She watched as he strode away. His brothers looked at her before following him, and the sadness in their eyes told her she would get no help there. Murdoch looked close to tears. And she prayed he had the wit to hide that quickly.
Mora laid back down and sighed. There was nothing she could do. Her uncle was not interested in hearing the truth about his heir, so he listened to only lies. She had been a fool to think she could cut through that kind of blindness just because she was armed with the truth.
She should just go back to sleep, she thought, but that seemed a waste of what little time she had left. All she could do was keep stating the truth and pray there was at least one person at Wasterburn who would be bold and step up to at least cause the laird to wait until he made absolutely certain that she was guilty of what she had been accused of. Mora knew it was foolish to rest any hope on that. Her mother had often complained that her brother by law too often thought he was a king and not just a laird.
Closing her eyes, she thought on Gybbon. She really wanted to go back to him but feared she never would. Nor would she see Andrew or Freya ever again. It seemed odd to her that when she faced the end of her short life, all she could think of was the people she would miss.
Or never know, a soft voice whispered in her mind. That made her eyes burn with tears, but she refused to let them fall. She would never know her child, never be blessed with one. The fact that the child who came to mind was a lovely boy sired by Gybbon made her even sadder. That would never happen. She would never even learn if he cared for her as more than a bed warmer.
Mora decided she would pray for whatever scheme Hilda was so happy about to actually work. The woman appeared to think she could do something that would help, but Mora did not know her well enough to judge if that confidence was warranted. Hilda could be one of those people who always thought they had a good plan only to watch it fail and then they would come up with another one. Whatever the woman thought she could do, Mora feared there would not be enough time to do it, but she had some time to pray that the kitchen maid had really come up with an idea that would work. She would add the hope that her uncle could be deterred long enough to make that happen.
Chapter Sixteen
Gybbon looked around the keep and wondered why people were keeping their eyes down and others appeared to be looking for something. He followed Harcourt to the door and a frantic Annys met them in the hall. Then he heard a strange scratchy yowl and frowned.
"What is that noise?"
"It is Freya. She is shut in Mora's bedchamber and is nay happy about it."
"Where is Mora?"
"I dinnae ken. Harry in the stables said he saddled that mare for her yesterday as she said she was going to practice her riding and she ne'er came back. We sent men out to look but there was nary a sign of her. We were just about to begin the search again when ye returned. I shouldnae have let her go. She has trained, but she wasnae trained enough if there was trouble."
"She wanted to go. I doubt ye could have stopped her. She just would have found another way."
"That cat has been in a frenzy since she left."
"That why it sounds so scratchy?"
"Nay. She didnae make many sounds as a cat does, but she has been doing that constantly since Mora rode off. Without her."
Gybbon ran up to Mora's bedchamber and cautiously opened the door. He barely managed to dart inside before the cat was there. He looked all around and the sight of her bag made him frown, for some of her things were missing, yet she had to have carried them in something else. He had never seen her without that bag. The more he thought on her disappearance, the more he felt sure he knew what she had done. He went to the door and sighed when Freya leapt onto his shoulder and wrapped her tail around his neck.
"Dinnae get comfortable because ye are nay coming with me," he said, and hurried back down to the others. "I ken where she went."
"To talk to our uncle," said a small voice from behind him, and he looked at Andrew.
"Did she tell ye that?" Gybbon asked as the boy reached up and took Freya in his arms.
"Nay, but she felt she should do it, so I figured that was where she slipped off to. Mentioned it a few times and one of the boys we played ball with yesterday is kin to one of the Ogilvy guards. He told me he saw my sister ride into the keep just before the gates were shut for the night, so I kenned I had guessed right. She wants to tell Uncle the truth."
"That is what I fear she has done, too," Gybbon said.
"Oh, nay. That old mon willnae listen to anything she says, especially if it is a criticism of his eldest son. She will ne'er convince him that Robert lies or killed her parents and tries to kill her and Andrew," Annys said, and shook her head. "If she had just mentioned what she planned, I could have told her, given her good solid reasons for why I think it, too. She has put herself in danger with no chance of success."
"I have to go after her. If the mon still has the sense to give orders, she has walked into a trap. Robert will make sure she cannae leave and will allow his da to kill her for him."
"I will come with ye and we can stop at the manor and pull in Sigimor," Harcourt said.
"Why do we need Sigimor?"
"Aside from the fact that I promised I would tell him if something new happened about all this mess, he is keen on getting the old mon to finally see what his son is. His clan has lost some animals to the mon and so have others. All our allies. The laird just willnae listen to the truth-that 'tis the son's doing. There are also Camerons at the keep, as men-at-arms, and some in the village. And at the manor are some guards we may be able to make use of. Robert willnae be able to get many of his men to face off against Sigimor's. Plus, he probably has a few MacFingals with him."
"Then I will get Freya and let us ride to get Sigimor."
"Why get the cat?"
"She will want to see it when she is freed and I think all that scratchy yowling might be bothering Annys."
"Ye get the cat then and I will get Andrew so she can have both when we get her free."
"Aiden! What are ye doing here, laddie?" asked Annie, Dubheidland's cook, as she hastily dried her hands so she could hug the boy.
"She brought me." He pointed toward the woman standing behind him.
"Hilda? Why have ye come here so early? Ye ken I love to see the lad, but today isnae a good day. I am just finishing the meal to break the night's fast, then I must pack up things as we will return to Dubheidland today."
"I need to speak with the laird."
"Weel, I fear ye may have to stand in a line and wait as we already have visitors and more stepped in just as ye did. Ian popped in to tell me."
"If the visitors are who I think they might be, then I may speak with them, too?" She reached out and ruffled Aiden's bone-straight black hair, which too often fell into his eyes. "Are ye ready, lad?"
The boy held on to a piece of paper and nodded, then looked at his aunt. "Is the laird in the hall, Aunt Annie?"
"Aye, but ye cannae go there. He has men with him and they are doing whate'er it is men born higher than we are do when they get together."
"I have to. I have an important letter for him." He walked out of the kitchen and Hilda smiled at Annie.
"Hilda, he shouldnae be interrupting the laird!"
"Dinnae fret. The laird willnae care after he reads the letter."
"What is in it?"
"Wheesht, how would I ken that? I cannae read. Now, what can I help ye with?"
Niall frowned at the manor as he and David were about to ride past it. "That doesnae look empty anymore. I wonder whom Sigimor allowed to live there."
"Himself," David replied, and turned his mount toward the large stone house when a tall, red-haired man stepped out. "Those guards must have told him about us riding by. Hope nothing happened to Dubheidland," he said as he reined in before Sigimor.
"Nay, save for the fact that all my people fell ill with something, so I brought my wife and bairn here. I am looking and I am sure I ken who ye are, but no name is coming to mind. Havenae broken my fast yet. Ye arenae kin, are ye?"
David dismounted as he laughed. "Only verra distantly. David Ogilvy." He held out his hand to shake Sigimor's as Niall dismounted and came to stand beside him.
Shaking Niall's hand, Sigimor then turned and opened the door. "Guards didnae recognize ye, either, so I will take some comfort in that. Come in. Food will soon be served. I fear I have some verra bad news for ye."
As they followed him in, David said, "We have heard it. We talked to Morag Sinclair. She told us but she also had some good news. Aunt Maggie made it to her sister's. She had some burns though, so will be staying there for a while."