The Key (22 page)

“My mother is not his wife!” Iliana snapped irritably. Allistair gave a half-apologetic
shrug. “I fear she is.” “Not for long.”

“Whatever the case, thinkin' the man might have news he could make use of, Greenweld gave
a false name and invited him to join his camp fer the night. Around the fire, he learned
he was headed fer Dunbar. He offered his escort. The messenger thought 'twould be safer to
travel in a group and agreed. Little did he ken that he actually offered safety to
Gieenweld.”

Iliana frowned over that and Allistair explained, “He held the king's banner. We Scots
learned long ago not to make trouble with the king's men; it tends to bring his wrath down
on us.”

“So, because Greenweld traveled with the king's messenger, he traveled safe?”

“Aye. No one even approached to ask what his business was. Most like they just assumed it
had something to do with the business Lord Rolfe has been tending to.”

“But once they arrived at Dunbar there was no more need for the man,” Iliana concluded
grimly.

“Not once I met with them.”

“That was the day Duncan left?”

“Aye. I truly did notice something amiss when I went to fetch the merchant back. Tis hard
to hide signs of so many men.”

“So, you returned to seek them out.” He nodded.

“They could have killed you,” she commented solemnly.

He shrugged. “ Twas a chance, but not much orone. In truth, Greenweld needed me as much as
I needed him.” Moving back to the barrel, he dipped his tankard in again.

“That explains how he got here unfettered, but there are other things people will
question.” “Such as?” Iliana moved to sit on the pallet and peered at him calmly. “The
message.” He arched an eyebrow. “What of it?”

“Greenweld could not have known that Seonaid had gone to St. Simmian's. I did not even
know that until after Lord Rolfe returned with Sherwell. As far as I know, he probably did
not even know that my husband had a sister. Nor could he know that the Colquhouns were
enemies of the Dunbar and might seek revenge such a way.”

“Everyone in Scotland kens the Dunbars and Colquhouns are at war,” Allistair argued with
amusement. “As for St. Simmian's, the real message Lord Rolfe sent spoke of it. It said
that Lord Rolfe and Sherwell had collected Seonaid from St. Simmian's, but that she had
escaped. Several times.” The words brought an affectionate smile to his face. “They've
been chasing her all over Scotland. Lord Rolfe was writing so that Angus didn't fret.” He
shook his head again. “Nay, the fact that they kenned about Seonaid wouldn't give me away.”

“Mayhap not,” Iliana murmured, then peered at him silently for a moment before asking,
“Why did you leave the keep the morning of the siege?”

“I couldn't be present once the siege began.”

Iliana's eyebrows rose. “Why?”

“Well, how could I do that? I would have been forced to tend to Greenweld then. No one
would want me for laird did I allow the castle to fall to an English.”

“Ahh,” Iliana muttered dryly.

“It was for the best anyhow. Greenweld needed to ken how many men were left and the like.”

“Knowing how few men there were, why did he not attack the day Duncan left?”

Allistair shrugged. “They had only arrived that morning and had been traveling hard for
days. The men needed the rest, and then there were a few things I had to ready first.”

“Such as?”

“The boiling pitch.”

Iliana's mouth tiglitened as she recalled Angus's irritation on hearing that the fire had
gone out below the pitch and 'twas cold. Then she realized that Allistair was smiling at
her crookedly and she arched an eyebrow questioningly. “What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged, then asked, “What was it you substituted for pitch? The men said
it tasted good but burned like the devil.”

“Elgin's stew. I shall pass along your compliments. Mayhap it will help him forgive the
loss of his vat.” “You shall not see him again,” he reminded softly. Iliana managed a
shrug. “Mayhap not. We shall see.” His expression tightened in displeasure at her seeming
lack of concern and he started toward her.

She spoke quickly to distract him. “So, Greenweld avoided attacking the first day Duncan
left, out of care and concern for his men? I find that difficult to believe. I have yet to
see him show concern for anyone.”

Allistair paused, hesitated, then relaxed and shrugged. “ 'Twas more like because he
himself was tired. 'Sides, there was the slight possibility that Duncan might turn back
for some reason. It seemed better to wait until the next day.”

“And what if he still returns early?”

Allistair smiled slightly. “Unless he returns within the next hour or so, it will not
matter. Once Greenweld takes the men in through the passage, we shall have succeeded.”

“All, yes. The passage.” Allistair frowned at her sudden smile. “What amuses ye so about
the passage?” “Naught, my lord. Except that if nothing else does, it shall surely see you
hanged.” Allistair stilled at that.

“I presume the passage is a secret? Known only among close family?” she queried gently and
smiled at his expression. Janna's not knowing about the tunnel leading out of the castle
had made her wonder. That

and the fact that no one had mentioned it to her. The dismay on his face confirmed her
belief that only close, trusted members of the family knew of the passage, and she nodded.
“I realized that on the way through the tunnel. And that is why I was not surprised to see
you in the clearing. Duncan is away, as are Seonaid and your sister, and Angus is within
the walls, doing his best to defend it. None of them could have revealed the presence of
the passage. If close family are all who know of it”

“Then the only suspect left would be ye.”

Both of them whirled toward the tent entrance at those hollow words. Iliana was as stunned
as Allistair to see Duncan standing there flanked by two men. One of them was Ian Mclnnes,
Iliana did not recognize the other man, but he wore English clothes.

“Surprised to see me?” he asked dryly when both of them continued to stare at him as if he
was a ghost. Allistair's expression tightened. “Greenweld's men?” “Gave up without a
battle once surrounded by Mclnnes men, ours, and those of their own king.” “The king?”

Duncan nodded. “He had men watching Greenweld from the moment he received Lady Wildwood's
message. When news reached him that Greenweld had headed north in pursuit of Lady
Wildwood, he sent a regiment after him. They arrived on the border of Dunbar land just as
we returned from that wild goose chase ye would have sent us on.”

“How did ye ken”

'That 'twas a ruse? We came across the Campbells on our way north. They had just come from
a rather entertaining evening sharing a fire with my wayward sister. Lord Rolfe, and
Sherwell. On hearing the tale, I realized the message had been a ruse and we had left
Dunbar unmanned. We returned at once, collected the Inneses on the way, and met up with
the king's men, who affirmed my worries. As I said, Greenweld's men have surrendered Only
Greenweld remains to be found."

“He is attempting to enter the castle through the secret passage,” Iliana blurted at once.
The sudden anxiety on her husband's face, made her hurry to add, “He will not succeed.
Your father was there when I was forced into it by Greenweld's man. He could not stop my
being taken, but no doubt he has the passage blocked by now.”

Relaxing somewhat, Duncan glanced over his shoulder at the two men who stood silent and
stem behind him. “Take the men to the clearing outside the cave my mother favored, Ian.
The entrance to the passage my wife speaks of is in it. They shouldn't give ye much more
o' a fight than the others, but call me if there is any trouble.”

Nodding, the men turned and exited the tent, leaving the three of them alone. Duncan was
the first to speak. Sounding weary, he murmured, “So, my own blood has betrayed me.”

Allistair cast a glance toward Iliana. Apparently deciding she was too far away to use as
a hostage, he gave a resigned sigh and set his tankard down, then slowly, calmly drew his
sword.

“Put yer weapon down,” Duncan barked.

“Nay. I think not,” he murmured with an almost sad smile, raising the sword to confront
him.

“Ye canna win, Allie. Ye ken that. Even if your hand isn't broken. We have battled many a
time and ye have never won. Put the weapon down.”

“Then what? Ye banish me? Send me far and away from me people? From the only home I have
ever known? From the woman I love?” His voice cracked slightly then, and his face suffused
with sudden rage. “Seonaid would have been mine.” With that, he raised his sword and
lunged at his cousin.

Iliana cried out and jumped back as Allistair's sword met Duncan's in midair. Her heart
thumping violently in her chest, she clenched her hands and watched helplessly as the men
stood, swords locked, glaring at each other.

“I don't want to kill ye, Allie. Yer me own blood.”

Allistair lauglied slightly and shrugged. “That didn't stop me from tryin' to kill you to
get what I wanted. Not the night I stabbed yer wife, nor the day I knocked ye out and
locked ye all in a burnin' room.”

While Duncan absorbed that, Allistair pulled away and swung his sword again. Stunned as he
was, her husband managed to fend off the blow.

Allistair gave a breathless laugh as they stared at each other across locked swords again.
“It wouldn't have stopped me from having yer wee wife either. While I love Seonaid, yer
wife is a tasty bundle. I hoped to get the chance to have her ere killing her.” Pulling
away again, he grinned. “Mayhap I still will.”

Iliana saw the change that came over her husband then and knew that his cousin did not
have long for this world. She offered up a quick prayer for his soul even as Allistair
raised his sword and charged Duncan. This time, Duncan did not meet the blow; instead he
stood perfectly still until the man was nearly upon him, then stepped to the side and
thrust his sword straight for his heart. Allistair let out a small grunt as he was
impaled, peered into his cousin's face, opened his mouth as if to say something, then
dropped to his knees. He swayed there briefly, then collapsed to the ground, his sword
crashing to the dirt beside him.

Iliana turned away from the dead man and glanced at her husband. His face was a mask of
anguish. Her mind turned to all the others who had loved the man; Angus, Seonaid,
Aelfread. “What will you tell them?”

“Nothing,” Duncan murmured grimly. “ Twould just sadden them to learn of his perfidy. They
loved him dearly. I shall merely tell them that he died in battle.”

Iliana nodded solemnly at that, then moved to step out of the tent, breathing deep the
fresh air.

As she glanced back, she saw Duncan take one last look at the face of his cousin. Then he
took a blanket from the cot in the comer of the tent and covered him gently with it before
stepping out to join his wife.

“Oh, my lady! Yer safe! How did you escape?”

Letting the keep door close behind her, Iliana smiled wearily at Ebba, as she, Gertie,
Janna, and Elgin all crowded around her. “Duncan,” she answered. “He and the men returned
with the Innes and the king's men. Greenweld's men gave up quickly.”

“And Greenweld himself?” Gertie asked anxiously.

Iliana grimaced at the memory of her last sight of the man. He had been lying dead in the
clearing.

She and Duncan had joined the party outside the cave just moments before a furious
Greenweld led his men out into the clearing. The frustration of finding the passage firmly
sealed and returning to the clearing only to discover himself surrounded had seemed to
push the man over the edge. With an enraged roar, he had raised his sword and charged
forth. His men had not followed. Dropping their weapons, they had stood calmly by and
watched as their leader singlehandedly tried to take on three armies. He died quickly.

“There will be no need for an annulment. Mother is a widow once again,” Iliana assured the
old servant solemnly. Her brows drew down on her forehead, her gaze sweeping the great
hall as she suddenly realized that the one person who was most affected by her news was
not present to hear it. “Where is my mother?”

“Oh.”

“Well.”

Iliana's eyes narrowed on Ebba and Janna as the two women exchanged glances of mingled
guilt and alarm.

“What have the two of you done?”

“Tied her up and locked her in her room,” Gertie announced with amusement.

“What?” Iliana gaped at her with patent disbelief, but the maid merely grinned and shrugged

“She was wantin' to surrender hersel' fer ye. And ye did tell them that, above all no
matter what occurred they were to keep her safe.”

“Actually, ye even told me to tie her up did I need to,” Janna reminded her quietly.

“Oh, my Lord,” Iliana breathed, then whirled and hurried toward the stairs.

Iliana was breathless by the time she reached the door to the bedchamber. That was the
only reason she did not screech in amazement when she opened the door to find her mother,
not bound and gagged in a chair, but lying on the bed... with Angus. She was caught up
against the Dunbar laird's chest, his strapping arms wrapped tightly around her as he gave
her what appeared to be a most passionate kiss.

Iliana was still standing there gaping at the entwined pair when Duncan caught up with
her. Pausing at her side, he peered curiously into the room, his own mouth dropping.

“Da!”

“Mother!”

The two of them cried those words at once, bringing an abrupt end to the interlude the
older couple had been enjoying and drawing them guiltily to their feet.

“Tis not how it looks,” Lady Wildwood murmured in a strained voice, her hands moving to
straighten her hair and brush at her mussed gown at the same time. “I was tied up, you
see, and and...”

“Aye, and I was passing the room,” Angus continued when she peered up at him helplessly.
“I thought I heard something in here and looked in to see her tied up.”

“Aye. And he very kindly untied me.”

“Aye.” They both nodded, looking for all the world like a pair of children caught stealing
sweets.

Iliana and Duncan merely gaped at them blankly for a moment; then Duncan suddenly burst
out in peals of laughter. When everyone else in the room merely peered at him uncertainly,
he shook his head. “Now who be the randy bastard?”

Lady Wildwood blushed and Angus flushed purple as he drew himself up to snap back at his
son, but it was Iliana who reprimanded him. “Duncan! How could you even think such a
thing? My mother is not some some common camp follower. If they say 'twas innocent, then
'twas.”

“Oh, aye,” Duncan agreed, amusement still tugging at his lips as he murmured, “ 'Twas
plain to see me father was busy untying yer dear mother when we entered. Tis just a shame
he didn't try usin' his hands to accomplish the task rather than his tongue. It may have
made the deed easier.” He then let loose a loud guffaw at his own wit, oblivious of
Iliana's dismay.

“Enough!” Angus roared. “Yer not so big I cannot still whup ye, lad. And do you not shut
yer mouth, I'm like to prove it.”

There was a brief silence and they all stood uncomfortably around, no one seeming to want
to leave. Then Iliana stepped forward, her gaze focusing on her mother. “Your gown is fair
wrinkled. No doubt you would like to change ere the sup,” she suggested stiffly.

Lady Wildwood glanced down at herself and nodded with a sigh. Not only was her gown
wrinkled, it was also filthy. In the excitement of the last two days, none of them had
bathed or changed.

Smiling with feigned pleasantness at the two Dunbar men, Iliana moved again until she
stood between her mother and Angus. “Perhaps you gentlemen would be good enough to arrange
for a bath to be brought up? My mother and I would like to refresh ourselves.”

Angus looked about to argue, but a glance at Lady Wildwood's expression made him sigh
resignedly. Nodding, he moved to the door. “Come along, lad. Let's leave the ladies be.”

“Are you very angry?”

Iliana turned from closing the door behind the two men to peer at her mother uncertainly.
“Angry?” she queried evasively, unsure herself of how she felt. She supposed part of her
felt a touch of hurt and

betrayal on behalf of her father; part of her was just plain shocked, and another part...
Well, she simply wasn't sure how she felt.

“Nay, of course I am not angry,” she chided gently, moving abruptly toward the chests
lining the wall. Throwing the nearest one open, she began to search through it, only to
have her hands clasped by her mother's and herself drawn around to face the woman.

“I loved your father very,very much.”

Iliana nodded silently, unable to meet her gaze.

“For a long time after Greenweld arrived with the news of his death, there was not a
moment that went by that I did not think of your father. The pain of losing him was
horrible.” Sighing when Iliana's head remained bowed, she released her hands and sat back
on her haunches before confessing, “Between that loss and the abuse I suffered at the
hands of Greenweld, there were many days I thought of taking my own life.”

Iliana did glance up at that, but Lady Wildwood went on. “You were all that kept me alive,
child. Worry for you, your future, and even your inheritance. My love for you would not
see me end my life before assuring your own.”

“Oh, Mother,” Iliana cried, throwing herself into the older woman's arms and hugging her
close.

“I love you dearly, child. Just as I loved your father. But he is gone now. I did not
think I would ever feel about another in the same way I did him.”

Iliana pulled back slightly to meet her gaze, and her mother smiled slightly as she
continued, “And I was right.”

Iliana blinked in surprise at that. “But you and Lord Angus were”

“I find myself attracted to him, 'tis true.” She smiled gently, her gaze drifting as if
she saw him in her mind's eye. “He is handsome and strong. A bit rough around the edges,
mayhap, but I think I can help him to soften those.”

Now Iliana was completely confused. “But you just said” she broke off when her mother gave
a laugh and a self-deprecating wave of one hand.

“I am not saying this well. Tis true that I will never love again as I loved your father.
He was my first love, a good and strong yet gentle man who treated me with more care and
respect than I could ever have hoped. And for quite awhile after he died I thought he had
taken my heart with him. But that just is not so. I am still alive. I still have feelings.
Angus made me realize that.”

Iliana sighed and sat back, contemplating her hands briefly before glancing up to ask,
“You love him?”

Her gaze drifted off again as she considered the question, then she shrugged. “I do not
know. I am not yet sure. But I do believe I shall greatly enjoy finding out.”

Iliana blinked at that, then slowly relaxed. “I love you. Mother,” she murmured, leaning
forward to hug her. Her father was beyond her now, and the most important thing for Iliana
was that her mother should not suffer.

A knock at the door drew mother and daughter apait.

“Enter!” They called in unison, then shared a smile as Gertie entered, leading a small
army of servants. The first two struggled under the weight of a tub. Those who followed
bore pail after pail of water, some steaming hot, some not.

Reaching out to clasp her mother's hand and give it a quick squeeze, Iliana smiled and
moved toward the door. “I shall leave you to your bath and see you at dinner. I needs must
arrange for my own bath to be brought up.”

“ Tis already done,” Gertie murmured, making Iliana slow and glance back as she reached
the door. “What?” “A bath awaits you in the new room at the end of the hall,” she was
informed.

“Oh.” Her surprise faded slowly and she smiled and shrugged, “Laird Angus must have
ordered it. How thoughtful.” She glanced at her mother teasingly as she opened the door.
“It would seem he has fewer rough edges than you thought, Mother.”

Iliana caught only a glimpse of the smile that accompanied the woman's answering blush as
she closed the door behind her. She was still smiling when she turned to walk down the
hall and found herself facing an oddly nervous Laird Angus.

Eyebrows rising slightly, she nodded at the older man. “My lord.”

Angus cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I thought to have a word with ye ere ye sought
yer bath, lass. About yer mother”

“There is no need, my lord,” Iliana assured him gently, reaching to clasp one of his
nervously fidgeting hands. “My mother and I have spoken and she is... well, I am happy so
long as she is happy.”

He relaxed slightly at that, but still looked wary. “Then 'twould not bother ye to have me
fer stepfather as well as father-in-law?”

Iliana blinked, her mind slowly absorbing his words; then she glanced sharply back toward
the door.

“I haven't asked her yet,” he announced, drawing her gaze back to him. “In truth, I will
not ask her fer a while yet most like, and I would be glad if ye could keep this talk to
yersel'. But I just wanted to be sure ye would not be troubled by our marryin' when it
happens.”

“Nay, my lord. It would not bother me,” she assured him gently. “But what if she does not
wish” Iliana began, only to be waved to silence.

“She'll marry me. She doesn't love me yet, but she will, and once she does, we'll be
married,” he announced confidently, then patted her shoulder and walked on down the hall,
leaving her alone.

Iliana stared after him for a moment, then smiled wryly and shook her head as she
continued down the hallway, to the new room Duncan had had built. Truthfully, she hadn't
even seen the new chamber he had worked so hard to build for them, and she was curious to
do so. The men had made quite a racket

building it. She hoped the results were worth it.

The shock that met her when she opened the door to the new room was almost as great as the
shock of coming across her mother in the arms of her father-in-law. It was a near replica
of her room at Wildwood.

Closing the door slowly, she moved farther into the chamber, her gaze moving to the bed.
It was the bed from Duncan's room, the only item that was not an exact replica of her room
at home. His bed was much larger than hers had been. It had been cleaned since the fire.
The wood frame shone in the sunlight pouring through the window. The faded and
smoke-stained material that had previously diaped it had been removed, replaced with
fabric that was very similar to the one that had draped her bed in her childhood home.

Marveling, she turned to peer around the rest of the furnishings, taking in the tables at
either side of the bed and the two large chairs set before the fireplace. That was another
difference. In her room at home there had only been one chair before the fire.

The sound of splashing water reminded her of the bath that Gertie had said awaited her
here, and Iliana's forehead puckered with confusion. There was no bath to be found. It was
the second splash that drew her eyes to the door beside the bed. She had not noticed it at
first but now did so with surprise. There was no such door in her room at home, but it
seemed here, a second room was attached to the bedchamber, and that seemed to be where the
bath was.

Thinking the servant must still be filling the tub for her, she moved slowly to the door
and peered curiously into the room. Inside was a tub: quite the largest Iliana had ever
seen. But the sound of splashing was not from servants filling it with water. It was the
sound her husband made as he shifted about inside it, washing himself.

“I could use some help with me back.”

Iliana started at those words. Duncan had not even glanced up, yet he was aware of her
presence. “How did you know I was here?” The question slipped from her lips in surprise
and Duncan raised his head slowly to meet her gaze, his own serious.

“I always ken when yer near. Were I blind I would ken,” he repeated her words from the
other day, but added gently, “Ye bring the scent o' wildflowers with ye.”

Iliana swallowed, her gaze sliding over his broad, bare chest as he rinsed it. “The
room...” Her voice faded away into uncertainty and he paused in his actions to lean back
in the tub and smile at her gently.

“I thought ye might be more comfortable were ye to have a more familiar room. Yer mother
and Ebba helped me.”

“That was not necessary.”

“Nay, I ken. I was wrong that day. Yer not afraid o' change as I accused. At least, if ye
are, 'tis no more so than anyone else. Me, for instance.” He gazed briefly down into the
water surrounding him, then smiled crookedly and confessed, “I suppose I had not fully
realized what taking a wife would mean when we married I thought ye would just be another
mouth to feed, and a body to warm me bed of a night.”