Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

D omhnall remained completely silent as Katherine came to a sudden stop in her bedchamber. She remained there, standing perfectly still, her wide eyes glued to the letter Domhnall held in his hand. As hard as she tried, she could not hide her emotions, and horror now danced across her face.

He waited for a long moment, watching her body trembling. He wondered if she would speak, and when, after another minute, she still remained silent, he came to the realization that it was he who was going to have to begin the discussion.

“Magnus came tae speak tae me earlier,” he said, his tone perfectly calm.

He didn’t feel perfectly calm, but, in a twist of irony, these last few weeks spent with Katherine had opened a door to a new way of being, and, along with that had been a growing ability to control his raging emotions.

“He said ye and he had conversed in the corridor,” Domhnall continued. “As ye were speaking, he caught something in yer thoughts. Something about a letter.”

Domhnall paused, waiting for her to protest with anger that Magnus had read her mind without her knowledge. But when she remained silent, a pain now dancing in her eyes, Domhnall carried on.

“At first, I was worried. I thought that ye might be struggling with an issue that ye were too ashamed tae share. That perhaps, ye were in trouble. I wanted tae help ye, as I have tried tae dae during our time together.”

He sighed, feeling the weight of his next words.

“Ye cannae imagine my astonishment when I realized that wasnae true. That I was wrong. That ye didnae need me help at all. That, in fact, all this time, ye have been lying tae me.”

“Domhnall—” she began timidly, her voice barely a whisper.

He brought his hand up sharply to silence her.

“Fer the first time in my life, I have felt complete and content. I was convinced that I had finally found the perfect person tae spend the rest o’ me days with.”

“You have?—”

“Clearly nae,” he spat.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen. I?—”

“O’ course ye did,” he roared, making Katherine jump with fright. “I have the evidence right here.”

He shook the letter violently in his hand, feeling his control slipping, but worried at the same time, what he might do if he lost a grip on his emotions entirely.

Taking another deep breath, he clenched his fist and tried to calm himself. His heart pained him, while his stomach felt as though a knife had been plunged into it. Ordinarily, he suffered one emotion at a time. And, ordinarily, that was difficult enough for him to deal with. But now, it felt like every negative feeling he had ever experienced was desperately trying to burst into a torrent he could not hold back.

Pain, anger, grief, sadness, heartbreak, loss, despair, anguish… the list went on.

Had he discovered she did not love him only, his pain might have been less. Maybe. But the knowledge that everything that had happened between them had been a lie, a facade, a trick – that was just too much to take. She had betrayed him in the worst possible way.

“I’m so sorry, Domhnall,” she cried. “I wanted to tell you but?—”

“I dinnae want tae hear it,” he spat. “There is naething ye can possibly say that will mak’ me see this from yer point o’ view.”

“But, Domhnall?—”

“Nay!” he roared again.

Looking her directly in the eye, the pain in his chest growing by the second, he continued. “I must have been out o’ me mind tae believe I could trust ye. Ye’re English, after all. I should’ve kent better.”

“I love you, do you not understand that?” Katherine said, her voice trembling.

Domhnall glared at her and shook his head. “How can ye say such a thing? One doesnae betray the people they love, Katherine. Ye taught me how tae be vulnerable. I opened me heart tae ye. And even after I told ye the way me parents were slaughtered, what did ye dae? Ye used all that against me.”

“No. I… I didn’t want to do it. You have to know that.”

“The only thing I ken fer sure is that I never want tae lay eyes on ye again.”

Did he really know that?

No, not at all. He loved her. But what did that matter now? She clearly did not love him in return. He would have to deal with that loss later, when the rage had subsided. For now, sending her away was the only way he could cope. His heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, but the anger inside would keep him from being destroyed completely.

Katherine brought her hand swiftly to her mouth as a sob escaped from her throat. But all the tears in the world could not save her now. She had deceived him enough. He wasn’t going to fall for her attempt to manipulate him a moment longer. He had already proved himself to be the biggest fool for falling for her act. Now he knew the truth, his walls were back in place, and he would make certain no other could ever break through them again.

“My scouts have discovered that yer braither is on the Isle o’ Skye. I wouldnae have believed it if I hadnae seen it with me own eyes,” he shook the letter again, “but it is evident now, that, thanks tae the information ye have been feeding him, he was able tae attack me on nae one, but two occasions.”

“I didn’t feed him any information,” Katherine whispered.

“Dinnae lie tae me,” he bellowed. “I am nae a fool. Ye were there, Katherine. The only way yer braither could possibly have kent that I was in the village on that day was by yer word.”

“No!” Katherine said, shaking her head determinedly.

But Domhnall only shook his head slowly, and heaved a frustrated sigh. There was little point arguing with her. He couldn’t reason with someone who could not take responsibility for their actions, even when they had been so obviously found out.

“I dinnae want tae start a war,” he growled. “I will leave ye and yer braither unharmed on the condition that ye leave this island and never return.”

“What about the wedding?” Katherine breathed.

“There will be nay wedding. Nae now, nae ever.”

“But, the king,” she cried.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “Ye are clearly more dismayed at disappointing the tyrant who rules yer country than ye are about disappointing me, but then, that should come as nay surprise, should it?”

“Domhnall, that’s not true. I?—”

“Please, Katherine,” he barked.

Domhnall then took a deep breath in, and using every ounce of strength he had left, he pushed down all the feelings that threatened to overtake him.

Speaking in a far calmer voice, he continued. “Please, stop. It’s over. It’s all over. I will send word tae the king mesel’ and tell him that I hold all responsibility fer ruining the alliance.”

“But you can’t,” she gasped. “He’ll turn on you.”

“Which will be me problem tae deal with, nae yers. There is only one thing ye can dae fer me now, Katherine, and that is tae leave this castle, leave this island, and dinnae let me see yer face again. Ye need tae go.”

Domhnall did not join the rest of the family in the great hall for supper. No doubt, news had already spread throughout the castle, for Katherine had hurriedly left not an hour after he had demanded her departure. The last thing he felt like doing was facing questions from his brothers and sisters. They would find out the details of what had happened soon enough.

Instead, he hid himself away in his study, his only companion a bottle of whisky that sat beside him on a table as he stared into the fire. His mind was a whirl of thoughts as he played back the times he and Katherine had spent together. Even though he had found the correspondence between herself and her brother, he still could hardly believe they had not been true, meaningful, real.

But how could they have been? Clearly, she had played her part from the moment she had arrived. From pretending to be angry that she was there to slowly slipping into his life, and then, his heart. Not once had he suspected that it had all been a front to get information for her brother. Not once had he imagined she could betray him so brutally.

An hour or so later, when he had slipped into some trance-like stupor of despair, the ache in his heart so heavy it was nearly unbearable, Magnus sat down beside him, making him jump at his sudden presence.

“I did knock,” Magnus defended.

“Right. Right,” he said, still bringing himself back to the present moment.

Magnus poured himself the last dram from the bottle on the table. With the empty bottle in hand, he said, “It looks like we’re going tae need another o’ these.”

“Aye,” Domhnall said absently.

“So, are ye going tae?—”

A knock on the study door interrupted him, but Domhnall didn’t speak. Instead, Magnus called out for whomever it was to enter.

“So, this is where the gathering’s at,” Kai’s voice carried across the room from behind him.

A moment later, Kai had brought another chair to the fire, while Magnus returned from the dresser with another bottle and glass. After topping up Domhnall’s glass, he turned to fill Kai’s.

“How are ye, braither?” Kai said, his tone a little more serious.

“How dae ye think I am?” Domhnall growled, his eyes still watching the dancing flames.

“We are here fer ye,” Magnus said carefully. “Ye ken that.”

“Aye,” Domhnall said, his tone betraying the fact that he could not care less.

For a while, the three sat quietly, the crackling and hissing logs the only sound to be heard. His brothers were there to support him, as they always had been, but Domhnall was in no mood to converse. He had retired to his study to be left alone so he could mope in peace.

“Is she fully away?” Magnus said, his question aimed at Kai.

“The scouts are following her and her brother as far as Drynoch,” Kai replied. “Then they’ll have tae rest fer the night, fer they’ll likely be able tae go nay further with the lack o’ light.”

Magnus sighed. “They’ll have another day’s travel tae the coast after that,”

“Aye,” Kai agreed.

His brothers fell silent once more, each of them sipping at their drinks.

“I still cannae believe it,” Kai said a few minutes later. “I mean, she had us all fooled.”

“Hmm,” Magnus replied.

By his tone, Domhnall sensed doubt, and turning to Magnus, he furrowed his brows. “What?”

Magnus shrugged, “It’s naething.”

“What?” Domhnall pressed, his voice a little harsher.

His brother looked him directly in the eye. “I’m just struggling tae accept it, that’s all.” He sighed, seemingly trying to figure something out in his head. “What did she say tae ye when ye confronted her?”

Domhnall turned away and looked back into the fire. “She said naething.”

“Naething?” Magnus balked. “She didnae even try and defend hersel’?”

“I didnae give her a chance. I didnae want tae hear any more lies. I’ve heard enough o’ them fer a lifetime.”

“Right,” Magnus said, frustration simmering in his tone.

“Ye think ye could have done better?” Domhnall snapped. “Ye think ye could have been betrayed as I was and could have handled it differently?”

“Nay, braither. And I cannae imagine how pained ye are,” Magnus replied. “I’m just struggling tae believe that it was all an act.”

“Why?” Domhnall growled. “Tae begin with, she’s a woman. They’re slippery creatures at best. They’re sly and cunning and experts in manipulating us. And then there’s the fact that she’s English. The blood running through her veins is inherited from a nation who’ve hated the Scots fer a very long time.”

Magnus shook his head. “I was privy tae her thoughts on several occasions, Domhnall, and I cannae agree tae all that ye’re saying.”

Domhnall now glared at Magnus. “What are ye talking about? Sure, it was ye who told me about the letter.”

“Aye,” Magnus nodded, “but at the time, I couldnae have imagined what destruction it would bring.”

“There ye go,” he argued. “Then she fooled ye too.”

“Nay,” Magnus shook his head, “I dinnae think she did. I think we’re missing something.”

“As dae I,” Kai added. “I ken I didnae spend as much time with her as ye two, but I ken lasses, and I ken when lasses are lying.”

“What about that time she and I sparred together,” Magnus said. “She couldnae have kent I could read her mind, but all she was worried about was upsetting ye, offending ye. Surely, if the woman hated ye, she wouldnae have cared.”

“It was an act,” Domhnall barked.

“In her head?” Magnus retorted.

Domhnall huffed because he had no reply to that. As he desperately sought something else to back up what he now believed, he said, “What about the day I was attacked outside the village?” He gestured angrily. “How could her braither have kent I was going tae be there if nae fer her?”

Kai and Magnus did not have an answer to that, and feeling victorious in his argument, he continued. “I went tae see her just ‘afore I left and told her where I was going. She kent.”

Magnus’s brow furrowed then. “Hang on. Ye told her just ‘afore ye left.”

“Aye,” Domhnall replied firmly.

“Then how did she get word tae her braither so quickly? Besides the fact that she got badly hurt trying tae protect ye,” Kai jumped in.

Magnus was nodding, and clearly thinking exactly the same thing.

Domhnall opened his mouth to retaliate when he realized exactly what they were getting at. “I… I…” But he couldn’t answer, for like his brothers, he suddenly realized that it couldn’t have happened like that.

“There is nay way she could have got a message tae her braither in time fer him tae organize his men and be there the same time as ye,” Magnus said, voicing what they were all thinking.

“Then how…?” Domhnall trailed off, trying to understand how her brother had known.

“He found out some other way,” Kai said. “There’s nay other explanation.”

“Are ye saying we have a spy in the castle?” Domhnall gawked.

“Had,” Magnus replied. “I imagine it was one o’ her braither’s men. But he’s likely with them now.”

“So, Katherine was right,” Domhnall said.

“What dae ye mean?” Kai asked.

“I accused her o’ passing information ontae her braither. I told her that the two attacks had tae have come from what she’d told him. But that isnae possible. She had nay idea I was taking her horse riding that morning, and that’s when the first attack happened.”

It cannae have been her.

“Exactly,” Magnus said.

“Get out o’ me head, Magnus.”

“What?” Kai asked, desperate to know.

“Domhnall is now realizing that it couldnae have been Katherine.”

“She still betrayed me,” Domhnall snapped. “This doesnae get her off the hook.”

“Maybe nae,” Magnus countered, “but had ye let her explain hersel’, you’d ken a lot more.”

Domhnall heaved a worried sigh, and began wondering whether he hadn’t just made a colossal mistake.

But I found the letter. She was still working with her braither.

Thinking back to what he had actually read in the letter, a slow realization revealed itself.

I have concluded that you cannot get word out to me, and thus, I deduce that a meeting might be more suitable. There is a well just off the road on the other side of the village. Meet me there tomorrow at dusk.

Had she, at any time, been able to tell her brother anything? Clearly, the letter stated she had not sent him any information at the time he had written her. But they had met, so it was possible she had relayed news to him then… but it still didn’t evidence her part in the two attacks.

“Fine, she wasnae involved in the attacks, but she was still in collusion with him.”

“Tae what end?” Magnus said. “If she didnae tell him where ye were going tae be, what was the point o’ her being here?”

“I think that’s exactly the reason she was here,” Kai offered. “I just think she didnae go through with it.”

Domhnall looked over at Kai, who gazed at him kindly. “I think something changed, brother,” Kai continued. “I cannae ken it fer sure, but I ken this. That woman is in love with ye.”

“I agree,” Magnus added. “It was written all over her face. Ye can pretend tae be a lot o’ things, but ye cannae make yersel’ physically glow as she did when she was with ye.”

Domhnall looked at his brothers for a long moment. “I want tae believe that. I want tae believe that with every part o’ me soul, but…” he trailed off as the fear of his hopes being dashed pushed against allowing himself to believe it could be true.

“She could well have been forced against her will,” Kai offered.

“Or, like we said earlier, she could have been on board with her braither’s plan only she didnae foresee the fact that she would actually fall in love with ye.”

It was a reasonable explanation. And, it would explain some of the signs he had noticed in her over the last few days. Her expressions of doubt and fear. Had she been on the verge of telling him the truth?

“At the very least, she deserves a chance tae defend hersel’, Domhnall,” Magnus said. “Tae tell ye her side o’ the story.”

She had tried, but he hadn’t listened. She had told him she hadn’t fed her brother information. She had told him she hadn’t wanted to work with her brother. She had told him that she loved him. But he had denied her words, shutting her down without letting her speak. Perhaps the tears that had escaped down her cheeks had been real after all.

“Where did ye say they had stopped fer the night?” Domhnall asked, looking at Kai.

“Drynoch,” Kai said excitedly.

Domhnall nodded. “Then I will journey there and find her.”

“We will come with ye, braither,” Magnus said, his face expressing satisfaction at his decision.

“Nae.” Domhnall shook his head. “I will dae this alone. It is I who jumped tae conclusions and made this mistake. It is I, alone, who needs tae rectify it.”