Plead Forgiveness: Betrayed Twice (Loyalty Series) (11 page)

With unabashed
joy, Iain escorted Ella back to the castle moments later. He thanked her
numerous times for saving the lives of Rachel and his nephew. He also informed
her that the wet nurse agreed to continue feeding the babe for as long as
necessary.

*

By the time Ella
reached the corridor that lead to her chamber, the effects of the two sleepless
nights, added with the emotional strain, caught up to her. She swayed with
exhaustion as she passed Gavin’s chamber, and then startled when the chamber
door across from his opened and revealed Alice.

“Good morning,
Milady,” the maid said with a triumphant smirk on her face.

Ella learned a
sennight ago that Gavin’s leman occupied the chamber across from his afore
returning from England with his intended bride. She had not been angry at the
time, since he bedded the whore before they were married. Now, seeing Alice
emerge from that chamber, made her immediately suspicious of the buxom woman.

Not bothering to
conceal her ire, she demanded, “Explain your presence here!”

“By Laird Gavin’s
command, I am returning to my old chamber. The one I occupied before yer
arrival,” Alice snickered.

Shocked and held
immobile, Ella stared at her husband’s lover. Dejection soon yielded to fury
that he had reclaimed his leman. 
God must hate me
.

Alice’s words
brutally ripped apart Ella’s heart and the scattered pieces blackened with soul
deep hatred. Two days hence, Gavin had tried to make love to her, and like a
scared rabbit, she ran from him, pushing him back into this whore’s welcoming
arms.

She brushed past
Alice and retreated to her chamber. Crumbling to the bed, Ella then allowed
anguish to engulf her. 
Let him take Alice to his bed.  I do not
care, not for happiness lost once again.

Due to his
overwhelming concern for his wife, Gavin slept very little the past two days.
After assessing the damage caused by the storm, he headed back to the keep by
midmorning..

Upon entering the
hall, he learned of Ella’s return to the castle. At present, she slumbered in
her chamber. Although anxious to see her and express his pride in the miracle
she accomplished with Rachel, he did not intend to apologize for trying to make
love to her two days prior.

He refused to feel
any guilt over his attempt to seduce her or take the blame for the deaths of
her aunt and uncle. He understood that her pain was so great it made it
difficult to see clearly that her loved ones would have died regardless of her
marriage. He believed in time she would see the truth, but his hope and
patience were rapidly dwindling.

After a few hours
sleep, Ella woke to Lady Esme sweet voice.

“Good morrow,
lass.”

As the peace of
her short slumber evaporated, reality and misery set in, but she gave no
evidence of it in the presence of her mother-in-law.

“Since you are
smiling, I assume Rachel is well.”

“Aye that she is .
. . thanks to ye.”

Ella shrugged,
stubbornly refusing to engage in any conversation.

Lady Esme
suspected something amiss, but did not voice her concern. Instead, she said, “I
ordered ye a bath and will assist-”

“I do not need
assistance. As you well known, I am quite used to bathing myself.”

Seeing that her
terse words hurt the kind woman, Ella immediately felt contrite and said,
“Please, take nae offense. I just need some time alone.”

Lady Esme did not
take offense. In a maternal, understanding voice, she said, “Take all the time
ye need, sweetling.”

Once the servants
finished filling the huge wooden tub and departed the chamber, Ella sank into
the soothing bath. Engulfed by the steaming water, she tried to banish all
thoughts of Gavin's infidelity.  
I am a fool for allowing him to
invade my heart
.  

She suddenly
startled by the sound of the door closing and the appearance of an unwelcomed
guest within her chamber.

“What do you want,
Alice?”

With mock
innocence, she said, “I have only come to help.”

Ella frowned with
cold fury and prepared to confront the manipulative bitch standing so brazenly
before her. “I neither need nor wish your help. Leave!”

With her hands on
her hips, Alice glared down at Ella and said, “I can see why yer husband dinna
seek yer bed. Nae man would want a wife whose body will be forever marred by
those hideous scars that cover yer back. Do ye honestly think a man would want
to look, let alone touch-”

Ella jumped out of
the tub, threw on a robe, and then screamed, “Leave now before I kill you.”

Alice stood frozen
for a moment, unprepared for the threat that came with a malevolent expression.
However, when she turned to leave, Thea confronted her in the doorway.

“Get out of my
way, brat.”

“Ye canna talk to
Ella that way. I’m gonna tell-”

Before Thea could
finish her sentence, Alice slapped her across the face, sending her sprawling
to the floor. Fighting through pain and tears, she covered her cheek with her
hand, then scrambled to her feet and took flight. Despite her fear for Ella,
the little girl race down the corridor to her parent’s chamber, then dove under
their bed.

Seeing Alice hit
Thea, Ella’s rage exploded. She lunged at the harlot, knocking her into the
wall of the corridor. Then with a closed fist, she punched Alice in the face.
Ella felt no remorse throwing the whore to the ground and digging a knee into
her back.

Twisting Alice’s
red locks in her hand, Ella snarled, “If you ever touch that child again, I
swear only God will recognize your face after I’m through with you. I will not
stop there. Think a man will want a woman who has stumps instead of hands?”

“What is the
meaning of this,” Gavin bellowed as he ripped Ella off Alice.

Ella continued to
scowl at the vile creature, even as her husband tightened his grip on her upper
arms.

“She attacked me,”
Alice cried out. “I came to offer my assistance, and when I commented that her
scars were nae so bad, she lashed out. Ye must punish her.”

“Is this true,
wife, did ye attack Alice?”

“Aye.”

Gavin dragged Ella
into her chamber, slammed the door behind him, than growled, “Explain.”

When she ignored
him, he roughly pushed her away, then stated, “Ye will stay in this chamber
until ye obey me and explain why ye attacked Alice.”

“I will never obey
you,” Ella retorted defiantly. “I will never obey a man who proves continuously
that he is without honor. Go back to your leman, for I will never accept you as
my husband.”

His wife may have
learned that Alice had been his leman, but there is no excuse for her jealous
tirade.

“So be it,” he
stated before he slammed the door, leaving her alone in the chamber.

Ella stayed locked
in her chamber throughout the day and long into the night. Even though Maeve
brought her food and drink, due to her confrontation with Gavin, she did not
eat.

Maeve had no doubt
that Alice deserved the beating. Yet, despite her eagerness to hear the reason
for the fight, the younger woman remained stubbornly silent.

Hurt by her
husband’s betrayal, Ella adamantly refused to give into his demands. Images of
Alice and Gavin ran wild in her mind, solidifying her decision to remain quiet.

By the time the
sky darkened, beset with thousands of stars, she ceased crying over the loss of
her husband to another woman. She changed into her knee length, sleeping gown,
but instead of seeking her bed, she sat on the floor. Alone with her thoughts
for what seemed like hours, she realized that the harder she ignored the truth,
the harder it persisted.

She could no
longer blame Gavin for the death of her aunt and uncle. Colban and Bowen had
made her recognize the truth, that he had done everything possible to save them
from the inevitable.

Their morning
rides together through his lavish land allowed them time to bridge the gap that
had formed the day they became man and wife. It became increasingly more
difficult to deny the attraction she felt for him. She enjoyed his bantering,
sarcastic ways as much as his earnest, stubborn debates. Most of all, she like
the way his eyes locked with hers as he listened to her words. It made her feel
beautiful and wanted. It made her fall in love with him.

Unfortunately,
like so many times before, she had been a fool to hope for happiness and a
future. When would she learn to give up those impossible dreams of someone
loving her, of being part of a family again? Even if Gavin had not gone back to
his leman, their marriage is destined to end just the way it began, in ruin.

Ella’s father
would return soon from seeking an audience with the King, and then Gavin would
learn the identity of the woman he wed. He would banished her and then annul
their marriage. Her spirits sank even lower, bringing forth the fatigue that
came with desolation.

Gavin’s chamber
door opened, then closed, starling Ella from her dismal state. Horrific
thoughts hit full force, imagining her husband with his whore and hearing their
passionate cries as they made love.

To Ella’s profound
relief, she heard only crickets chirping for the next hour. Then, once again,
Gavin’s chamber door creaked open and shut. She stood from the bed with a
groan, then went o listen more intently. 
He is probably going to her
chamber.

With her ear
against the thick stones on the wall, she gasped, surprised to hear him yelling
at someone other than herself. She crept along the wall that separated their
chambers, seeking out an area to hear his words more clearly. Moving the
tapestry aside, she stood stunned by the sight of a door. Her husband must have
used this door to enter her chamber the night he consummated their vows.

Pushing aside the
disturbing memory, Ella cautiously opened the door and stepped into the narrow
space between the two chambers. Ironically, guilt did not hinder her from gingerly
lifting the latch. She opened the door slightly, just enough to hear the
conversation within his chamber.

*

“I have been
waiting for ye, my love,” Alice said seductively.

The entire castle
had been searching for Alice since Leif discovered Thea quaking with fear in
their parent’s bedchamber. Leif saw the bruise on his sister’s face moments
before learning the horrific details. He carried her into the hall to inform
their parents and Laird Gavin the reason Lady Ella attacked Alice.

Still livid with
rage, Gavin barley noticed that Alice lay naked on his bed. He stood in the
middle of the chamber with scalding fury lit in his eyes, knowing exactly what
this woman said to his wife and did to Thea.

He repeated his
earlier statement. “Why the hell are ye here, in my chamber?”

Moving to kneel on
the bed, Alice said, “I think my intention is quite obvious.”

“When I returned
from England with Ella, I informed ye that I will nae longer take ye to my
bed.”

“Yer scarred,
unwilling wife will nae have ye, but I will,” she taunted.

Hearing the vile
insult, his control snapped. He lunged forward, ruthlessly yanking her off the
bed by her arm. In a harsh voice that forbade any questions, he stated,
“Listen, well, ye selfish bitch. My wife is the only woman I want in my bed,
will ever want in my bed, and I will wait for as long as it takes to be with
her. In my eyes, those scars only confirm what I already ken about her. There
is nae a woman alive whose beauty compares to that of my wife. In forty years,
she will still be the most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes upon.”

“Ye dinna mean
that, ye-”

“Silence! For what
yer actions against my wife as well as Thea, ye are hereby banished from the
Macleod clan.”

“Nae, nae-”

“I warn ye now, if
ye ever step foot on my land again I will lock ye in the dungeon for the
remainder of yer days.”

“How can ye do
this, treat me like I dinna even matter? I gave my body and heart to ye, for I
ken we are destined to be together.”

“I took what ye
eagerly offered and what many others sampled afore me. I made ye nae promises
of marriage. As for destiny, mine lies in that chamber,” Gavin said, pointing
in the direction of Ella’s chamber.

“Only because I
dinna have a dowry, but then ye took her as yer wife. She brought naught to ye
or our clan,” Alice cried as her dreams crumbled around her.

“She brings more
to me and 
my
 clan than any other woman possibly could,” he
stated, then grabbed her clothing and hauled her to the chamber door.

Gavin threw open
the door while Alice hastily dressed. To Gavin’s surprise, Paen waited
patiently in the corridor with his arms folded across his chest.

With a broad smile
arrogantly displayed on his face, he said, “This has been a long time coming,
lass.”

His hatred for
Alice ran deep, and had since the day the manipulative bitch sank her claws
into Gavin. He saw clearly her black tainted heart and knew she would
eventually reveal her nefarious deeds. At present, he stood with eager
anticipation to escort her off their land.

Gavin pushed her
into his brother and commanded, “Get her out of my sight. Take her to the
dungeon and see that she is removed from our land by first light.”

“It will be my
pleasure to carry out such a wise decision. I believe we will go by way of the
hall so Maeve can have a go at her. Come lass, yer true destiny awaits.”

Gavin heard her
piercing screams even after he shut his chamber door. As he walked over to the
darken window, he berated himself for bringing that viper into his home, into
his bed.

Due to the recent
storm, he allowed Alice to sleep in the servant’s quarters, but only for that
night. Unfortunately, the bold woman stayed the following eve, and in her old
chamber no less.

Gavin ran his hand
through his hair, furious at the events of late. Leaning against the window
frame, he gazed out into the darkness and recalled Ella’s attack on Alice.
Although his wild and ferocious little wife filled him with pride, he remained
incensed that she did not confide in him the reason she attacked Alice. If she
had revealed the truth, he probably would have let her continue beating the
bitch. Unfortunately, his misplace anger originated directly from her insult.

‘I will never
obey a man who proves continuously that he is without honor. Go back to your
leman, for I will never accept you as my husband.’