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‘Wolfric, no,’ said Orla.
‘Silence,’ he hissed. ‘Go with my father. Do as I say if you know what’s good for you, Orla.’
Rufus took Orla roughly by the arm and dragged her away to the horses. The crowd parted to let them through and then closed around them again, and Orla lost sight of Wolfric. She mounted her horse in a turmoil of guilt and fear. Robbie was a spiteful snake of a man who had tried to wound her and bring her low, and part of her triumphed in his beating, while another pitied him, for he had exaggerated what he saw, not lied outright.
But she had lied, and Wolfric knew it. Would the punishment meted out to Robbie soon be coming her way?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rufus remained stony-faced and silent until they had ridden clear of Inverness. When he eventually spoke, his words were cruel and all the worse for being true.
‘It’ll be the strap for you when Wolfric returns,’ he snapped. ‘You can be sure of that.’
‘But Wolfric did not believe those foul things Robbie said. On the contrary, he defended my honour,’ Orla replied, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
‘Oh, give up the jig, lass. My son defended the honour of Clan Munro and our good name. What else could he do in the face of such an accusation – beat you before all in the market square, lock you in the stocks to our eternal shame? I do not think for one minute you were believed, lass. I saw your face, and it does not hold a lie well. Aye, my son will punish you for being a whore.’
‘I am neither a whore nor an adulteress.’
‘Aye, that is exactly what you are. Were it not for your kindness in tending my gout, I would thrash you myself, here and now. But I will restrain my hand and let my son have that pleasure.’
‘Oh, what a hypocrite you are, Rufus. I know I have done nothing wrong. But you. What about you and Sykes? You were like two cats in an alley. It was disgraceful.’
‘Aye, maybe, and I intend to be disgraceful again if the fancy takes me. I am not wed and nor is she, but you are, my lovely. And when Wolfric returns, you will get such a hiding you will never dare to betray my son again. Aye, he’ll clip your wings to be sure, and about time too.’
After that exchange, they spoke no more. When they arrived at Blackreach, Orla was dragged up to her chamber. Rufus thrust her inside and bolted the door.
‘Cool your heels, lassie, and brace yourself for Wolfric’s return,’ he shouted as he departed.
***
Wolfric stormed up to Nash and the Major, who flicked worried glances between the two of them.
‘I trust this matter is now settled between you two?’ said the Major. ‘The lady’s honour has been defended, most robustly, I might add, and this falsehood now laid to rest.’
‘Aye, Major Sutherland,’ said Wolfric, grinding his sore knuckles into his palm and staring at Nash, who had gone red in the face.
‘Capital!’ boomed the Major. ‘Nothing like fisticuffs to start one’s day.’ He clapped one hand on Wolfric’s shoulder and the other on Nash’s as if the shared humiliation of Robbie Dunn’s slurs had turned them into comrades in some parody of brotherhood. Wolfric shook off the Major’s hand.
The Major ignored the insult. ‘Well, I am for the assembly. There was a dashed pretty lady I must get back to. Fine filly, pretty face, and most interested in me, yes indeed. I will see you back inside, Captain.’ He nodded at them both and beat a hasty retreat.
‘This isn’t over,’ said Wolfric through cold rage.
‘That Dunn wretch lied,’ said Nash. ‘You got him to say so.’
Wolfric grabbed Nash by his lapels and forced him back into an archway where they were out of sight. ‘Do not take me for a fool, you bastard.’ He flung Nash back hard, enjoying the crunch as his head connected with a wall. ‘You may fool that dolt of a Major. You may fool the fine and upstanding genteel folk, but not me. I have witnessed the worst in human nature, and I see it in you, written large. Now I say again. This isn’t over.’
Wolfric walked away in the direction of the alehouse as Nash shouted after him, ‘Don’t you hurt her, Munro.’
And there, in those few words, Wolfric had the answer to the question gnawing at his soul. Why would Nash care what happened to a woman who was little better than a stranger to him?
The loss of his trust in Orla hit him like a kick to the guts. For a moment, he had to stop to compose himself, so great was the disappointment of all his worst fears coming to life. Wolfric walked on and entered the humid, smoky haze of the alehouse fully intending to drink himself into oblivion.
‘Ale, and a good deal of it, and make it quick,’ he shouted to the alewife. He spied a dark corner and made for it, but a heavy hand came down on his shoulder. Wolfric spun, fists up, only to be confronted with Callum Ross.
‘Oh, it’s you,’ he said, almost disappointed it wasn’t Nash, for his fists longed to connect with that elegant, superior face and break it.
‘Aye, it’s me, Munro,’ said Callum. ‘Don’t punch me, if you please.’
