before the wedding she found Catriona alone and, with deliberate intention, said, 'So ye finally let him stick it in ye, cousin. And before the wedding too,' she said wickedly. 'My, but yer brave!'
Cat blushed at having her secret discovered. But she was unwilling to let Fiona get the upper hand. 'Jealous, coz?'
Fiona laughed. 'Listen, my wee Cat. I've been fucking since I was thirteen. There's never been a man I couldn't have if I wanted him, and that includes yer precious Glenkirk.'
'Liar!' spat Catriona.
'Nay,' smiled Fiona sweetly. 'I've had both Patrick and Adam. I'll stick wi my Adam. However, so there's no mistake about it…' And Fiona proceeded to describe Patrick's bedroom in detail.
Cat left her cousin without a word. Going to her apartments, she put on a pair of warm doeskin riding breeches, a silk shirt, fur-lined boots, and a heavy fur-lined cloak. She had sent a confused Ellen ahead to the stables to have Bana saddled. 'But where are ye going at this time o' day?' she protested.
'I dinna know,' said Cat, mounting Bana. 'But when the great Earl of Glenkirk returns from Forbes Manor, tell him that I'd sooner marry the devil himself!'
Yanking Bana's head about, she kicked the mare and cantered across the drawbridge into the darkening winter afternoon.
Chapter 5
ELLEN picked up her skirts and ran, stumbling, back into the castle to seek the Master of Greyhaven. Finding him, she gasped out, 'She's gone, Lord Hay! Mistress Cat has gone!'
Greyhaven did not quickly comprehend, but his wife did. 'What happened?' she demanded of Ellen.
'I dinna know, my lady. She's been so happy to be back at Glenkirk, and looking forward to her wedding.'
'I wonder,' said Heather thoughtfully, 'if it has all been a pretense.'
'Nay! Nay, my lady! She's in love wi the earl, 'tis plain. They've been-' Ellen stopped, horrorstruck, and clapped her hand over her mouth, but Heather understood.
'How long?'
'Oh, my lady!'
'How long, Ellen?'
'The first night we were back. I found the stains the next morning, but something had been going on at Christmastime. He dinna force her! Of that, I'm sure, my lady.'
'Are ye saying that Glenkirk's been lying wi my lass?' said James Hay indignantly.
'Oh, Greyhaven,' snapped Heather, 'be quiet! It's nae important that they've been sleeping together. They're being married in three days' time. Ellen-what did Cat do this afternoon? Where did she go?'
'She slept for an hour after the meal as she always does. Then she went to the Family Hall wi her embroidery. The earl hasna been here all day, so they canna have had a fight.'
Checking, they found several people who had talked to Catriona that afternoon. But Meg Leslie, her daughters, Ailis Hay, and two of the servants all remembered that she was happy and excited.
'What can have frightened her?' wondered Meg.
'She wasna frightened, my lady,' corrected Ellen. 'She was in a blazing temper.'
There was a clatter of horses in the courtyard and the barking of dogs as the earl and his brothers returned from Forbes Manor. The four of them had just concluded the betrothal agreement for Isabella Forbes. Laughing and joking, they entered the Family Hall, then stopped at the scene that greeted them.
'What is it?' demanded the earl.
'It's Cat,' spoke his mother unthinkingly.
Patrick went white.
'Nay, she's all right!' said Heather quickly.
'Then what is it?'
'She's gone off in a temper, nephew. Probably a fit of bridal nerves,' replied Heather, intending to soothe.
'When?'
'About an hour ago. She spent the afternoon in here. Then suddenly she went to her room, put on her riding clothes, and rode off.'
'Who spoke wi her? How do you know when she went?'
Heather told him, and then turned to Ellen to tell her story.
'She came storming into her bedroom, my lord. 'Ellie,' she shouts, 'go to the stable, and tell them to saddle Bana!' 'My lady,' I says to her,' 'tis late, and the sun is close to setting.' 'Do as ye are bid!' she says to me. Oh, my lord! I've raised her since she was a baby, and never has she spoken to me thus. She was in her old riding clothes when she mounted the horse. 'Ellie,' she says, 'tell the great Earl of Glenkirk that I'd as soon marry the devil himself!' Then she rode off. I came right to my lady Hay, and told her.'
Patrick Leslie's mouth was tight, and white around the lips. His eyes narrowed. 'Someone must have upset her.'
'Upset whom?' asked Fiona, coming into the hall. 'What on earth is going on?'
Patrick kept his voice level. 'Did ye see Cat this afternoon?'
'Aye. She was embroidering here.'
The earl looked to his brother. Adam took his wife-to-be firmly by the arm and escorted her into the library. Frightened, Fiona faced the two brothers.
'What did ye say to Cat, dear cousin?' His voice was icy.
'Nothing, Patrick. I said nothing! I swear it! We talked of girlish things.'
Reaching out, Adam caught his betrothed and, flinging her across a chair, laid his riding crop across her back. She screamed in pain and tried to escape him, but Patrick held her down by her slender white neck.
'Now, cousin,' he said through gritted teeth, 'love ye or not, Adam will, on my order, beat you to death if necessary. What did ye say to Catriona?'
'I told her that ye slept wi me.' Fiona sobbed out the entire conversation.
'You bitch!' swore Patrick. 'It took me weeks to win Cat's confidence, and ye hae destroyed it in three minutes!' He slammed out of the room.
Adam looked down at Fiona. 'I warned ye, my love, that if ye caused trouble I would punish you.' His arm rose, and she heard the whistle of the crop a second before it touched her back again.
'No, Adam.' She cried out, but he was merciless. He beat her until she fainted a few moments later.
Glenkirk was organizing as quickly as he could. His favorite stallion was winded, so he ordered his second favorite, Dearg, to be saddled. He would allow only Ellen's brother, Conall More-Leslie, to accompany him. Before he left he spoke with his mother, his Aunt Heather, and Adam.
'God knows where she's gone. It may even take me weeks to trace her. She knows the countryside as well as any man. It's too late to stop the wedding, so Adam, ye and Fiona are to wed in our place.' He looked closely at his brother. 'Do ye still want the bitch?'
'Aye, brother. She's a naughty puss, but I think she'll behave now.'
'Good! Tell the guests that the bride caught the measles and gave them to the groom. That should stop a scandal.'
'Patrick, my son! Be gentle wi Catriona,' begged Meg. 'She's young and innocent, and Fiona has hurt her terribly wi her wicked lies.'
'Madame,' said Patrick coldly, 'Catriona has been sharing my bed for almost two weeks now. I have treated her wi gentleness, and never forced her. She wouldna even face me wi her accusations, but assumed me guilty, and fled. I will nae forgie her lack of trust. I shall find her and bring her back, and wed wi her as planned. But before I do that I shall take a leaf from Adam's book, and beat her bottom so she may not sit for a week!'
Several minutes later he galloped across the drawbridge with More-Leslie. It was a cold night, but the moon lit their way. They rode first to Greyhaven, for Patrick suspected that Cat had fled home. She was not there. They turned their horses to Sithean, but there, too, they met with disappointment. They stayed the night, and the
