Ada turned toward Marjorie’s voice in the utter darkness. “I heard ye. He dunnae care for me. He needed my gift to work, as did the king, but he dunnae want my love.”
“And do ye love him?”
Ada bit her lip, wanting to deny it, but what was the point with only Marjorie here? “Aye. But he dunnae want it.” The pain of his denial was an open wound still. “Ye need to hide,” Ada added, sensing it in her bones.
“Dunnae ye mean the both of us need to hide?”
Ada reached across the blackness and grabbed for Marjorie, feeling the other woman take her hand. They stood there, hands clasped. “Nay, I mean ye. I have a task I must do.”
“Ada, ye vowed ye’d be here when William returned.” Marjorie sounded scared.
Ada didn’t blame her. She herself was terrified. “Aye, I did. But I lied. The only way the four of ye will escape is if I go to meet Brothwell and convince him William took me and that we must ride hard to the Steward. So I had to lie. Besides, William will be fine without me.”
“Are ye certain it must be this way?”
“Aye,” Ada replied, fear making her tremble.
Her stepsister frowned. “I’m sorry for everything, Ada. I was jealous for years, and then I was afraid of Brothwell, afraid to defy him and stick up for ye.”
Ada squeezed Marjorie’s hand. “I ken it. I’m glad ye found Bram, and he ye. Love has changed ye.”
“Love does that. It changed Bram, too, and I believe it can change William.”
“He would have to be willing to accept love for it to change him,” Ada said sadly.
“Bram was cold at first to me,” Marjorie admitted, “and he did nae want to let me close, but before Bram was taken away to be imprisoned, I went to see him and he told me that I had seduced him into loving me.” Marjorie laughed at that.
“I dunnae think that would work with William, especially since he has decided to nae ever touch me again.”
Marjorie sighed. “I imagine William is struggling with many demons. Bram was, and he did nae have it as bad as William has.”
Ada frowned. “What do ye mean?”
“Their mother left them. Did ye ken that?”
Ada shook head, then realized Marjorie could not see her. “Nay, I did nae ken it. Were they verra young?” Her heart ached for William.
“Bram was nae, but William was only thirteen summers.”
“Do ye ken why she left?” Ada asked, seeing William in her mind as a frightened, sad child. If his own mother had abandoned him, it was no wonder he did not want to allow himself to have love. He did nottrustlove.
“Bram said it was because of all the missions their father was always on. He thinks she was lonely.”
“But to abandon her children?” Ada whispered.
“Aye. ’Tis an awful thing. And their clan believes their father and Bram betrayed the king when they were actually workingforthe king. I’m certain William has endured a great deal as a result. Bram himself said the clan had turned against the two brothers after their father left, and that was even before Bram seemingly betrayed the king.”
“Good God,” Ada muttered. She understood now why William kept her at a distance. He was scared. He was a ruthless warrior, but he was fearful of love. Of trusting people. He’d been betrayed and abandoned. Her anger disappeared, and searing regret replaced it. She wished she could redo their parting. She would kiss him and tell him she loved him, that she always would, and if he ever decided he wanted her love, she would offer it gladly if he would give his in return. Instead, she’d given a vow to stay here that she had known she could not keep. She was leaving him just as his mother had, but she was doing it to protect him.
She didn’t know if that distinction would matter to him. As she quickly ran through a plan of how to escape Brothwell, the ground beneath her feet vibrated with the pounding of horses’ hooves galloping toward them.
“Marjorie, run and hide,” she ordered. “Dunnae come out, regardless of what happens, and tell William that if I escape Brothwell, I’ll head to Iona Nunnery.”
“Why the nunnery?” Marjorie asked even as she nodded.
A torch flickered in distance and then another and yet another. The irony that someone as dark as Brothwell was filling the blackness with light ripped a bitter laugh from Ada.
“Ada, why the nunnery?” her stepsister repeated.
