“Well, let me make one thing perfectly clear, I never considered taking a bride from within the clan. No matter how many strong allies I have, choosing not to strengthen those ties with marriage would have been foolish and not in the best interests of this clan.” Tadhg shook his head. This was beyond belief. He glanced around the hall again, his eyes resting on Flan’s bruised face.
“Flan, did ye fight to defend your sister?”
Flan stood tall and looked him directly in the eye. “Aye, Laird.” Looking around the room and seeing Tully’s swollen nose and the bruising under his eyes, he asked, “Did my squire break your nose, Tully?”
“Aye, Laird. I’m sorry, Laird.”
“Well done, Flan. It will save my having to do it tomorrow.”
He was ashamed. How had he failed to notice this maltreatment of his wife? He couldn’t change what had happened, but it was going to stop immediately. “Will anyone admit to removing the instrument from my wife’s solar and placing under the rushes?”
Met with silence again, Tadhg spat. “I thought not. It was the shameful act of a coward. God’s teeth, I thought better of ye than this. When she was concerned about over stepping her bounds or causing hurt feelings it actually irritated me. I assured her ye would respect her solely because she was Lady Matheson. When I would have dismissed Meriel and Kester, it was Lady Matheson, the one ye are all so quick to judge, who asked me for leniency. Taban, was it ye who said I had gone soft? Well, by God I have, but not because I married Mairead MacKenzie or chose to show mercy at her request.
“If I have gone soft, it is because I held many members of my clan in higher esteem than they deserved!
“I didn’t think it was necessary to give this order, but from here on ye will treat Lady Matheson with the same respect due me. If ye fail to do this, ye will find out exactly how hard and merciless I can be. Going forward, I will ignore any pleas from your lady for leniency. Now ye will excuse me. I have to go and beg forgiveness from Lady Matheson on your sorry behalf.”
Tadhg ascended the stairs to their chambers in the south tower. How could they have done this to her? She was sweet and kind and so very fragile. No, that wasn’t right, she wasn’t fragile at all. She was resilient. She met a challenge with full vigor. She had taken on the prejudices of his whole clan and, as Jock had said, she had already won most of them over. Still, this last blow was intended to inflict serious pain. He couldn’t imagine the sorrow and loss she was feeling and all he wanted to do was comfort her. He wanted to show her how important she was to him and how much he cared for her. He was sure he would find her in their chambers, but the rooms were all empty.
~ * ~
Mairead had to leave the great hall before she did something she would regret. She didn’t know where she was going—her only goal was to escape the situation with at least a remnant of her pride intact.
Instead of entering the south tower, she left the keep through the door leading to the kitchens. The snow, which had been threatening for several days, was now falling. She turned off the pathway to the kitchen to walk through the swirling snow into the dark frozen garden behind it. Since the horrible day at the festival seven years earlier, she had not given in to tears until the day she had arrived at Cnocreidh. Tears over small things seemed absurd. She was always able to talk herself out of them. Now she was on the verge of tears over a little wooden recorder; it didn’t get more ridiculous than that.
Nay, it wasn’t just over the recorder. Ye are the mouse everyone always said ye were, and once again ye have failed. It doesn’t matter how well ye can run a household if the people in it hate ye. Ye deserve this, Mairead. If ye were a better, stronger, braver person this wouldn’t be happening. Just as it had always worked in the past, when she was through punishing herself, she was too ashamed to cry.
She turned to leave the garden when the panicked sound of her husband’s voice calling her name interrupted her self-castigation.
She called to him, “I’m here, Tadhg,” before calmly walking back around the kitchens toward the keep.
“Mairead, love, what are ye doing out here? I know ye are upset, sweetling, but ye will freeze.”
“Nay, I am fine. I just needed a few minutes alone. I didn’t mean to worry ye. I am sorry.”
“It is much too cold out here, love.” He gently put his arm around her. “Come inside with me.”
She went with him silently. When they reached their chamber, he pulled her into an embrace. “Mairead, I am so very sorry. I didn’t know how badly my clan has been treating ye. If I had paid attention and done something about it sooner, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened. It is inexcusable and it will change.”