'It would be wrong of us to talk about Clare's problem,' Johanna said. 'She'll tell you when she's ready. Nicholas, why did you come here?'
The switch in topics took him by surprise. He couldn't come up with a quick excuse. He turned to Gabriel for assistance.
Father MacKechnie inadvertently came to Gabriel's and Nicholas's rescue. He came rushing into the hall.
'Keith told me you wished to speak to me, m'lady,' he called out. 'Is it convenient now, or would you like me to come back later?'
Gabriel and Nicholas literally jumped at the opportunity to turn Johanna's attention.
'Come and join us, Father!' Gabriel shouted.
'It's good to see you again,' Nicholas called out at the same time.
If the priest was surprised by the warriors' enthusiastic greetings, he didn't let it show.
'I heard you were back, Nicholas,' Father MacKechnie said. 'Were you checking up on your sister? You can see she's happy,' he added with a nod.
'Is that why you came all this way?' Johanna asked.
It was sinful to admit, but she was really enjoying her brother's discomfort. Lying to her was difficult for him, she decided, if the look on his face was any indication. His frown was quite telling, considering the innocence behind the question.
Gabriel rescued him. 'Have you had your dinner, Father? Johanna, where are your manners? You should ask the servants to feed the man.'
'I've already eaten,' the priest announced. He sat down next to Johanna, declined the offer of a drink, and then went into detail about Auggie's latest batch of brew.
'It's got a kick to it all right,' he announced. 'One drink and a body could fly across the courtyard.'
Johanna laughed over the priest's exaggeration. 'It will warm us come the long…' The priest was about to say the brew would warm their stomachs on the cold winter nights ahead but hastily changed his remark. 'If there's any left.'
'Long what?' Johanna asked.
'Long warm winter nights,' the priest mumbled with a glare in Nicholas's direction. He obviously still blamed Johanna's brother because of the lie he'd told about the warm climate in the Highlands.
Nicholas was surprised everyone was still keeping the truth from his sister. He almost laughed but caught himself in time.
'Nicholas, do you know that since I came here, the weather has turned most unpredictable. Why some nights it's actually cold.'
'Nay, lass, it's never cold,' Gabriel argued.
'Now Johanna…' Nicholas began.
'Are you going to tell me why you came here? There is obviously a problem of some sort, or you would have waited to accompany Mother, Nicholas.'
'Why are you here, son?' the priest also wanted to know.
Nicholas was hard-pressed to come up with an answer. 'The weather,' he announced after a moment's pause. 'I couldn't live with the lie any longer, Johanna. I came here to tell you the truth.'
Johanna's burst of laughter told him she didn't believe him. Yet once he'd started the fabrication, he was damned if he was going to stop.
'I lied to you. There, I've said what I came here to say.'
'Do you mean you lied to me about the weather?'
Nicholas grinned. Her laughter was contagious and so was her cunning. It suddenly dawned on him that she'd always known he was lying.
He leaned forward and pointed his finger at her. 'You knew… all the while, didn't you?'
She nodded. 'I'm wearing a woolen plaid, Nicholas. Of course I knew.'
'Then each time one of us lied and told you the weather was unusually cold, you knew the truth, lass?'
The priest sounded appalled. Johanna nodded. 'It was kind of you to hold my brother's lie, for you only had my happiness in mind, Father.'
'You've got a bent sense of humor, wife,' Gabriel announced.
'It's as warped as a shield left out in the rain too long,' Nicholas agreed.
She laughed. The men assumed she wasn't bothered by their insults.
Johanna yawned and immediately apologized. Gabriel demanded she go upstairs to bed.
'First I would like to discuss something with all of you,' she said. 'Then I'll go to bed.'
'What is it you want to talk about?' Nicholas asked.
'I'll help if I can,' the priest promised.
'I have a problem,' Johanna began.
'Tell us what it is, lass,' Father MacKechnie insisted.
Johanna stared at Gabriel when she gave her answer. 'It seems I have two husbands.'
Chapter 19
'You have only one husband, Johanna.'
Gabriel's tone of voice didn't suggest she argue with him. She took hold of his hand and nodded.
'You listened while I was telling your husband about Raulf, didn't you, Johanna?' Nicholas asked.
'I did,' she admitted.
'That wasn't proper conduct, lass,' her husband decreed.
She shook her head. 'It wasn't proper conduct for you to think you could keep this important news from me.'
'I'm trying to get this straight in my head,' the priest interjected. 'Are you telling me Baron Raulf's alive?'
'We are,' Nicholas answered.
'Good Lord above,' the priest muttered. 'Where's he been all this while?'
'Locked away in a dungeon an ocean away,' Nicholas answered. 'He was sent halfway across the world to act as King John's representative to negotiate a trade agreement. Raulf left England before John started feuding with the Church. The king doesn't give a damn about placating the pope now.'
After finishing his explanation, he turned to his sister. 'How much did you overhear?'
'All of it.' she lied.
'Damn.'
She ignored the blasphemy. 'Please explain the mess I'm in the middle of to Father.'
Nicholas picked up his goblet and drained the contents in one long swallow. Johanna suddenly felt the need to get closer to Gabriel. She stood up and moved to stand next to him. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. She put her arm around his neck and leaned against him.
'Baron Raulf fell from a cliff and everyone believed he died.'
'I was in England when word came,' the priest reminded Nicholas.
'Yes, well, he didn't die,' he muttered. 'He's back in England and mad as a hornet because his wife and his lands have all been given away. The king wants to appease the bastard, though only God knows why. John has ordered Johanna to return to Raulf, and in an attempt to pacify MacBain and avert war, he has agreed to let him keep this holding.'
Father MacKechnie muttered something under his breath. 'It makes no difference what your king wants, son. Johanna's marriage was annulled and that's a fact. The pope himself signed the decree. Isn't that what you told me, lass?'
Johanna nodded. 'It is so,' she said. 'I didn't realize I would really need an annulment. I requested it only to stall the king from making me marry again.'
