A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (92 page)

“
I
’
ll try,
”
she muttered in reply.  She closed her eyes obediently, but it was a long time before Tavish
’
s cruel face faded from her mind.

..ooOOoo..

When Muira woke the next morning she was alone.  She
’
d slept for much longer than she
’
d meant to, and evidently Lachlan hadn
’
t liked to wake her before he left.  She wondered what had happened, if anything had changed over night
…

Getting out of bed, Muira waited for the now familiar waves of nausea to begin to rise within her.  She was growing almost use to them.  Sure enough they came, although not quite as severely as the day before. 

Once she was quite recovered, Muira rang for her maid, impatient to dress and be able to leave her room so that she could find out the night
’
s developments.  She was surprised, and a little worried, when it wasn
’
t Liane who came to help with her toilette.  Muira
’
s surprise must have shown on her face, because the woman- who was a little older than Liane- offered an explanation.

“
They
’
re trying to woke out if anything
’
s to be done with her, Mrs MacRae,
”
the maid explained bluntly, as she laid out a dress for her mistress.

“
Done with her?
”
Muira baffled. 
“
Whatever do you mean?
”

The woman raised a surprised eyebrow. 
“
You hadn
’
t heard?  She was with that Cameron captain the night everything went awry
–
that
’
s how the man got proven innocent.
”

Muira quickly shut her mouth, which had been gaping open. 
“
Ewan!
”
she hissed under her breath.  She was quite sure that the maid knew that
‘
that Cameron captain
’
in question was her brother, and so said a silent word of thanks for her discretion. 
“
What other news is there?
”
she asked, more gravely. 
“
The Laird, is he
…”

“
Still alive, Mrs MacRae,
”
nodded the woman, a sad smile on her lips that Muira returned.

“
Do you know if my husband
’
s with him?
”
she asked softly.  She had nursed Graem MacRae the previous morning.  It seemed so very unlikely that he would ever make a full recovery that Muira wondered if the kindest thing for him would have been to slip away quickly.

“
Aye, mistress, I believe so.
”
 

Muira asked for her breakfast to be served in her room, after which she had every intention of going back down to the great hall seeing how she could offer her assistance.  She was a little delayed in her intentions however, because she received two visitors just as she started eating her porridge.

Ewan and Donaid presented themselves gravely.  They both looked tired, but Ewan looked completely
battered
.  Muira momentarily forgot that she was annoyed with her brother.  She jumped up from her chair and dashed across the room, throwing her hugs around his shoulders and hugging him tight.

“
Ewan, you
’
re really alright!
”
she squealed, letting him go sheepishly when he winced and moaned under her embrace.  He rubbed his ribs, frowning. 
“
Well, a lot more
‘
alright
’
than you might have been,
”
Muira amended.

“
Aye,
”
he was forced to agree.

“
You
’
re brother
’
s been very lucky, cousin,
”
Donaid nodded.  His face bore a terribly haunted expression, as if, as tanist, he personally felt the pain and shame of every Cameron misdemeanour.

“
Yes,
”
Muira nodded, but she couldn
’
t stop herself from adding:
“
I heard what form your
luck
took, Ewan.  Did you really have to?  And with my maid!
”
she scolded. 
“
Yes I know!
”
she said, because she could see Ewan was getting ready to fight his corner. 
“
If you hadn
’
t then
…”
her sentence trailed off unfinished. 
“
Have either of you see Tavish?
”
she whispered.

“
No,
”
Donaid shook his head. 
“
And the MacRae
’
s aren
’
t about to let us.
”

“
Sensible of them,
”
Ewan snarled. 
“
I
’
d kill the bastard if I got within an inch of the man!
”
he swore.

“
Ewan!
”
Donaid barked.  Muira wasn
’
t quite sure if he was reprimanded her bother for his sentiment, or just the language with which it had been conveyed. 
“
Muira,
”
he sighed, very heavily. 
“
We have learned- or rather, I learned and then informed Ewan- a little more of the character of Tavish MacEantach than we had previously known.
”

Muira puzzled over the strange statement. 
“
Well, of course you have,
”
she frowned. 
“
I certainly didn
’
t think that you brought him here suspecting that he might do something of this evil nature.
”

“
No, Muira, you misunderstand,
”
Donaid sighed again. 
“
We-
”

“
We know what he tried to do to you!
”
Ewan exploded, as if he had been waiting to tell his sister this ever since he
’
d stepped into the room. 
“
Why the hell didn
’
t you tell us, Muira!
”
he roared. 
“
If I
’
d known I would have-
”

“
Ewan!
”
Donaid growled, trying to keep the younger man in line. 
“
It is true, is it, Muria?
”
he asked more gently, as he turned back to his cousin.

“
Is what true?
”
she breathed shakily.  She had striven so hard to keep the whole sordid tale a secret from her family.  She couldn
’
t believe that it had come out now.

“
Did Tavish try to rape you, Muira?
”
Donaid asked, as if the words caused him physical pain. 
“
Is
that
how this whole strange affair with the MacRae
’
s tanist came about?
”

Muira gave her head a tiny, silent nod, unable and too uncomfortable to find the words to speak.

“
God, Muira.
”
  Ewan cursed under his breath. 
“
Why didn
’
t you come to us?
”
he asked again. 
“
Your family, instead of running off to
Lachlan MacRae
?
”
he demanded, speaking through gritted teeth.

“
I didn
’
t run off to Lachlan!
”
  Muira argued. 
“
It just
…
all kind of happened,
”
she finished weakly.

“
Explain,
”
Ewan growled.

“
I certainly will not!
”
Muira snapped.  She was ruffled by her brother
’
s tone, and still clinging to the denial of what had really happened between herself and Tavish. 
“
I
’
m a married woman now and I don
’
t answer to you Ewan Cameron!
”