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  CHAPTER 33

  Audrina took a deep breath and stepped forward. Lord Weatherby looked at her in a new light. It was no longer with passive indifference, but he clearly wanted her side of the story, if only to add to the story in an attempt to clarify things.

  “Lord Cotswold, how can you claim that I was killed and raised from the dead by black magic if you had no idea what happened to me? Which is it? Did you or didn’t you know what happened? What about all the other missing brides from neighboring clans? Do you know what happened to them? You have made claims that they all wandered off too, but then you have spoken of their murders. Please, tell us all, what is the truth of it?” Audrina said her peace and all of the bluster blew out of her. She wanted this ordeal to be over with. She wanted to be upstairs, in her bed with Colin, making love and falling asleep in his arms when they were done.

  A bone-weary tiredness came over her. She was so raw and emotional at the mistreatment of Lord Cotswold, and she simply didn’t understand how a man as vile as he, could have gotten away with hurting so many people. What justice was there in the order of things if men like him were allowed to roam free? How could the Scots ever rally themselves to the cause in the face of such adversity? She had seen the movie Braveheart. She had recognized the romanticized version that had been spun. But this was reality. It was hard and cold and cruel and men like Cotswold often won because of their power and money, and it just wasn’t fair. If he didn’t break now, there was no telling what he would get away with. In an instant, Audrina felt the scots people who had to face the harsh reality of the unfairness of the English rule. It wasn’t like in romance novels, her favored genre. The good guys didn’t always win, and there was a huge chance, it could all go wrong for them tonight if Cotswold somehow weaseled his way out of this.

  Audrina wanted to believe in the unending hope of the Scots will for a severed tie from England and the right to rule and govern their own people. But she knew the fate of Scotland and what they had to endure through the centuries. She knew that they may have won their freedom briefly in a few years, but the war would wage on for centuries, resulting in the same fateful outcome of the Jacobite uprising. Audrina found herself sinking in a sea of emotions and despair. How did the people always manage to pull themselves up during their time of greatest need, and hold on to an ideal that somehow saw them through the worst of it all, so that they remained a people and civilization that survived to the modern world, rich with history and culture and love?

  In an instant, Audrina knew that was the answer. Love was the answer. The Scottish people had a love for kin and country that was undefined by any other nation. It went deeper somehow than just the blood of their relatives. They found love through the magic in the country itself. Audrina knew it wasn’t just her love with Colin that had brought her back. The sun shone down on Scotland in a light that was unlike any other country across the world. There was something special here, a special magic. Audrina lifted her spirits and her unnerving fatigue as she looked at Colin. He was the epitome of that love and magic, and she took strength in him as he gazed back at her. She found the threads of her courage in the knowledge that, even if they didn’t win this night, somehow, Scotland would bring her back to her Highlander.

  Audrina was tired, but she was alert enough to recognize the instant his resolve cracked. Lord Weatherby was about to question him further, clearly having no knowledge of other missing and deceased brides when Lord Cotswold began to laugh. It was a sickening laugh as he inwardly revealed in the memories of his victims. He’d finally been found out. There was no denying it now. Lord Weatherby backed away from him as he opened his mouth and began screaming at her in a psychotic rage. Soldiers crowded around both English and Scottish alike as Cotswold raged. Some protected their Lord Weatherby, some protected Cotswold from bringing harm to himself as he stormed around and hollered at her.

  “How the bloody hell can you be standing there, you little bitch! I strangled you with my bare hands when you head butted me while I had you pinned down. I took you like the pig you are and then let my men have their way with your broken body. I thought all the fight had left you as I went back for another round, but then you surprised me, you threw your head back and smashed into my teeth, causing me to lose one.” He pointed to his missing and chipped tooth.

  Lord Weatherby looked on in horror at his friend’s confession. Lord Cotswold ignored him, only having eyes for the woman who was the victim who refused to cower before him and had finally driven him mad. He could not understand how she had bested him. He didn’t know her secret and he desperately needed to know. He was the master of deception and gleaner of knowledge. He sadistically enjoyed ripping everything he could from a person and watched them drown in a pool of their own horror as they realized he had stripped away the vestiges of their pride and dignity. He had spies everywhere and he knew everything, and yet this woman had bested him finally at his own game. The knowledge was what drove him mad. The knowledge that she held something from him, a Lord entitled, and he couldn’t figure out how to take it from her. He screamed in frustration as he occasionally lunged for her. She stood her ground, unwavering and unflinching in his rage. Colin remained at her side as he confessed all, there to offer aid if Lord Cotswold attempted one last try for her life.

  “When you broke my teeth, I wrapped my hands around your pretty neck and squeezed until the life drained out of you while I took you. When I was done with you, I had you thrown to the pig slops! It’s no secret hogs will eat anything. Even dead flesh. I came back two days later, content that they had torn you to pieces and left you reduced to nothing but the excrement they rolled around in, in their pig sty! How did you raise yourself from the dead? It must have been a pact with the devil himself, if not by some black magic? You weren’t the first. I used and discarded all the brides I was forced to perform my duties upon. They met the same fate you did amongst my pigs. There were thirteen of you altogether. Thirteen years I have been forced to live in these vermin infested wastelands amongst the Scots. So, I took thirteen of them for every year I had to waste amongst them. And every year the Christmas hog that was slaughtered was fattened on the slop of your bodies. But you, how did you rise from the dead? I gorged myself last Christmas on that hog to the point of being sick. How did you do it!” he shrieked at her.

  CHAPTER 34

  Audrina felt sick. She had never known what had happened to Maeve’s body. No one had. Everyone had assumed Cotswold had them buried or thrown to the scavengers in the wild, never to be seen from again. No one suspected that he himself was the evidentiary proof of where they had ended up, as was testament to his bulging girth at his belt.

  Audrina wasn’t the only one who felt bile rise in the back of her throat. Lord Cotswold’s words rang through the courtyard in a sickening, self-sabotaging barrage of words that he had spit forward. If anyone was called into question about the events that night, they wouldn’t be able to lie. There were too many witnesses to his proclamation. Too many people knew of the disgusting treachery, and the vile depths of his depravity. Audrina heard the distinctive sounds of retching coming from behind her and even from a few of the other English higher ranks. Clearly, they had partaken in Cotswold’s Christmas feasts too. It took a long moment before anyone sprang into action. Audrina noticed the slightest of gestures from Lord Weatherby as he commanded a few men forward.

  A few of Lord Weatherby’s men stepped forward and hauled him down from his horse. Lord Weatherby himself looked pale and held a handkerchief to his mouth, breathing slowly. He gazed upon his former friend with the look of condemnation of a madman. Lord Cotswold continued to scream at her, demanding she tell him how she had risen from the dead.

  Confusion seemed to ensue as people, realizing his confession, not hers, was the end of the standoff. The men who had been hiding in the chapel, but had heard everything, emerged behind the English ranks which caused them to raise their swords in alarm. The men high up on the walls scaled the ladders and ca
me down for a better look at the raving English mad man, and the wee woman who bested him with naught but a slight of her hand and words.

  Colin continued to retain control of his men, signaling to them that they should not attack unless attacked, and the men all looked warily from Cotswold, to Colin, to Audrina, to Lord Weatherby. A light murmur began to ripple through the crowd as they reiterated Lord Cotswold’s words.

  Audrina heard whispers of, “cannibal,” “barbaric” and of course, “mad man.”

  She felt a wave of relief as the realization that it was over began to sink in. As the men were still gathered around, there was still that small chance of a skirmish, but the louder the buzz became of Lord Cotswold’s downfall and disgrace, the more the reality sank in. She contemplated turning on her heel and walking back into the castle, never to set her eyes on Lord Cotswold again. She was remiss that she had never looked into what his fate had been when she had the information and internet readily available at her fingertips. She realized, it didn’t matter now though. She may not understand medieval law and justice, but judging by the look on Lord Weatherby’s face, there would at least be some small measure of assurance that Lord Cotswold would be dealt with.

  Audrina looked at Cotswold who was pale faced and sweating. She wondered how she had ever feared such a man. She was grateful that even though she knew the fate of Maeve’s body, she never had to truly endure the nightmares of how her body ended up being in that pig sty. She had feared the red haze that had appeared over her vision when Cotswold burst through the door of the tower, now she was grateful for it as it offered some small amount of discretion from the true horrors of what Cotswold had been capable of. Audrina decided right then and there, if there was ever a time to enact her revenge, if she ever needed the resolution to the man who had been the bane of her existence but to Maeve’s, Colin’s and countless other souls as well, now was the time. She fortified herself and her emotions before she approached. She knew exactly what she needed to say to seek her revenge. She knew exactly the kind of effect it would have on a man like Cotswold. Strangely, it gave her no self-satisfying purpose, save for the fact that she knew it was being said in the name and honor of Maeve and all that had been done to her.

  Audrina stepped forward as Lord Cotswold heaved against the restraint of his guards. Colin tried to stop her, but she turned to him and cupped his cheek. Tears streamed down his handsome face. He had never known what had happened to his wife and knowing was perhaps now worse than had he never found out.

  “It will be alright,” she said calmly. “He can’t hurt us now.” Audrina gave him a reassuring look and wiped his tears away. She wanted to tell him that Maeve was at peace. She knew it because she shared her soul, but she simply didn’t have the words yet to comfort a man who had been grieving the loss of what was right in front of him, for over a year now. Audrina let the tears coat her fingers, and she discovered as she made another vow to herself, that she was the kind of woman who was true to her word and honor, and that was a testament as any, to her noble Scottish blood. She vowed she would endeavor to never be the cause of Colin’s tears again, save for tears of happiness. She knew he would suffer loss and sadness, that was a part of life, but she was never going to be the weapon forged in a mold of flesh that was used against him in such cruel ways again.

  She kissed his cheek and tasted his tears on her lips. She licked the salt away, realizing the power of Scotia lay in the emotions of her people. The land was forged of blood, sweat and tears, and in turn bore sons and daughters who felt as proudly as the Scots did. She smiled at him and turned back to her quarry.

  Colin let go of her arm and she stepped up to Lord Cotswold. She lowered her voice, so he strained his ears to her. He stunk of sweat and unwashed flesh. Audrina felt her gag reflexes kick in, and she wondered at how she had endured the night with him. She almost felt relief that Maeve had found solace in her death, as she was then not forced to endure the disgusting feel of that man using her in such vile ways.

  Audrina took a deep breath and whispered to him. She held her breath as he realized the meaning of her words. Without condemning herself, she revealed the truth to him.

  “You want to know why it was me? Why I was the one to escape your clutches whether in this life or another? Unlucky thirteen remember? I was the thirteenth.” She blew out her breath as she stepped back.

  Her revenge was found as his face went from confused to fearful to anger once more. He began screaming at her again, nonsensical babble as Lord Weatherby ushered to his men to drag him away.

  Lord Weatherby turned to his men and Lord Cotswold’s to issue a command to leave. The men began to lower their swords and turned, marching out the gates, unwavering or questioning Lord Weatherby’s authority.

  Lord Weatherby turned back to Colin and Audrina with a sad look on his face. He had never suspected the depths of which his friend had sunk.

  “I will call upon you, Lord MacClaran, to reset the bonds of unity and civility once Lord Cotswold is tried in London for his activities. With any luck, he will be seen by the finest healers London has to offer and taken in by the care of his family. I will claim the acting capacity of his position, until such a time that the crown sees fit to usher in someone in my stead. I do not know what has transpired here, beyond the mental breaking of a man I once held in high regard, let us pray for his speedy recovery.”

  With that, Lord Weatherby turned his horse and followed his party out the gate.

  CHAPTER 35

  Six months later Audrina lay in bed next to Colin, playing a game of chess. She knew it to be different in the modern societies, but the game had been around since the sixth century, and Colin had proved to be a worthy opponent, as he was very adept at the game.

  Audrina moved her queen along the board, having grown better at strategizing in the last few months as fall had set upon them, and winter’s harsh omens began to arise. Early morning frosts could be seen on the decaying grasses of the fen. Bessie’s breath froze on the air whenever she blew her snout at Audrina. But Audrina was content with her life in Castle Claran.

  She had many months now to reflect on that night when they had finally caused the downfall of Lord Cotswold. He had been replaced by one of his kin, who was a younger and more adept Lord at adapting to the harsh way of life in Scotland. He had proved thus far to be far more sound of mind and reasonable than his predecessor.

  Colin had let Audrina be privy to that conversation when the young, nervous Lord rode in with a small group of soldiers. After the last invasion, he was not greeted so warmly as the Claran’s notable hospitality was renowned for. Lord Bryce was a young Lord, acting under the instruction of Lord Weatherby and he had been charged with this region as a test to determine his capabilities of Lordship. His mentor, Lord Weatherby had stayed true to his word and largely left them in peace, opting to send a courier once a month to convey messaged and declarations of the crown. With hostilities arising from the other clans, he had been weary of making further enemies of the Claran clan.

  Audrina reflected on the day when Lord Bryce walked into the great hall. He had been announced, but she had almost felt sorry for him as the men unsheathed their dirks and toyed with the blades, cleaning out under their fingernails in a veiled threat. The young lord had twirled his riding cap in his hands, his fidgeting a sure sign of his greenery in his vocation. He had spoken clearly, but with a note of apprehension as he looked around at the men, and his own men twitched nervously under the watchful eye of the Scotsmen.

  “I have come to sustain the relationship that has been built between you and Lord Weatherby, upon his command. I would offer my hand in friendship and civility, to let it be known that this allegiance between the Scottish clans and the Crown, be continued further. I would also like to make mention, that upon the mentorship of Lord Weatherby, I am but his humble and honorable apprentice, and that I seek no personal gain from this allegiance, nor do I make any claim to uphold the rights of Prima Noctem. Hence forth
, Lord Weatherby has disbanded the right from any of his charges he Lords over, and I am happily and newly married.” Lord Bryce’s voice quavered from time to time, but he made it through his rehearsed speech.

  Audrina was cautious, but felt for him. He didn’t look a day older than eighteen or nineteen, which would put him at a younger age than they were. He was fairly green all around in his marriage and his duties, and she saw the look of acknowledgement when Colin understood this too. He would have the upper hand here, but being an honorable man himself, he wouldn’t abuse the young Lord.

  “What has become o’Lord Cotswold?” Colin demanded. He needed to assert his authority now, and there would be plenty of time later to test the bonds of the arrangements honor.

  “Let it be known that mine uncle, Lord Cotswold, has been returned unto the folds of the family in disgrace. The crown has seen fit to grant mercy, in that his mind is not of a sound nature, but he has been stripped of his titles and lands, and they have been dispensed to more suitable and able Lords.” He looked at Audrina in terror then. As if he was waiting for her to find something unreasonable in this.

  She remembered Lord Weatherby’s words about praying for Lord Cotswold’s recovery. She personally hoped he fell in a pig sty himself and met the same fate as his victim’s, but it would serve no purpose but to assuage her own insidious need for revenge. She had taken enough the night he was taken away. Colin had grilled her as to what she had said to him that night, but she kissed him and told him it was not anything to concern himself over.

  Audrina knew the number thirteen was unlucky. She knew the number was often associated with bad luck, misfortune, and ill wishes. In many cultures across many religions and time periods, it was associated with witches. She was certain Lord Cotswold had picked up her meaning when she had told him she had been his unlucky thirteen. His face had paled as he realized she answered his continued question about how she had done it. How she had risen from the dead. Without actually saying so, she had told him that she had done it via witchcraft. His suspicions and accusations had been right all along, but no one believed him because he had just cast himself into the subjugating light of a mad man.