Duncan? Have mercy.
Helen moved so she could peer around the door. Behind her, Maggie started to wail.
Red in the face, Aleck looked as if he were about to kill Eoin. “He’s debauched Helen. Turned her against me.”
“I have done nothing of the sort.” Eoin lowered his sword and looked to Duncan. “Lady Helen was abused by—”
Aleck drew his dirk. With a deep bellow, he launched himself at Eoin.
Taking in a sharp gasp, Helen’s heartbeat raced.
With a flick of his wrist, Eoin deflected the attack and sent the blackguard stumbling toward the hearth. Then Eoin faced him and raised his weapon. Aleck reached for his sword. It hissed from its scabbard as the two men circled.
Helen rushed forward and grabbed Duncan’s arm. “Stop them!”
“How could you degrade yourself, keeping company alone in the forest with a man?” He drew his arm away. “You are ruined. Your daughter is ruined. I cannot believe your behavior—something I would never expect from you, above all.”
Helen backed away in horror whilst Maggie’s cries grew louder. Duncan’s bitter words were far more painful than any blow delivered by Aleck’s slap.
Clutching her fists beneath her chin, she watched in horror as Eoin and Aleck crashed into the table as it screeched across the floorboards. Each man’s eyes filled with hate, they brandished their swords like wild men. Behind her, Maggie’s wails pierced through the mayhem.
Duncan stood with his fists on his hips and watched with a scowl, doing nothing to stop the fight.
Eoin moved like lightning—so fast, Helen didn’t see exactly how it happened, but Aleck was disarmed of his sword, and Eoin had her estranged husband flat on his back in a stranglehold.
Duncan stepped forward. “I’ll have words—”
Helen dashed in front of her brother and cut him off. “With me!” She jabbed her finger into his sternum. “How could you marry me off to a tyrant—a man who thinks nothing of beating me—a man who refuses to see his own daughter because he wanted a lad—a vile braggart who locks his wife in the dungeon for sennights because I asked his leman to tend the pigs and chickens when the villagers sought refuge in Mingary Castle?” She stamped her foot. “Whilst said tyrant rode off to secure his lands in Sunart, leaving me alone to defend to the keep against a MacDonald sea attack.” She took in a deep breath, hardly able to believe she’d uttered the entire repugnant affair in one outpouring.
Duncan’s mouth dropped open.
But Helen was only starting. She threw a finger Aleck’s direction. “If I am ruined because I allowed Sir Eoin to assist me and carry my missive to Iona so that I could seek safety, not only for me, but for my daughter, then I choose complete and utter ruination.”
Duncan threw a heated glare toward Aleck. “Are these accusations true?”
The scoundrel’s feet squirmed while Eoin maintained his grip. “Get this mule-brained boar off me,” Aleck garbled.
Eoin’s knuckles grew white and he flashed Duncan a quick look. “I saw the bruises on Lady Helen’s face, and witnessed MacIain’s untoward hostility toward his wife—when she was married to the slobbering weasel.”
Sir Sean pushed through the door. Behind him Gyllis marched inside, dragging a battered looking Mr. Keith in her wake. “This man can testify on Helen’s behalf.”
The old guard cringed, giving Helen a hesitant grimace.
“Go on,” Gyllis urged.
“M’lord.” Mr. Keith bowed to Duncan. “I released Lady Helen from the dungeon at Mingary where she’d been incarcerated for two sennights with orders that no one see her. At her request, I rowed a skiff all the way to Dunollie where Lady Gyllis graciously gave her refuge.”
“You rowed from Mingary?” Duncan asked.
“Someone had to do something. Sooner or later she would have succumbed to the violent hand of the chieftain.”
“You lie!” Aleck garbled from the floor, kicking his feet while Maggie continued to howl in the back room.
Gyllis disappeared into the bedchamber.
“Silence, you whoreson.” Eoin’s grip strengthened. “I witnessed your tyranny myself.”
“But you have been caught, MacGregor. Your word bears no witness here. Regardless, I intend to uncover the truth.” Duncan turned to Mr. Keith. “Were you aware of any scandalous action by Eoin MacGregor before the annulment was granted?”
Mr. Keith scratched his beard and looked to Helen.
Please say no. She slowly shook her head as Gyllis stepped beside her, cradling the bairn. Goodness, Helen hadn’t even realized the crying had stopped.
“I can testify to your question.” Thank the heavens, His Worship stepped into the cottage. John marched straight to Duncan. “I asked Sir Eoin the very same when he came to me with Helen’s missive requesting help.”
Helen shot a panicked look to Eoin. He gave her a reassuring wink.
“We talked about his fondness for our sister, but he swore to me, the Bishop of the Isles, that he had not compromised the sanctity of marriage.”
“Mr. Keith,” Duncan squared his shoulders. “When did you become aware of Sir Eoin’s affection for her ladyship?”
Helen’s knees wobbled.
“Not until a month past. I kent he helped her ladyship, but I swear on my mother’s grave there was no impropriety between them. Honestly, it surprised me when he came to visit with the missive from the Pope. He’d always been a bit stand-offish, good at training the guard, mind you, but he never sat with the men at Mingary and drank ale—you ken, he kept to himself.” Mr. Keith looked to Aleck, still gasping in Eoin’s stranglehold. “Ah, if the lordship will also allow me, I must bear witness to the fact that Sir Aleck was openly affectionate with the widow, Mary.”
“Openly?” Duncan asked.
“Aye, there was no question what went on above stairs, if you know what I mean.” Mr. Keith pointed to the door. “In fact, before we came in, one of the MacIain lads told me news had arrived that Mary birthed a lass—Sir Aleck’s illegitimate daughter.”
Duncan crossed the floor. “Is this true?”
MacIain spat. “Call off your dog.”
It took but a flash for Duncan to pull dirk and place the point a hair’s breadth from Aleck’s eye. “I’ll ask one more time. Is it true?”
“Aye,” Aleck growled. “A man needs to take a leman when he has a fickle wife.”
“That’s a lie.” Helen stamped her foot. “I pleaded with you to come to my bed after Maggie’s birth so that I could give you a son, but since the day she was born, you have shunned us both.”
Gyllis stepped forward. “And Helen told me in confidence that Sir Aleck had been unfaithful throughout the duration of their marriage.”
John steepled his fingers in front of the cross on his chasuble. “I’m afraid, brother, a higher order has made a decision on this matter. His Holiness the Pope has annulled this marriage and Aleck MacIain is no longer our brother-in-law.”
Duncan drew his dirk away from Aleck’s eye and sheathed it. “You heard the words straight from His Worship, MacIain. Take your men back to Mingary now and leave my sister in peace. If I hear you have ever again acted against a decree from His Holiness the Pope, I will personally preside over your hanging.”