Page 26 of A Constant Blaze

She saw at once the banner that blew from the battlements at the top of the house.

“Brian is home,” she murmured as unease twisted her stomach.

John, her most trusted man, urged his horse closer to hers. “My best advice? Turn back. Go to one of your own houses and send a messenger. At least until you know what he’s doing. Or thinking.”

But that was an admission of guilt. And Mairead was nothing if not reckless. The MacHeth adventure was over. It was time for another.

“Nonsense,” she said briskly, kicking her heels into her horse. “I am his wife.”

Which was, of course, the problem. She rode through the gates, where she was immediately surrounded by soldiers, and her men disarmed.

“Told you,” John said without moving his lips as Brian of Kingowan himself walked down the steps from the main house.

“Clever clogs,” she said beneath her breath, stripping off her gloves. “Help me down.”

He obeyed at once while Kingowan and his own men advanced.

“Take my ring,” Mairead breathed. “To Adam MacHeth at Tirebeck.”

By the time she slithered to the ground, the ring was tugged from her finger, and she turned to face her husband.

“Where have you been?” he asked without preamble.

“Greetings to you, too, husband,” Mairead drawled. “Where haveyoubeen?”

“No more games, Mairead,” Brian snapped. “The truth now.”

“You have obviously decided on the truth already, otherwise, my men would not be treated as criminals. What difference would it make what I say?”

“The difference between house arrest and being locked in the north tower,” Brian said grimly.

Mairead let her eyes widen. “You would really put yourself in such a ridiculous position?”

A flush darkened his already florid face.

Mairead took advantage. “Let there be no public accusations, husband. Give my men—who are your men—their arms back. They have no idea where I’ve been either. They only met me in Dundee as I commanded them. You and I should conduct our quarrels in private.”

“To hide your shame, lady?” he said between his teeth.

“And yours,” she said sweetly. “There aren’t many who thrive under the banner of a cuckold.”

She had him, and they both knew it. Unfortunately, he had never learned to govern his temper. His hand shot out from pure instinct, she was sure. His closed fist drove at her face, and her head seemed to explode into blackness.

*

Mairead woke withher head in Grizel’s lap. Her neck and her head both ached abominably, and when she tried to speak, pain shot through her jaw. Still, somehow the words got out.

“He struck me!”

“He did, lady,” Grizel said shakily, placing a cold cloth over her face. “You have a terrible bruise, and it is quite swollen, but John says it is not broken.”

At least she was in her own bedchamber.

“The door is locked,” Grizel said, reading her mind.

“John was right,” Mairead mused. “We should have turned back. WhereisJohn? Did my husband hurt him or the others?”

Grizel shook her head. “John’s gone,” she whispered. “I saw him slip away before nightfall.”

---