“I did what you could not,” she said. “You had to remain true to him to keep your honor. I had to defend our home. Pray we never need to again.”
She leaned up and kissed him again, and the warmth of her mouth unleashed a fierce longing in him and made him shudder in her embrace. She was everything he’d wanted. And she was still his.
“Are you hungry?” she asked him.
“For you,” he answered.
She smiled impishly. “You’ll have to hold your hunger for a bit longer. We have guests.”
He wrinkled his forehead. “Can’t that wait? I’ve missed you, Claire.”
Then he saw someone coming down the stairs. His stomach dropped. It was his sister, Maeg, holding the hand of a little child as she carefully came down the steps. James stood at the top of the stairs, his hand gripping the banister. His face was sick with worry.
Maeg had a desperate look in her eyes.
Claire hooked her arm with Ransom’s. “What was I to do? Turn them away?”
We have waded through war, we have suffered confinement, and just when it seems that peace is possible, trouble comes finding us once more, threatening to drag us back into the mire. James Wigant and his wife, Ransom’s sister, have fled Dundrennan in defiance of the king’s orders.
Once more our loyalty is being tested. Ransom loves his sister. But if we shelter these two from the king, then we will all be found guilty of treason. How long must this kingdom endure such internal strife?
Why not call back the Aos Sí to rule once more? Surely not even they could have been this bad.
—Claire de Murrow, Queen of Legault
Connaught Castle
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Woe of Treason
Ransom embraced his sister when she reached the bottom of the stairs, and she clung to him so tightly that he could feel her trembling. He was still getting over the shock of seeing her at Connaught castle when she was supposed to be in North Cumbria. There, she reigned as duchess of the North. But now, in his arms, she was his younger sister once again.
He stroked her hair and looked down at the child, who stared up at him with a frightened gaze. He was a stranger to the boy—an intimidating one—but that did not stifle the affection Ransom had for the lad.
“What do we do? What do we do?” Maeg whispered, her voice thick with tears.
James sauntered down the steps, but it lacked his old confidence. He had a defeated look.
“Hello, Brother-in-Law,” James said to Ransom. “Is this a bad time for a visit?”
Claire lowered herself to Sibyl’s height and put a hand on her shoulder. “Would you take your cousin Percy to the kitchen? Find out what he likes to eat.”
“Yes, Máthair,” Sibyl said. She grabbed little Keeva by the hand and then extended her other one to the boy.
Maeg released Ransom from her embrace and nodded to her son to go with his cousins. He looked fearful, but he took Sibyl’s hand, and the three children went toward the kitchen. Following them with his gaze, Ransom saw Dearley watching the scene from the doorway.
Ransom felt a flush of pride in his first knight. The two men grinned at each other, and they met in the center of the room in a rough embrace.
“Welcome home, Ransom.”
Dearley’s success had given him a new—and well-deserved—self-confidence. It felt so good to see him alive and well, especially after the false news from Jon-Landon, yet anxiety squirmed in his stomach. His sister’s visit didn’t bode well.
“How is Elodie?” Ransom asked in concern, trying to quell his worries for the moment.
“She’s ready to burst,” Dearley said. “The baby should come any day. She’s already abed for the night.”
“May the Fountain bless you both,” Ransom said.
“Go,” Dearley said, nodding to the others. “They’ve been waiting for your arrival to tell us why they’ve come.”
“You’re coming with us,” Ransom said.
His old friend shook his head. “This is a family matter.”
“You are family,” he insisted. “Come. To the solar. Everyone.”
They all marched up the stairs to gather in the solar. It felt good to see the familiar sights, to reassure himself the castle and his family had suffered no lasting damage in the conflict. Still, he felt the tugging sense that there was more trouble to come.
Once they were all sequestered in the solar, where they could speak without fear of being overheard by servants, Ransom gave Claire a worried look, which she reciprocated. They sat on a couch, while Dearley took a chair to the side of the room. James paced nervously, unable to sit, and Maeg lowered herself onto a divan and buried her face in her hands.
“Does the king know you’re here?” Ransom asked, breaking the awkward silence.
James shook his head. “Not yet. We took a ship from Blackpool and came straight here.”
“Why?”
James looked at Maeg before shifting his attention back to Ransom. “Do you know what happened to Constance’s son at Dundrennan?”
“I know he’s dead,” Ransom answered bleakly. It was still hard to think on it. He’d promised to be the boy’s protector, and he’d failed miserably.
The sun was down, so nothing but darkness could be seen out the window. Although there was a crackling fire in the hearth and a few candles had been lit around the room, it held deep shadows and had a somber look.
James looked disgusted. “Yes. He is. Do you know how he died?”
Ransom’s stomach soured. “I don’t.”
“The king made us take an oath not to tell,” James said bitterly. “He wanted to conceal his shame. But I’ll tell you. I’ll confess this Argentine’s sin. We’re ruined anyway.”
Claire reached for Ransom’s hand and squeezed it hard. “If you tell us, what good will it do? I think it can only do evil.”
“He is evil,” Maeg said, her voice trembling.
James approached her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I need to tell you because I want you to join us.”
Ransom wrinkled his brow. “Join what?”
“An uprising against the king.”
A pit opened in Ransom’s stomach. “You speak treason.”
“I know,” James said seriously. “Hal Kiskaddon is leading it.”
Claire gasped. “How long has this been going on?”
“Long enough,” James said. “It has already started. The lesser lords of the realm are furious with the king for his heavy-handed ways. He’s alienated everyone. Kiskaddon is the ringleader. Dalian Kinghorn is our man inside the palace. The royal family will be abducted, and the king charged with violating the sanctuary of the Fountain. He’ll be thrown over the falls, and good riddance to him.”
Ransom rose from the couch, his nerves tingling with dread. “When?” he demanded.
“Soon, if it has not already happened,” James said. “It is only justice, Ransom. We’ve all watched him humiliate you. He attacked your domain when he invaded Legault, and he did so with treacherous aims. You bore it like a saint when you should have risen up against him!” He shook his head. “I’m no saint.”