TALK WITH A FRIEND
“Hello?”
Amabel knocked at the door. The east turret was cold and windy as it had been the last time she was here. This time, she walked hastily up the steps, without hesitating.
She paused. When there was no answer, she knocked again.
“Hello?”
“Come in.”
This time, the voice and the strange distortion of the door did not bother her nearly as much. She opened the door and went inside.
As it had been last time, the room was stiflingly warm, the fire stoked furnace-hot. Amabel stood on the threshold, shedding her cloak quickly in the heat.
Aili was sitting where she had been. She chuckled.
“Come in, niece. It is good to see you, and in such spirits!”
Amabel smiled. “I am, thank you.”
Her aunt cackled. “Oh! And I can guess he is a fine husband. I am pleased for you. Come! We must have our cakes and ale.”
As she had the last time, the servant rushed out to do as Aili bid her. This time, the cakes and ale appeared faster, so that by the time her aunt had stood up from the chair and settled herself down at the table, the maid was back.
“Aunt,” Amabel said, deciding to address the matter at once, “I was at the market today...”
“And you brought me a present. Thank you, dear. My tapestries will be up soon, I think?”
Amabel smiled. “Yes, Auntie. I did. The present is in the basket at the door, if your maid would take it?”
As Aili called for the maid, Amabel composed herself.
“Auntie,” she said when the maid had disappeared into the back of the suite, taking the gift with her, “I heard about the MacDonnells. It is believed they are preparing to assault Dunkeld.”
Aili smiled. “Those wily men. Aye! I wondered when Neil would break his bonds and come for it. It all makes sense.”
She was nodding, chewing a small cake thoughtfully.
Amabel frowned.
“So, it is likely that the MacDonnells are making war on the fortress?”
“Inevitable, my dear.” The answer was given through pastry.
Aili swallowed and dabbed her lips.
“But... Auntie? Why the MacDonnells?”
“Well…” Her aunt dabbed away pastry and sipped her ale, thinking. “Is it not clear already? The MacAdams and MacConnellys are already at each other’s' throats! Two great enemies. Enemies of the MacDonnell both. Why not now? It is the perfect time.”
Amabel stared. She felt as if someone had finally granted her sight. She had been blind!
Everything made sense. Absolute, complete and total sense.
“So...” She paused, clasping her hands as she marshaled thoughts. “So, the MacDonnells are the longstanding enemies of the MacConnelly, and ours also?”
Aili nodded. “That Neil, their laird. I've known him since he was a bairn. Not right in the head, he's not. He hated us. I knew he'd come for us sometime. I always did.”
Amabel blinked. “And they are enemies of the MacConnelly and have always been?”
“That's correct,” Aili agreed.
“And so... they sought to set us all against each other. Is that right?”
Aili laughed hollowly. “Right as rain, my dear.” Outside, the rain hissed.
Amabel shivered.
“So, the raiders. They were not Bradley. Am I right?”
Her aunt chuckled. “Right indeed.”
Amabel stared at her. She set her cup down, slowly, knowing she would choke if she tried to drink anything at this point.
“So, it was all a ruse,” she began slowly. “The raid. The Bradleys. The feuding between them?”
“Absolutely,” Aili agreed immediately.
“So, Aisling died because...because of...”
“Nothing, dear,” Aili said harshly. “She died because of nothing. A whim. A fancy. An idea. And under it all the perilous ambition. The lust for power. That was all it was. Power. Ah! What people do for it. They run in little circles and make themselves puppets. Is being a puppet power? I say not! Do you?”
Amabel stared at her. She thought of Brien, her great-uncle. Aili was clearly thinking of him, too.
“I agree, Auntie,” Amabel said quietly.
Aili laughed. “Good for you!”
They sat silently a while. The fire was the only sound, hissing and popping in the grate, a breathing being.
After a moment, Amabel cleared her throat.
“Aili?”
“Yes, dear?”
“What can we do?”
Aili sighed. “What we can do is up to you, my child.”
Amabel frowned. “What must I do?”
“That is a different question. One only you can answer. There is no must, my dear. Only will. If you want to change this, there is a way.”
Amabel stared at her. Of course, she wanted to! She imagined the horror that was, even now, marching to the fortress of Dunkeld. The misery, the pain it would cause. And the vengeance it would call down on successive generations. She had seen enough of vengeance and the misery it wrought to never want it. But she was not sure if Broderick would believe her. Not yet. She needed proof.
“I want to do something. Help me know what to do.”
Aili smiled. “Hold your hand out, dear.”
Amabel obeyed without thinking about it.
Surprisingly, all Aili did was hold it in her own.
“You have courage. And love. Those are all you need. What do they tell you to do?”
Amabel closed her eyes. What did they tell her to do? As she sat there, thinking, an idea began to form in her mind. She knew she should not involve Broderick. Not yet. Not until she knew more.
“I want to go. To warn them. To expose the lies for what they are, once and for all.”
“Well, then.” Aili smiled at her. “That is what you must do.”
“I think...” Amabel bit her lip. “I think I know how.”
Aili smiled. “If you wish to tell me, I am listening, child. If not, I wish you blessings.”
Amabel drew in a deep breath. “I wish to tell you.”
“Then do so.”
“Well, then.” Amabel paused. “What I plan is this....”
She talked to Aili until the sun set and the maid returned. When Aili invited her to stay and take dinner with her, she politely declined. Not particularly because she did not like her company – she did – but because she had promised to be at dinner that evening.
She said her farewells and walked quickly down the stairs and to the door that led back into the body of the castle. As she walked, she thought hard about all that had happened. All that she had planned and said.
She had an idea. And she would put it into practice.
It was dangerous. But she had to try.
It was the only plan she had to stop total warfare from engulfing them completely. She had to do something and, as much as she loved Broderick, she knew he would not trust her before she had more proof. This was a way to gather it – the only way she knew.