Chapter Two
Tavish walked into the Great Hall of the royal court and looked around. He never relaxed when he was here. Even a night spent in pleasurable pursuits never made him comfortable. He was a large Highlander among the machinations of Lowland politicians and courtiers.
He was not bothered by standing out. Between his height and his clothing, he was a veritable raven among doves. At close to six and a half feet tall, he was the shortest of the four Sinclair brothers but only by a hair's breadth. His younger brother, Magnus, who he searched for now, was the largest of them all. Magnus had the broadest shoulders and widest frame, but Callum, their middle brother Alexander, and Tavish were not to be underestimated. When together, in their most comfortable stance of feet planted hip width apart and arms crossed, there were few who would consider challenging any or all the Sinclair men.
Tavish's plaid, or rather his refusal to don anything other than his leine and plaid, also made him an irregularity at court. His plaid was of comfort to him since he was forced to leave his claymore locked in his chamber.
Looking around, Tavish scanned the crowd again but did not find Magnus. He already checked at his brother's chamber which was next door to his in the suite assigned to their family.
His gaze alighted on a young woman he first saw three days earlier when he arrived and now stood outside the circle of young women gathered near the dais. She was not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she held an allure that caught and kept Tavish’s attention for longer than it should have. The women, ladies-in-waiting by their youth, were looking in his direction and none too discreetly whispering behind their hands. He wanted to groan aloud when he spotted, even from a distance, a woman he deduced was Mary Kerr. His sister's by marriage half-sister. The Kerrs and the trouble they caused with the Sinclairs was one reason Magnus came to court. Magnus meant to resolve conflicts that arose between the Sinclairs and the Gunns, the Kerrs, and the de Soules after his brothers' marriages to women he adored but whose families grievously mistreated them.
Tavish altered his course and sought the king, but he was not at the dais. Tavish spent the last three days trying to gain an audience with the king but was steadfastly denied. The guards refused to allow him to wait in the antechamber outside the Privy Council.
The evening meal was yet to begin, so he left to find Magnus. As he prowled the halls of the castle, he recognized a deep brogue.
“Uncle Hamish! Uncle Hamish, slow down.”
Tavish jogged towards his uncle and saw the surprise on his face when he recognized Tavish moving towards him.
“Uncle Hamish, what the devil is going on? I arrived at court three days ago. The king is refusing me an audience, and no one will tell me where Magnus is. I asked for ye, but they told me ye were away. I havenae seen anyone I ken.”
Tavish allowed his uncle to pull him into an empty chamber and waited while his uncle scanned the room to ensure their privacy.
“Ye brother has found himself in the king’s dungeon.”
A chill followed by burning fire swept through Tavish as he stared at Hamish.
“Aye. Do ye remember Deirdre Fraser?”
Tavish’s eyes narrowed, his feet spread apart, and his arms crossed.
“How could I nae? The lass broke Magnus’s heart. He’s nae been the same since she left him. Dinna tell me she got him thrown in there. The bitch.” Tavish was ready to leave. He did not want to remember anything else about the darkest time in his brother’s life short of when their mother died.
“I wouldnae let yer brother hear ye speak like that aboot his wife. The last mon to insult her is having his hand seen to by a healer after having a dirk stuck in it.”
Tavish was not sure he caught what his uncle said.
“Wife? Auld mon, I think ye have a tale to tell and dinna dither aboot. Ye best explain this sharpish.”
The two overly large men found seats on a settee not designed for one Highlander let alone two. It groaned in protest as they sought a comfortable position.
“Ye brother found her soon after his arrival. He had nay idea she was at court. It seems he’s been sending her missives only to have them returned. He never kenned where she was as she’s been, or was, a lady-in-waiting and traveled with the court. Her father intercepted the missives and never told her aboot them.
“Magnus saw her leave the Great Hall pursued by a mon. He witnessed the mon push her through the door, so he followed. He prevented this mon, Lord Archibald Hay, from raping her. This is the mon her father arranged for her to marry. I dinna ken all the details, but somewhere between rescuing her and their running away together, they reconciled. Word of their previous relationship,” Hamish looked at him, “flew aboot like snow in a blizzard. Deirdre was disgraced and dismissed from the queen’s court. Her parents and Hay moved everything along, so they could remove her from court and presumably hide her at one of his keeps. She and Magnus fled. No one noticed their disappearance until that evening when her mother went to fetch her for the wedding. Needless to say, holy hell broke loose as her father and Hay organized search parties. The other lairds and I rode out to make sure Magnus came back alive. We arrived nae an hour past. Tavish, they took yer brother to the dungeon.”
Tavish nodded his head throughout his uncle’s tale. It did not shock him to learn of his brother’s actions. Regardless of Deirdre’s meaning to his brother, Magnus nor any other Sinclair brother, would overlook a woman being harmed. While they never spoke of it, Tavish was aware Magnus still considered himself a married man. He might drink with his brothers and even carouse a bit, but he never indulged in other women. Tavish had teased him on more than one occasion, calling him a monk.
Hearing of these secret letters stung. He had not known about them and realizing his brother had kept such a secret from him was a wound that cut deep. Magnus and Mairghread were inseparable as young children because they were closest in age. Callum and Alexander were only a few months further apart than Magnus and Mairghread. This left Tavish squarely in the middle. He was left out more than once during their childhood, but as the brothers grew into adults and dedicated their time to the lists, he and Magnus naturally partnered first. Of his brothers, he would have said he was closest to Magnus. When traveling, it was always with Magnus that he shared a chamber. Learning his brother had not trusted him wounded more than just pride.
He didna think he could trust me. He thought I would tease him or tell others. That ruddy well hurts to realize. Am I that great a disappointment? Do others think I canna be mature enough to be told something in confidence?
Tavish forced himself to focus on the story his uncle continued to tell.
“I assume that their reconciliation involved them considering themselves still married?”
“Ye would have the right of that.”
“Then I dinna ken how the king doesnae see that there couldnae be a betrothal with another mon. Does the king ken aboot their handfast all those years ago?”
“Aye, but he doesnae take it seriously.”
The door to the chamber opened, and a page summoned them to the king’s Privy Council chamber.
Aboot bluidy time.
“Tavish, I am pleased to see ye at court. What brings ye here?”
Tavish looked at the king and tried to keep from snarling. Both men understood why Tavish was there. As he looked around the chamber filled with courtiers, his upper lip curled. He forced his face to smooth into the diplomatic mask he accepted he had to wear, but the mutual disgust was palpable between the Highlander and the Lowlanders who surrounded him and his uncle.
“Sire, thank ye for the welcome. Ma father sent me to check on Magnus. He has been gone longer than expected. We didna ken he found his wife after all this time.”
The chamber abruptly fell silent, and it appeared its occupants collectively held their breath. The king studied Tavish for a long moment before responding.
“I am not sure I understand your meaning.”
“Magnus’s wife. Deirdre. Yer Majesty, do ye nae remember that Magnus and Deirdre handfasted when the MacLeods hosted the Gathering? They slipped off, seems to be a habit I see now, and handfasted. The entire keep was in an uproar when neither were found. They came back into the bailey like two cats that had gotten into the cream. Well, at least one cat in the cream.” Tavish laughed but sobered when no one else joined him. “Before Magnus and Deirdre could find ma father to tell him, Laird Fraser found them and yanked her from Magnus’s arms. He yelled for his family and clan to pack because they were leaving. Magnus sought me and ma brothers out at the mead tent. We were, uh, being entertained. By the time he could pull us away, word was already swirling around the camp that the Frasers had left. Magnus was beside himself. He did nae say over six words at a time for over a year. Apparently, he kept sending missives to the lass, but someone sent them back. From what I understand, he wasna able to find her for the entire seven years they were apart.”
Tavish’s glare landed on Laird Fraser, and he refused to look away as he continued.
“It would seem Deirdre’s father purposely kept her location a secret from Magnus to force their handfast to run out. Except they already consummated their handfast. She has always been his wife since neither repudiated the other. Laird Fraser stole ma brother’s wife and kept her a veritable prisoner within yer court, Sire.”
Tavish smirked as he watched Laird Fraser’s face move through the shades of red until it was scarlet.
Dinna assume ye can get away with harming ma brother twice. Now I ken what ye did, I will make ye pay doubly.
“Tavish, you lay quite a heavy claim at my feet. There seems to be more to this tale of woe than I ever realized. When Lady Deirdre petitioned both me and the queen to return to your brother, we thought her to just be a love-struck lass who would outgrow her infatuation. It was at her parents’ insistence that they kept her whereabouts from your family. They believed if they had no correspondence, she would move on. When she stopped speaking of the matter, the queen and I thought she no longer held a tendre for Magnus.”
“By yer leave, Yer Grace, ye seriously underestimated the value of faithfulness among the Sinclair men. If ma brother pledged himself to the lass in any way, it was never for just a year and a day. He always meant it to be a lifetime. Ye ken we dinna stand for infidelity, and Magnus wouldnae ever betray a lass like that. I can vouch that he has been a monk for the past seven years.”
“Be he a monk or not, that does not change that he had no right to handfast with her in the first place. It was not a marriage. He was older and defiled her. Since arriving at court, he has disrupted her honest and legitimate betrothal and impending marriage.” Laird Fraser seethed.
“Ye would have yer daughter be a bigamist?” Tavish attempted to sound perplexed but the underlying tone of scorn was too loud to miss. “Ye are a Highlander nay matter what pretensions ye may put on. Ye ken just as well as any other, including the king, a fellow Highlander himself, that a handfast is a marriage if it’s chosen by the couple. It is only a trial when arranged by clan leaders. Ma brother married yer daughter, and ye would risk her soul and excommunication, so ye can, what, gain land, a new title, mayhap gloat to the other lordlings. I shall pray for yer soul and that ye beg the Lord’s forgiveness.”
Hamish stepped beside his nephew and rested a hand on his shoulder. It was not just a familial gesture. It reminded everyone in the room that the Sinclairs and Sutherlands stood together as two of the most powerful clans in the Highlands.
“Sire, ye have heard a great deal from ma nephew. He hasnae been here long enough to ken all that has transpired. He hasnae even seen his brother yet. What he tells ye, he does so because it is the truth he has always kenned.”
“Sire, nae to state the obvious, but ma brother and sister by marriage have been traveling throughout the Scottish countryside for how many days? Alone? Do ye honestly believe there is a chance they didna claim their marital rights? At the least, they would have handfasted again, and surely they consummated this union.” Tavish cleared his throat. “It’s a mite late to even claim she’s been compromised. I’d say it’s gone a far sight beyond just compromise.”
Tavish stood his ground as Laird Fraser lunged towards him.
“Ye bluidy Sinclairs think ye have the answer to everything. Ye’re all alike. Ye’re nay better than yer brother, the bastard.”
“Dinna speak of ma mother like that, or ye may fall asleep but nae wake up.” Tavish bit out. “Considering me as good as any of ma brothers is an honor. They’re the finest men I ken.”
“Cease, Fraser. Sinclair has given me much to think about. Tavish, retire to a chamber. I will summon you when I am ready to decide.”
Tavish bowed but took a final shot across the bow when he looked at Laird Fraser.
“By the by, yer burr is showing again. Ye can hide here, but ye’re a Highlander, and ye ken exactly what that means. Find yer honor before ye lose yer soul.”