Page 247

“And, it was fairly destroyed, as we were told,” he said.

She blinked at him, expecting the answer but shocked nonetheless. “And my kin?”

This is going to the difficult part, he thought to himself. “Your father is alive, Jordan But your aunts, both of them, perished, as did your cousins Robert, Benjamin, Donald, and your Uncle Nathaniel.”

Jemma suddenly collapsed into deep sobs. Kieran knelt by the chair, holding his wife to him. Jordan glanced at Jemma, her own eyes spilling over with silent tears.

“Jemma’s mother was my Aunt Lilith,” she whispered. Jemma had lost her brother Donald as well. “Go on, English.”

William was reluctant but did as he was asked. “Your cousin, Caladora, was taken by the clans and your Uncle Matthew and your cousin Ian went after her. Your father did not know what had become of Malcolm or Cord. They simply vanished.”

“Malcolm!” Jordan hissed, tears splattering on the bodice of her dress. “The bastard, he is behind all of this, I know it. Ye should have killed him when ye had him, English.”

“Aye, I probably should have but you asked me not to,” he reminded her.

“And Callie?” Jordan suddenly shot to her feet in anguish. “They took her? Where did they take her?”

“I do not know, love; and your father doesn’t know either,” he put his hands on her arms in an attempt to soothe her.

But she pulled away from him, facing Jemma. “Yer father and brothers went after her, Jemma. Mayhap they are all still alive. But where would the clans have taken Callie?”

Jemma, sniffling loudly, brought her head up from Kieran’s neck. “I dunna know,” she said. “But if Malcolm’s behind it, he always had ties to Abner McKenna. Mayhap they went there.”

“Wait a minute,” William put himself back into the conversation. “Agreed, Malcolm is a shady personality, but he alone could not have united the border clans. He may be involved, but he is not the force behind it. Yet your father also speculated that the clans might have taken Caladora to McKenna Keep.”

Jordan swung to her husband. “Where is my Da, English?”

“At Langton,” he replied steadily.

“But ye said it was destroyed,” she shot back. “Why did ye leave him there?”

“There are parts of it that are habitable. And he insisted on staying. I wasn’t going to force the man back with me, Jordan,” he told her. “Moreover, if there are spies about, ’twould not be good for Sir Thomas Scott to be seen with the English. Those clans left your father alive for a reason, love, and that was to teach a lesson to any other Scot who was thinking of a peace alliance with England. They left your father alive to witness the destruction of his life for his decision to make peace. If he were to be seen with me, then they would most likely return and kill him for a lesson not learned.”

Jordan stared back at William, her mind spinning with his words. Of course he was right, he always was. But the fact remained that her father was alive and she was deeply thankful. But she also wanted to see him, very badly.

William watched his wife’s beautiful face as emotions played on her features. He could only imagine what she might be feeling. He had told her as much as he dared, leaving out the part about the clans focusing their anger on her. To imagine their hatred towards his wife brought hatred of his own.

“Did ye tell him about us?” she asked after several moments.

“Aye,” he smiled softly at her. “He was stunned at first, but quickly came around. He seemed rather pleased to have The Wolf as his son. And he was ecstatic to learn of the twins.”

She looked at him, so miserable with the rest of the news she could not muster the strength to smile back. She was suddenly very, very tired.

“I would retire now,” she said softly, turning away from them all. “Jemma, I will speak with ye more on the morrow.”

William moved up behind her, escorting her from the apartments and back to their own without a word. Once inside, she went directly to their bedchamber, stripped naked, and climbed under the covers. William paused on his way to the bedchamber only to check on the twins. By the time he reached the room, she was already under the sheets with her eyes closed. He sighed sadly.

“Talk to me, Jordan,” he said quietly. “Do not shut me out.”

She stirred. “There is nothing I want to say.”

He ripped off his clothes and crawled in beside her, pulling her against him. To his surprise, she wasn’t resistant and molded right to him.

“I am sorry this had happened,” he kissed her hair. “I would have done my best to prevent it had I had the opportunity.”

“I know,” she said. “I knew that the worst had happened, but it is still distressing to hear. I want to see my Da, English.”

“Mayhap later,” he replied ambiguously.