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Nay. I cannae think like that, or I’ll nae survive the journey. Hold on, Nathair. Hold on, Cicilia. I’m comin’ as fast as I can.
Chapter 28
Ad Vitam Aut Culpam
For Life or Until Fault
“Alexander!” Jamie said brightly as he met his eyes. “Do ye fancy havin’ a cup o’ tea wi’ us?”
Alexander stood framed in the doorway, at a complete loss for words. Inside, Cicilia sat with both of the twins at the little table with some tea and honey cakes as if there was nothing wrong in the world. Jamie poured tea from a delicate pot, while Annys put a cake on a plate and held it out in offer to the Laird.
Behind them, tied to a chair next to the fireplace, bleeding from the head, was Thomaes. The man was awake, or near enough to make no matter, and so thoroughly trussed that Alexander doubted they could untie him without cutting the rope.
“What—what happened in here?” he asked faintly.
Cicilia beckoned, and Alexander approached as if in a dream. He sat at the table where she indicated and allowed Annys to place the plate in his hand and Jamie to set a cup in front of him. “Me an’ Mr. Cunningham were just havin’ a lovely chat, were we nae?”
Thomaes groaned, and Alexander jumped. He hadn’t been aware the accomptant was awake. “Go back to the hells that birthed ye, ye witch,” Thomaes snarled.
Alexander almost stood in a fury, ready to defend Cicilia from such terrible words, but she put a calming hand on his arm.
“Dinnae ye worry. Thomaes is just a wee bit upset that he was bested by a couple o’ bairns.” Cicilia smiled brightly and said, in a matronly tone, “Now, Mr. Cunningham, do ye want to tell the Laird what ye told me, or shall I?”
Thomaes simply grimaced at her, glaring balefully, and Cicilia shrugged. “Well…” she started.
“Oh!” Annys said. “Can I? Can me an’ Jamie tell it, please?”
Cicilia laughed while Alexander looked between them all, baffled to the point where he had no idea what was going on. “Aye, all right,” Cicilia said. “Start from what I told ye happened in the village.”
Annys beamed. “Well, it all started when Cil was in the village, tryin’ to talk some sense into the folk before they started fightin’. The women were listenin’, but their menfolk were nae. Cil wandered into a close an’ found out why—the mysterious hooded lad had been payin’ lots o’ money an’ tellin’ lies to make people hate ye.”
“An’ the mysterious man was Thomaes!” Jamie said with a dramatic flourish. “So Cil ran all the way up here to try to make it before he an’ the mob arrived, but even when she found ye, ye would nae listen properly.”
Alexander felt a little ashamed at that. He’d been so confident that he knew the right thing to do. He had so single-mindedly focused on protecting Cicilia and the twins, that he’d forgotten to pay attention when it mattered most. “Aye, but I did hear ye,” he told her. “I heard when ye told me who it was. I went to look for him immediately.”
“Aye, well, while ye were lookin’, he made his way up here. Seemed he quite fancied me sister for himself!” Annys replied. “I think he wanted to wed her because that’s what he said when she let him in.”
“Ye let him in?” Alexander demanded, distressed.
Cicilia was unapologetic. “Aye, after he’d confessed a few things. About how he riled the whole town up against ye wi’ money an’ lies. About how he’s been plottin’ this wee uprisin’ to get yer seat for over a decade.”
“Thirteen years,” Thomaes growled. “Thirteen years, an’ an upstart woman an’ a couple o’ unnatural bairns—”
“Thirteen years?” Alexander interrupted. “But that—what do you—”
“He’s been manipulatin’ ye the entire time,” Cicilia said with disgust. “Usin’ yer youth an’ yer grief against ye.”
What is she talkin’ about? Is she sayin’ he maneuvered me into this position to make the people turn against me?
Jamie patted his hand, and in his sweet little voice, he sadly said, “An’, well, he said somethin’ about yer faither and mither to, actually. An’ a carriage?”
Alexander suddenly felt sick as he gazed about the accomptant—a man he’d thought his friend—with new eyes. Because
if Jamie meant what Alexander thought he said … if he was implying what it sounded like he was suggesting…
Thomaes rolled his eyes. “Dinnae look at me like that, Sandy. It is nae like I ran a sword through them. I just gave some orders. Yer sister survived. That yer parents dinnae is nae fault o’ mine. They should o’ learned to swim better.”
Alexander was on his feet in a flash, sword clutched as he lunged towards the villain who he’d once trusted above almost anyone.
