Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

A lana went cold as a collective gasp of shock ran around the table. Tadhg's eyes flew wide, and she saw his knuckles turn white as they gripped the armrests of his chair. "That is a lie," she declared forcefully.

"I dislike havin' tae gainsay ye in public like this, Alana, and I dinnae claim tae

understand yer reasons fer this subterfuge. But ye ken as well as I dae that 'tis the truth. Ye and Tadhg are nae married, and ye never have been married," Blaine said, "so, ye may as well admit it now."

"I dinnae appreciate ye callin' me and me wife liars," Tadhg butted in.

"How d'ye think ye have the right tae question me integrity?" Alana demanded, standing up from her seat and glaring at Blaine. "May I remind ye that I didnae have tae come here? I came at yer invitation. I never expected tae be treated like this. Tadhg and I will be leavin' right away." She gave him a meaningful look and gestured for him to rise.

"I'm afraid I must ask ye tae stay a little longer, Alana, if only tae prove tae ye what ye seem tae have forgotten—that ye're still unwed," Blaine said with a commanding edge to his voice. Alana glanced at Tadhg, who gave an almost imperceptible nod. She wanted to know what was on the paper Blaine had in his hand. Alana sat back down again, agitatedly twisting her fingers in her lap.

Blaine looked piercingly at her. "Now, I believe ye told us that ye and Tadhg have been married fer the last two years. Is that right?"

"That is correct, aye," she replied, holding her chin high.

"And if I recall, ye told us that the records we found disproving that must be

wrong. Would ye agree with that?"

"Aye, and I spoke the truth," she insisted, admirably keeping her cool as she

faced Blaine down, Tadhg thought.

"I see," Blaine said, clearly enjoying himself. "Then how d'ye explain the fact

that witnesses have been found who are ready tae swear that Tadhg was nae even present at Lennox Castle fer most of the last two years. In fact, he was absent for a whole four years before he returned to Lennox Castle a mere six months ago." He paused, pinning Alana with his dark-eyed stare as if challenging her.

Tadhg leapt to back her up. "That means naethin'. Just because I wasnae servin' at the castle fer those four years because I was travelin', it daesnae mean that me and Alana were nae in touch and seein' each other," he pointed out.

Blaine seemed to ignore him, keeping his eyes on Alana. "Moreover, during Tadhg's four-year absence, ye married a soldier named Sloan, and ye were widowed when he was killed in battle just over a year later. That being the case, 'tis obviously impossible fer ye tae have been wed tae Tadhg here."

"Who are these witnesses?" Tadhg demanded, as if not conscious of many eyes boring into him. "How much did ye pay them tae lie?"

"Aye, I dinnae care what they say, they're mistaken. Or as Tadhg says, ye bribed them tae give ye the so-called proof ye've wanted all along," Alana said accusingly, her eyes flashing like sapphires. She was on her feet again, banging the flat of her palm on the table.

Blaine actually laughed. "How much is it gonnae take fer ye two tae admit ye've been lyin' tae me and the council all along?"

"And what business is it of yers, of any of ye, whether we're wed or nae?" Alana demanded, her face glowing with passion. "I did nae come here fer ye! I came her tae meet me faither, tae ask him why he threw me maither away like rubbish when he found out she was carryin' his child," she cried, tears springing up in her eyes and Tadhg stood up and put his arms around her protectively.

"'Tis all right, me darlin', dinnae fash yersel'," he told her.

"With all due respect, Lady Alana," Roger Huston interjected, "there's nae proof that the laird sent yer maither away. We simply dinnae ken what happened back then, so we should nae malign him without good cause."

His words hit a raw nerve, and Alana rounded on him, her eyes blazing. It was as if a dam of resentment had burst within her. "So, ye're sayin' it was nae his fault then, are ye? Ye keep on sayin' he was searchin' fer us fer years. Then why did he nae find us?" She glared around the table, her expression fierce, as though daring anyone to argue. No one did.

"He cannae have been lookin' very hard at all, can he!" she added angrily, clenching her fists. "I say he didnae want tae find us. I mean, he already had his heir. Him!" She stabbed a finger at Blaine. "He had his son, so he had nae need of me. Me and Maither were naught but an inconvenience best gotten rid of!"

She buried her face in Tadhg's chest and burst into tears, her passion and sorrow seeming to flow out of her as her whole body shook in his arms. Tadhg held her, and she could feel his heart breaking to see her in such a state. And then he blurted out, "It was nae yer faither who sent yer maither away, Alana. It was his wife, Lady Skye."

In the earsplitting silence the followed, Alana's tears abruptly stopped. She sniffed and dashed the water from her cheeks as she drew sharply away from Tadhg and stared up at him in disbelief. Surely, she must have misheard him.

"What?" she said, even as his actual words were slowly sinking in. His guilty expression told her instantly that she had heard him correctly. Her stomach dropped through the floor.

"I mean, I, er…" His voice tailed off. He reached for her arm, but she drew back, the shock coursing through her veins like ice.

"Can ye repeat that, Tadhg?" Blaine chimed in, his face alight with gleeful interest. "I'm sure we'd all like tae hear it again. I fer one am deeply curious as tae how ye could possibly make such a claim tae that knowledge. 'Tis very curious indeed."

"Aye, how can he be so sure of that when there's nae proof?" Roger Huston asked the question reflected in the other council members' confused expressions.

But before Tadhg could say anything, Alana hissed at him through clenched teeth, "Let me get this straight. Ye said it was nae me faither who sent Maither away. Ye said it was his wife, Lady Skye. Is that right?"

Tadhg grimaced awkwardly. "Listen, Alana, I didnae mean tae?—"

"Just answer the bloody question, will ye? Was that what ye said?"

He hung his head. "Aye, that was what I said."

"But how could ye possibly ken that?" she demanded, hands on hips.

"Listen tae me, I've been wantin' tae?—"

"Unless ye've been lyin' tae me all this time," she broke in, a volcanic anger fueled by a sense of profound betrayal was rising up within her, threatening to erupt. Narrowly, she managed to keep it in check, along with the dizzying waves of nausea washing over her. "Well, have ye?"

Blaine and the councilmen looked on in amazed silence as Tadhg obviously struggled to answer. Eventually, he said simply. "I'm sorry, but aye, I have. But fer good reasons. If ye'll just let me explain–"

"Dinnae fash yersel'," she told him, attempting sarcasm to conceal the searing pain in her chest. "And how long have ye been keepin' this from me?"

"Since before I left Lennox Castle," he admitted, shamefaced.

She gasped, stunned by his confession as the scale of his betrayal hit her. Suddenly, it felt as though all the breath had been knocked out of her, and she struggled to pull air into her lungs. She put a hand to her chest to ease the pain there. It truly felt as if her heart was exploding, shattering into a thousand smithereens.

"Since before ye left… years, ye mean?" she managed to murmur, unable to stop her voice from shaking. Indeed, her whole body was trembling. "Ye kent who me faither was fer years?"

"I'm sorry, Alana, I wanted tae tell ye," he tried to say, putting out his palms to her in supplication, a plea for understanding.

The slap resounded in the hushed chamber and left a livid red outline of Alana's hand on Tadhg's cheek.

"Ach, dammit," he muttered, rubbing the red mark.

She shied away from him, oblivious of the eyes upon them, the ears listening to every word. She stood staring at him, gripping the edge of the table, so she did not collapse as waves of shock, anger, and sheer devastation coursed through her. The anger was for herself as much as him. She felt like falling to her knees, ripping out her hair, and wailing.

How could I have been so stupid as tae trust him again?

"Alana, please, listen tae me, let me just explain?—"

"How could ye have done it, Tadhg? How could ye have betrayed me like this again?" she cried, hating the piteous edge to her voice. "'Tis nae just that ye've broken me heart all over again, but ye let me believe all this time that me faither sent Maither away when ye kent it was a lie!"

"It wasnae like that, I tell ye, I've nae betrayed ye. If ye'd just hear me out," he pleaded.

She shook her head vigorously. "Nay, nay, I'll nae listen tae another word from ye. Ye cannae be trusted nae tae lie."

"Alana, please–" Once again, he sought to catch hold of her arm. Once again, she pulled back as if his touch was infectious.

"Dinnae touch me! Dinnae speak tae me! How dare ye even try tae speak tae me. And dinnae look at me either. Ever," she spat at him, clenching her fists, trying to rally all her inner forces to prevent complete collapse.

Determined not to let him see the extent of the mortal wound he had dealt her, she drew herself up to her full height and looked down her nose at him scornfully. Having suffered such a tremendous blow, her survival instincts commanded her to retaliate, to inflict pain upon him in revenge.

She shifted her gaze to Blaine. "Ye're right, we're nae married," she declared, eliciting a grin from Blaine and murmurs of surprise from the councilmen, as well as a low groan from Tadhg. "And I'll dae whatever ye want tae help ye save me faither." Then, with a storm of tears threatening to overwhelm her, unable to stay in the room a moment longer, she turned and fled.