Page 83 of The Highlander’s Savage Vow

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"The king's response has arrived."

Ruaridh held the royal seal in his hands, its weight far heavier than the simple wax and parchment suggested. The morning light streaming through their chamber windows seemed to dim as he broke the seal and read the contents.

Iona looked up from her needlework, hope flickering in her eyes. "What daes he say? Will he act against Murray?"

"Aye, he'll act." Ruaridh's voice was flat as he read the letter again. "But nae in the way we expected."

The needle slipped from her fingers. "What dae ye mean?"

"The king summoned Murray tae court tae answer fer the accusations in our letter." He moved to the window, staring out at the peaceful morning that now felt like the calm before a storm. "But the bastard turned it around completely. He's convinced His Majesty that ye're the traitor, and I'm the fool who married ye tae protect a criminal."

"What?" The word came out as barely a whisper.

He turned back to face her, noting how the color had drained from her cheeks. "Murray presented his own evidence tae the king. Letters supposedly written by ye, correspondence that makes it appear ye were working with English sympathizers before our marriage."

Iona rose unsteadily from her chair. "But that's... that's completely false. Those letters—if they even exist—must be forgeries."

"Aye, but they were convincing enough fer the king tae call a Highland Council rather than simply executing Murray fer treason." Ruaridh's voice carried a bitter edge. "Now instead of Murray answering fer his crimes, I'm the one who has tae appear before the Council tae defend me marriage and me judgment."

"When?" she asked, though her voice sounded hollow.

"Three days hence. At Stirling." He watched her face crumple as the reality hit her. "I'm tae answer charges that I knowingly harbored a traitor and compromised Highland security fer personal gain."

"Nay." She began pacing between the bed and fireplace, her movements sharp with panic. "This will ruin everything, Ruaridh. Yer reputation among the lairds, yer standing with the crown⁠—"

"We’ll survive, if we handle this properly."

She whirled to face him, her hazel eyes wide with disbelief. "How can ye be so calm? The king believes Murray's lies over our truth!"

"Because panic serves nay one, least of all us." He moved toward her, his voice steady despite the storm building in his chest. "And because this might still be the opportunity we need tae expose him."

"Opportunity?" She stared at him. "How is facing royal accusations an opportunity?"

"Because now Murray has tae maintain his lies before the Highland Council, before witnesses who ken us both." Ruaridh reached for her hands. "Think, lass. He's gambled everything on forged letters and twisted truths. But we have something he daesnae—the real letter ye took from his study."

Terror flashed across her face. "Stand before the king's Council? Tell them I stole from Murray MacNab?"

"Tell them ye have proof of his real treason. That letter could vindicate us both."

She pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. "What if they dinnae believe me? What if they think I forged it tae save meself?"

"They willnae, if ye tell them everything. The whole truth."

The words hung between them like a blade. Iona went very still.

"Everything that happened that night," Ruaridh continued gently. "The assault, why ye were in his study, how ye came tae take that letter. If ye present the complete truth before the Council⁠—"

"Then I'm admitting tae theft and exposing the most shameful moment of me life before half the Highland nobility."

"Ye're proving that Murray MacNab is the real traitor and that everything he's told the king is lies."

She was quiet for a long moment, wrestling with the decision. When she finally looked up, her face held the same determination that had made him fall in love with her courage.

"If I dae this," she said, voice trembling but resolute, "there's nay going back. Once I speak before the king's Council, Murray will never stop hunting us."

"He's already hunting us. At least this way, we have a chance tae end it."