was for him to trust.

Captain MacBain made his decision. “Very well, Mistress MacRae. You and I shall speak privately.”

Now it was Dougal who protested. “As her husband, I have a right to be present when you question her.”

MacBain rounded on him. “A number of parties here claim rights, sir. It is my task to either validate or dismiss them. I can speak with your wife privately, or you may accompany us under guard to Edinburgh.”

Dougal raised his head. “Then, sir, I choose to accompany you.”

“Do not be a fool,” Isobel told him. She stepped forward and laid her hand on his arm, willing him once again to trust her. He glared his answer, a wealth of pain and doubt in his eyes.

“Enough of this!” Randal MacNab shouted. “I must insist custody of this woman be given to me. Otherwise, Captain MacBain, the King himself shall hear of it!”

That caused MacBain’s guards to shift uneasily. The captain shot an unfriendly look at MacNab.

“Do as you will, sir, but I have been sent here as the King’s agent. I will gather the facts and report my findings.”

“Facts? You expect to get those from this chit of a lass?”

“I do. Mistress?” MacBain gestured to Isobel. Head high, her legs wobbly, she led him from the great hall and across the way into the solar.

No fire burned here at this early hour, and only darkness showed through the windows, yet the familiar place eased her a bit. She turned and faced him. She must speak carefully now. She knew she would have but one chance to defend herself—to defend Dougal and remain with him.

The only light in the solar came from a single torch near the door. It left MacBain’s face in obscurity, though Isobel imagined he could see hers well enough.

“You are Catherine Maitland?” he began.

“No. Catherine is my sister, whom my father wished sent north to wed with Bertram MacNab. My father, Gerald Maitland, and Randal MacNab are close friends. My sister, Catherine, did not wish for the marriage, as her heart was otherwise engaged. So I took her place.”

“Without your father’s knowledge?” MacBain’s wits moved quickly.

“Yes. My sister and I hatched the deception between us.”

“Ah, that explains the confusion. The story that came to Stirling was muddled, talk of two women—Catherine and Isobel.”

“I am Isobel.”

“Where is your sister now? The message sent by your father expressed deep concern about the whereabouts of at least one of his daughters.”