“Lachlan, slow down. Your words do not make any sense to me right now,” Ronin said; holding his friend by the shoulders and forcing him to focus on his face.
“That man, the cloaked man, I saw him today too. He was going towards Mara’s bedchamber,” Lachlan said; more calmly this time. His words had regained their strength and he sounded more like himself now.
“Why didn’t ye stop him?”
“I could still be wrong about the whole situation. I did nae think it was my place to interfere in such a sensitive matter. I dae not have the position to question the lairdess. Ye dae,” Lachlan reasoned. Ronin had the right to investigate.
“You are right. You did a good thing by not barging in. If something is truly going on, I should be the one to find that out,” he turned around and exited the bedchamber, his feet almost soundless.
He knew he had to be as quiet as possible because he didn't want anyone to find out. The issue at hand concerned the clan's lairdess, a woman held in high regard by all. Lachlan knew he couldn't let his mother's reputation suffer in front of strangers. Such things were family secrets that should be kept private.
He walked the short distance to her bedchamber but as he neared one step at a time, the distance suddenly felt too long, as if his feet were forcing him to step back. He knew why this was happening. He did not wish to believe whatever Lachlan had told him but in his gut, he knew it was true. The situation seemed absurd to him and totally without merit but he had always been intuitive and whatever he felt, usually turned out to be correct. Hence, he couldn’t risk delaying this matter.
The castle was silent, eerily so. Ronin felt as if the silence of the night was the calm before the storm. As if something terrible was about to engulf him. He knew what storms were like in his life. He had suffered one ten years ago, and it had destroyed everything in its wake. He did not have the heart, or the courage, to suffer another one, but it was out of his hands. If something were to happen, it would. There was no way to stop it.
He stood outside the bedchamber for several minutes, trying his best to listen inside. The door was latched. There was still a chance that his friend had been mistaken and Mara was doing no wrong.
He picked up his hand and knocked softly when he didn't hear any noise from inside the bedchamber. The silence in the room indicated that she was probably sleeping. Regardless, Ronin stood there listening and trying to figure out what was going on.
“Mother?” he called out, making sure his voice was loud enough to reach inside but soft enough that no one else in the castle could hear it. The silence persisted. Despite this, he strained his ears to ensure that nothing went unnoticed. A pair of footsteps walking away from the door drew his attention. The walk was soft and slow, with as little noise as possible made. He knew it wasn't his mother right away. This could only mean one thing: someone else was in her bedchamber.
“Mother?” Ronin called again; his tone losing the softness he had practiced earlier. He didn't want to be rude or curt to his mother, but he needed to see for himself what was going on. He kept hoping and praying in his heart that he was wrong. If his mother was having a secret liaison, he had to wonder what else she was keeping from him.
Edna told me about a suspected affair between my mother and her father all those years ago,Ronin thought. He tried to stop his brain from going any further in that direction, but he couldn’t help but think it through. What if those rumors from all those years ago were correct and the affair was real?If a person can do it once, they can do it again,he thought as he looked at the closed door.
“Mother.” He called out again, this time knocking harder on the door, his tone urgent and hurried. This situation needed to be resolved quickly, but he couldn't just walk into the room and start looking for someone as if he already knew someone was inside. He needed to be tactical with his advances, or else things could quickly go wrong.
“I will be right there,” his mother’s reply came; her tone sounding sleepy. Ronin suspected she was only pretending to sleep, that it was a ruse, an attempt to throw him off by acting innocent, but he was not going to fall for it.
He stood there, knowing full well that whoever was inside couldn't get out. The bedchamber's window was not only high, but it also had castle guards stationed directly below it. Anyone attempting to flee would be seen and apprehended immediately. If someone was inside, they would have to find a place to hide within the chambers. When the door finally opened, his mother appeared in front of him. Her face was flushed and showed no signs of sleep, and Ronin could feel tension radiating off of her, even though she was trying her best to conceal it. It was true that he hadn’t spent much time with her in the past years but despite that, Ronin understood her and her behaviors.
“Ronin?” she murmured his name softly; like a question. Ronin knew she needed an explanation for being woken up at this hour.
“I needed to speak with you,” he replied; trying to keep his tone neutral. He noticed that she was holding the door of the bedchamber with one hand and blocking the entire entrance with her body. It was evident that she didn’t wish to invite him inside.
“At this hour? It could nae have waited till morning?” she questioned; her voice losing the exhaustion she had been faking earlier. She sounded angry and annoyed.
“No, Mother. I would have never disturbed you at this ungodly hour if it could have waited till morning,” Ronin confessed; trying to engage her in the matter as best as he could. He needed get inside the room.
“Tell me,” she said sternly.
“Not out here in the hallway. Let’s go inside,” Ronin said and took a step forward to enter the bedchamber. To his surprise, even after his advancing forward, she did not budge and continued to stand in his way at the door.
“Ye must ask my permission before entering my bedchamber, Ronin. Did they nae teach ye manners in France?” Ronin laughed softly at the question instead of replying. He was trying to act as casually as possible so his mother wouldn’t suspect him of knowing anything and would keep her guard down.
“I apologize, Mother. May we talk inside?” Ronin asked; a polite smile on his face.
She moved aside without saying anything, and Ronin entered the bedchamber, trying hard to keep his eyes focused. His mother was an astute observer, and if she noticed him looking around or his gaze drifting along the edges of the room, she would be aware. Hewanted to appear innocent. She kept the bedroom door open and hequickly turned around to face her, his expression solemn. All he needed was a few more minutes to discover what was truly going on behind the castle's tall and fortified walls.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
“Yes, Ronin?” she asked once more and he began to pace around the room; his brain analyzing every detail. It was a huge bedchamber but did not have any place to hide except under the bed or behind the curtains. The curtains were at his back and he couldn’t turn to look at them without alerting his mother of his intentions. Hence, he decided to wait for the right moment.
“Everything that has been happening across the clan has disturbed me, Mother,” he confessed; unable to think of any other important thing to discuss.
“Me too, son. Though we have been staying strong in these tough times and we will continue to stay strong. Why are ye so worried?” she asked; looking him straight in the face. Ronin could see affection in her eyes but he no longer trusted her enough to believe that those emotions were even real.
“Because if the murderer is not found soon enough, we will all be blamed. I do not want anyone to question the credibility of the future laird,” Ronin said.