Embarrassed, Meriel said, “She said he could spill his seed in her now, because ye would assume any bairn was yours.”
Rowan looked angry and hurt. “When is this meeting in the chapel supposed to occur?” He still gripped her arm and he gave her a little shake.
“I’m not sure when exactly, sometime tonight. She told him to hide there and she would join him when she could. She said if anyone asks, she will tell them she needs time to pray before the wedding.”
“Well, then, it should be easy enough to learn the truth. I will pay a visit to the chapel this evening myself. Don’t mention this to anyone else, Meriel. If ye are wrong, I don’t want any other ears to hear this foul rumor.”
“I—I won’t. I promise.” With that Meriel slipped away.
Nineteen
Rowan had no idea what to think. Why would Meriel lie about something like this? What could she hope to gain? These were questions Rowan couldn’t answer. After Meriel slipped into the crowd, he returned to his betrothed’s side. If Meriel’s accusations were true, he need only wait for Eara to leave the festivities. It would be easy enough to discover if she had a tryst planned with someone in the chapel.
The celebration went on for hours before Eara yawned and begged to be excused.
“I would be happy to see ye to your chamber, lass,” Rowan offered.
“How very kind of ye, Rowan, but I would like to go to the chapel for a bit before I retire. I find prayer calming.”
“That sounds lovely, lass. Perhaps I shall join ye. A few moments of prayer in the chapel before retiring might be just the thing to ensure a good night’s sleep.”
She slapped playfully at his chest. “Ye are mocking me.”
“Nay, lass, I’d never mock ye.”
“Ye don’t really want to come to the chapel with me. Besides, what will people think if we disappear together?”
“I can only imagine if we disappear to the chapel, they will think we are engaged in some holy pursuit.”
“Ye are a rogue, Rowan MacKenzie. Nay, ye stay here celebrating with your brothers and leave me to my maidenly prayers.” Eara kissed his cheek and left him, making her way out of the keep.
Rowan brooded silently for a while until Peadar punched his shoulder good-naturedly, saying, “Rowan, ye look as if ye have lost her forever, lad. She has only retired for the night, she will be yours soon enough.”
Rowan laughed ruefully at Peadar’s ironic words. If what Meriel had told him was true, Eara would never be his. “Aye, well, perhaps I’ve had too much to drink. I think I will get a bit of air.”
He rose and walked resolutely out of the keep. The crowd in the courtyard was thinning. He supposed many of the revelers had sought their beds. He hoped fervently Meriel was wrong. He wanted to find Eara praying her “maidenly prayers,” but he suspected such a hope was in vain. He leaned casually against the wall of the chapel for a few moments, before slipping into the shadows and making his way to the back door, which opened into the sacristy.
He slipped inside silently and listened. He did not hear the murmurs of whispered prayer. Rather the moans of a couple in the throes of passion echoed through the otherwise quiet chapel. He stepped quietly out of the sacristy, still hoping there had been some error, perhaps Meriel had been mistaken and this was some other couple. Even in the dim light of the chapel, it was impossible to miss his betrothed’s fiery red hair shrouding her naked form as she rode her lover.
His anger nearly blinded him and he wanted nothing more than to beat the man bloody, but seeing as he would have to pull his betrothed off the man first, it seemed slightly ridiculous. Clearly, she was a willing participant. Instead, he stepped into the pale moonlight streaming through the chapel windows and said, “Eara, love, I’m terribly sorry to interrupt ye but I thought ye would want to know simply being on your knees in the chapel doesn’t, strictly speaking, constitute prayer.”
Eara’s shocked gasp and the man’s muffled curse might have been funny if Rowan wasn’t so angry. With one last look of derision, he strode past them and out the main chapel doors.
Not trusting himself to do anything more at the moment, he returned to his chamber in the west tower of the keep to calm himself. In his agitation, he paced, swearing with every other step.
He would not marry Eara Fraser no matter how badly his father wanted the alliance, but if he didn’t proceed carefully a full-scale feud could erupt and the people who might suffer the most were the MacIans. He couldn’t allow that to happen, either. He must discuss this with Laird MacIan as soon as possible, preferably before Eara could cause any mischief herself.