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“What was his name?” Elaine asked slowly.
“Angus McNally. His father had a farmhouse on the lands. There was other family too, but that’s by the by. Anyway, nae matter how hard I tried, I couldnae get him tae break. I kent he wasnae working alone…”
“How?” Elaine’s heart skipped a beat as she asked with curiosity in her frown. “How did ye kent such a thing?”
He smiled at her then. For she may well be skilled with a sword, but she wasn’t a warrior. A man who leads a clan in battle needs to know how to read a man. Duncan had learned that from a young age, under the watchful guidance of his father.
“It’s kind o’ hard tae explain,” he shrugged. “It’s nae just a gut feeling, but there’s always a tell in a man’s eye. This young lad had such a tell, and I just kent there was more than himsel involved. But, as I say, he wouldnae break. As ye ken, I lost Cora and Eoin nae long before this happened, and Keir was determined it was connected. One night, having drank far too much wine, he went down tae the dungeons. Ye see,” Duncan said, “it’s a little complicated.”
While he had unintentionally started down this path, he did not want her thinking Keir was a dreadful ogre. And in that way, felt he needed to explain a little bit of the politics of the castle.
“Keir was supposed tae be Laird. But he’s been ill since he was a child. It was his decision that I became Laird because he didnae think he could fulfill his duties. There were some, however, who gossiped about his decision. In fact, there are many who feel Keir abdicated his position because he was scared.”
Elaine frowned once more. “Scared o’ what?”
“Well, as Laird, ye must nae only rule yer clan, but if attacked, ye must lead them in any kind of defense. If we’re called upon by another clan we have an alliance with, it is the laird’s duty tae lead his men intae battle. The locals, in their narrow-mindedness, decided that Keir was a coward and have gossiped about him and made-up untruths ever since.”
“So, what has that got tae dae with this Angus lad?” Elaine pressed.
“Well, as I said, Keir was convinced that him being discovered at the castle had some connection tae my wife and bairn’s deaths. He was determined tae discover the truth, and in his drunken state, he hit the lad so hard that the boy tumbled backwards and cracked his skull on the stones behind him. It was nae exactly Keir’s fault, he didnae do it on purpose, yet it caused the boy’s end.”
Elaine gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. She looked wide-eyed for a second, before suddenly correcting herself. “I’m sorry. It’s just… yer story is so surprising. It… it doesnae sound like Keir at all.”
Duncan shrugged. The story was surprising indeed for Keir was not a bad man.
“It was a dreadful mistake. An accident, I suppose. It doesnae excuse Keir’s behavior. He should’ve stayed out of it and let me handle the lad. But once it was done, it couldnae be undone. We couldnae bring the lad back, but at the same time, neither could I let it be kent that it was Keir who had caused his death. The locals would’ve caused an uproar, given they already hate him. Tae save face, I had to tak’ the blame,” he sighed.
“Oh, Duncan,” Elaine gasped with unshed tears in her eyes, trembling by feeling so many emotions at once.
“Aye, I ken,” he sighed heavily. “It is a dreadful circumstance. The boy’s death has haunted me ever since. I might’ve locked him up as punishment, but I would never have brought such a sentence upon him.”
“It’s nae fair that ye had tae take the blame,” Elaine said sadly.
“Aye well, what else was I tae dae? My guilt was only made worse when I discovered his father was a lousy drunk, and the lad had been keeping the family fed with a roof over their heads by taking over his father’s duties and running the farm himsel. I sent guards out tae collect the family, but his father died in the dungeons. I wanted tae offer whoever was left, for I ken there were more children, a place here in the castle. None of it was their fault, and yet, because of Keir, their farm would go tae ruin and, surely, they’d starve being left on their own. I suppose word must have reached them that I’d killed their brother because they ran. God alone kens where they are now.”
* * *
Elaine could hardly believe what she had heard in the past half hour. And though she had done her very best not to react as Duncan had told her about the death of her brother, she could never have imagined the truth of it all.
Relief washed over her. The guards had come for her father, herself, and Rhona not to punish them, but to offer them a safe place to live. It only surprised her since her mind had assumed the worst at the time. It didn't take much imagination to figure out that Duncan would have wanted something like this to be arranged.
Should she tell him everything now while truths were being spilled? Perhaps he would not be so angry with her, given the heavy feelings of guilt that burdened him at Angus’ death. Yet would she not be taking advantage of him after he had trusted her with something so personal? His disclosure had been made in the spirit of faith. Faith she would hear his pain, and faith that it would not be used against him.
She looked up at him, her heart bursting with love. Now was not the right time for her to venture forth with her own confession. Partly, it had to do with the fact that she could not use his own circumstances for her gain.
Perhaps it was also because she was enjoying their time together too much. Underneath both of those reasons, however, was a much stronger motivation—her original fear. He may well hate her for all her lies and deceit, and he may well not believe her when she’d tell him how much she loved him.
Her decision to tell Duncan about what the masked man had done was already made. But now, more than ever, she was determined to keep him safe. Neither she nor anyone else would poison him. Only as that thought passed through her mind did the fear of what would happen if she refused to do the mystery man's bidding resurface. Is he so desperate for Duncan to die that he'd give the consignment to someone else?
“How dae ye deal with people who want tae hurt ye?” Elaine asked, wondering if Duncan would be more motivated to find and catch Rhona’s captor if he learned that his life had been threatened.
“Ye mean because o’ Cora and Eoin?” he asked plainly.
She did not mean because of Cora and Eoin, but now that he had said it, she had no choice but to agree. She didn’t want him becoming suspicious of her question, which would surely happen otherwise, given she had no other reason at hand.
“Aye,” she nodded. “By yer words about yer brother, it sounds like Keir thinks there is some sort o’ conspiracy against ye.”
Duncan took a long moment to consider her words. Then, looking like he had made a decision, turned to her and nodded. “I’ll be honest with ye, Elaine. He’s nae the only one.”
