Chapter 21

It felt like an eternity had passed since Cathleen had last been in Castle MacLaren. She had met no resistance when she tried to enter or when she spoke with the council, and they had all readily agreed to her terms, singing the paper she now clutched in her hand as she walked to her father's study.

Faolan's study now, I suppose.

Her shoes clicked against the stone floors, echoing around her in the silent hallways. There were few guards on her way there and all of them greeted her cheerfully after her absence, as though they had no idea what Faolan was planning.

And perhaps they didn't. Perhaps no one but Faolan and Ronald knew the real plan, though she didn't know what Faolan could have possibly told everyone to justify hers and Bonnie's disappearance.

When she reached the study, she didn't bother knocking before she opened the door. The moment she stepped inside, her gaze fell not on Faolan, not on Ronald, but on her sister, who sat there in the corner, staring out of the window.

"Bonnie?" Cathleen asked, her breath caught in her throat, her heart seizing. Bonnie turned to look at her in disbelief, as though she was looking at a mirage, before she shot out of her chair and ran to her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Cathleen held her close, dreading the moment they would have to part. "I thought… were ye here this whole time?" she asked Bonnie.

"Nay," Bonnie said. "I only came here when ye sent word ye were comin'."

"Where was he keepin' ye?" Cathleen asked, making no effort to hide the disgust and hatred in her tone.

"Does it matter?" Faolan said, rolling his eyes at them as though the sight of their reunion bored him. "Just a cottage nearby. Dinnae fash. I didnae throw yer sister in the dungeons."

That, at least, gave Cathleen some comfort. She pulled back from Bonnie and looked at her carefully, searching for any injuries, but she found none. If there had once been a bruise or a cut, it was healed now.

"What are ye doin' here?" Bonnie asked, stunned to see her. She wiped the tears off her eyes, but they wouldn't stop coming, and Cathleen was hardly in any better condition. The tears she thought had already run dry had now come back with a vengeance, and she had to make a conscious effort to keep them away.

She didn't want to give Faolan the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"It's over," Cathleen said, her expression souring at the memory of her betrayal. "It's all over, Bonnie."

"It is?" Bonnie asked, giving her a shaky smile. "I'm glad. I'm so glad. They didnae deserve this."

"Nay, nay, they didnae," Cathleen said. "An' they found the note Faolan left, so they sent me away. I can only imagine he wanted them tae find it."

Behind them, Faolan laughed and soon, Ronald joined him, the two of them looking at her and Bonnie as though they were nothing but fools.

"They didnae deserve it," Faolan repeated in a mocking tone. The situation seemed to delight him and Cathleen had to press her nails into her palm to stop herself from saying something to him. She had her plan and she didn't want to do anything that could potentially ruin it. "Dae ye hear yerself? What does it matter? Ye hardly ken those people. An' nay, I only left the note fer ye, but yer incompetence allowed them tae find it. I'd much rather wage a war than be shackled tae yer sister."

Cathleen had to swallow back down the bile that rose up her throat. The way Faolan spoke about Bonnie made her think that if he did marry her, he would do his best to get rid of her afterwards. He would only keep her long enough to solidify his claim to the clan and then he would make sure to kill her.

"I ken enough," Cathleen said, schooling her expression into one of indifference. "An' I ken nay one deserves such cruelty. I ken nay one needs tae die in a pointless war."

"Dae they matter more than yer sister then?" Faolan asked. Standing from his desk, he began to approach them, laughing when both Cathleen and Bonnie took a step back to maintain the distance from him. "Look at ye, ye can hardly be near me. What dae ye think will happen tae yer dear Bonnie now that she will be me wife?"

"She willnae," Cathleen said.

Faolan laughed—an ugly, cold sound. He looked at Roland who shrugged as if to say he had no idea what Cathleen was talking about and, of course, he didn't. The only ones who knew were the other members of the council.

Walking over to Faolan, Cathleen slapped the piece of paper she was holding onto his chest. Curious, Faolan took it and read it, frowning at its contents.

"What is this?" he asked.

"The signatures o' the council members," Cathleen said. "They have all agreed that Bonnie will be stripped o' her rights tae the clan as the first born an' they shall be passed down tae me, as she refuses tae wed ye fer the good o' the clan. I will wed ye instead."

"What?" Bonnie asked, the color draining from her face right in front of Cathleen's eyes. Ever since her capture by Faolan, she must have known that she was the real target of his plan and knowing her, Cathleen was ready to bet she had already come to terms with it. She would rather marry him than endure the war that was bound to come.

Cathleen had no intention of letting that happen to her sister, though. She wasn't going to let Faolan anywhere near her.

"Ye cannae dae that," Bonnie said. She was swaying on her feet, her arm reaching out to grab the nearest chair to steady herself. Cathleen rushed to her, holding her upright, trying to soothe her through her panic.

"It's alright," Cathleen assured her. "Ye will decline Faolan's proposal an' I will take yer place. The council has agreed tae it. All ye must dae is say nay."

Bonnie shook her head wildly, the tears running down her face more plentiful than ever before. They seemed to have no end, like a river that would never run dry.

"I willnae allow this," she said. "I am the eldest. I am meant tae be takin' care o' ye, Cathleen. How dae ye expect me tae agree tae this?"

"Because it is what is right."

"Nay," Bonnie insisted. "I have already agreed tae wed him. I would have from the beginnin' had ye told me that was what he wanted."

"That is why I didnae tell ye," Cathleen pointed out. "Did ye think I would allow such a fate tae befall ye? I would take yer place any day, Bonnie."

"I never thought I would see the two o' ye fight over me," Faolan teased, walking around the desk to sit on his chair once more—the same chair her father had used for so many decades, now sullied by his presence. He looked terribly pleased with himself and Cathleen wished she could deal with this like a man would, by pulling out her sword and driving it through his heart.

Perhaps I should dae it regardless. Perhaps I should find a dagger an' finish this.

But no; there was a plan in place. Soon enough, Faolan would get what he truly deserved.

"Ye disgust me," Bonnie told him, walking over to the desk to point an accusatory finger at him. "Ye willnae wed me sister, dae ye understand? I willnae allow it."

"Ye're more trouble than ye're worth," Faolan said with a sigh, before he turned to nod at Ronald. At his gesture, Ronald jumped out of his chair and in two quick strides, he had a knife pressed against Cathleen's throat before either she or Bonnie could do anything to stop him.

Dread coursed through Cathleen at the cold press of the blade against her skin. She could feel the sharpness of it, its edge capable of slicing right through her, and she glanced at Bonnie, who was staring in horror. Her eyes were wide, fearful, and a soft sound escaped her, but she said nothing more.

"I believe Cathleen will be a more agreeable wife, Bonnie," Faolan said. "At least she kens how tae follow orders. Sign the paper."

Bonnie didn't move. She only looked at Cathleen, shaking her head, denial getting the best of her.

"Sign the paper, Bonnie," Faolan screamed, slamming his hands down onto the desk. He had reached the end of his patience, it seemed, and Cathleen flinched at the loud noise, nicking herself on the blade.

"Bonnie, listen tae me," Cathleen said, her throat catching once more on the blade as she swallowed down her panic, trying to keep herself calm for the sake of her sister. "Once ye sign this, ye will be free tae leave. Sign the paper."

She tried to communicate to her that everything would be fine, nodding firmly and glancing, just for a moment, out of the window. Still, Bonnie hesitated.

"I willnae leave ye," she said. "Even if ye wed him, I willnae leave ye."

"Please," Cathleen insisted. "Please, Bonnie, sign the paper an' leave. Ye will be safe if ye leave. I… I've arranged it so."

It was a risky move to say that so blatantly, but Faolan didn't seem to suspect a thing. It didn't surprise Cathleen that much; after all, he didn't think she or Bonnie could outsmart him or defeat him in any way. He thought of them as weak and foolish, unable to do anything to go against him.

That would be his downfall—that he underestimated them.

Bonnie seemed to understand that Cathleen had a plan in mind, though she still walked over to the desk reluctantly, taking the pen and inkwell Faolan offered her to add her signature to the paper. She glanced at Cathleen one last time, and Cathleen nodded again, hoping her sister would do as she was told. Though she had expected the difficulty of convincing her, she had thought that she would be able to speak to Bonnie alone and tell her of the entire plan. Now she had no other choice but to hope she would leave the castle.

"Go on," Ronald said, giving Cathleen a harsh shake as he pressed the blade even harder against her. The previous cut deepened and she felt a trickle of blood run down her neck, staining her skin and the neckline of her dress red. "I'm nae a patient man an' neither is the laird."

Eyes full of hatred, Bonnie finally signed the paper. The moment she was done, Faolan snatched it from her, looking at all the signatures with a satisfied smile on his lips.

"So, it is done," he said, sounding pleased with himself, smugger than Cathleen had ever heard him before. "We shall wed in a few days."

"In a week," Cathleen was quick to say, gritting her teeth at the last press of Ronald's blade against her before he let her go. She stepped away from him calmly, even though her hands still shook with the fear that he would truly harm her. She didn't want to appear terrified of him and Faolan. They already mocked her enough. "Give me a week."

"A few days, a week, what difference does it make?" Faolan asked. "The marriage will happen anyway."

"Aye, that much is true," Cathleen said. "But it is all I ask o' ye. Give me a week tae… tae come tae terms with it. An' tae plan the feast. Unless, o' course, ye dinnae wish tae have a feast at all."

Faolan glanced at Ronald, who shook his head. "There should be a feast," Ronald said.

"Aye, o' course," said Faolan, just as Cathleen had expected. He wouldn't waste the chance to show everyone that he was the laird of the clan for good, that no one could take the power away from him. It would be a way for him to solidify his power socially, too. "There will be a feast. Ye may have the week ye requested. "

Cathleen sighed in relief. One week would be enough if everything went according to plan. Now all she had to do was wait for the right moment—and also hope that Bonnie would, in fact, leave like she had told her.

As Ronald walked over to Faolan, congratulating him on a job well done, Bonnie looked at Cathleen, concern veiling her gaze. Cathleen knew her sister better than anyone and she could tell she was repulsed by all this, sick to her stomach at the thought that Cathleen was putting herself right in the jaws of the beast like this. She wanted to comfort Bonnie, to assure her that everything would be fine, but with Faolan and Ronald there, she didn't dare say a single thing to her.

Soon, she would understand.

"Take yer things," she told Bonnie as she passed by her on the way out of the room, her furious steps covering Cathleen's whispers. "Head north. Promise me."

Bonnie came to a halt next to her, glancing over her shoulder at Faolan and Ronald. Still, she was uncertain.

Cathleen grabbed her arm, pulling her attention back to herself. "Promise me."

Bonnie nodded, the gesture almost imperceptible. Still, Cathleen saw it and gave a sigh of relief as she let go of her sister, allowing her to leave the room. As much as Cathleen wanted to follow her out, she remained where she was, as if glued to the spot by a higher power.

She, too, couldn't help but be disgusted by the way Faolan and Ronald congratulated each other on their scheming and their intelligence, even if she knew better than to think they had won. They were proud of themselves already, celebrating their victory too early.

Let them cheer. Let them celebrate. Their defeat will be even sweeter.