“Poor Biddy. I wish we had kenned what she was about. We might have stopped her before it went too far.”
“He would have hunted up another one. And Biddy may nay have been saved for she had that want in her, that greed for more than she had, and a willingness to do anything to get it. I could hear it when I talked to her.”
“Aye,” agreed Callum. “She had that greed inside her. She felt she had been wronged by nay being a lady proper, just a kitchen maid. And as we have all said, she had a good life here and a good mon for a laird. There was naught here to breed those feelings that ate at her. I often wonder if they are in there when one is born, just waiting for a chance or a nudge to awake. Her sisters dinnae have that same belief that they are so deserving of things they dinnae have that it excuses anything they do to get those things.”
“But they freed her.”
“Family. Just because ye dinnae like one of your siblings all that much doesnae mean ye will turn your back on them when they are in trouble.”
“Then what should be done about her sisters? I have been thinking on it and just cannae decide. Some punishment should be dealt out but that is hard to do when ye ken so weel why they did it.”
Harcourt nodded. “Ye need to think of something that looks like punishment to all the others yet isnae too harsh.”
“Garderobes. Slop buckets. For at least a fortnight.”
“Och, ye have a cruel side, Joan,” said Nicolas and he laughed.
“It serves me weel from time to time.” Joan looked at Annys. “Shall I tell the girls that?”
“Aye, but mayhap nay until they have buried their sister,” said Annys.
“Agreed. I will give them a wee bit of time to grieve and pick a day for them to come to me to hear what their punishment will be. Let them ken one is coming. ’Tis best.”
Annys nodded and then looked at Harcourt. “Ye found nothing to help ye hunt down Clyde or Sir Adam?”
“Nay. We followed the mon’s trail for a wee while but it grew too dark to read a trail weel. We will return there in the light of day and see what we find.” He glanced toward the door. “And I think ye will be sorting out Biddy’s sisters earlier than ye had planned.”
Annys looked to the door and watched two young women walk toward her. Their faces were blotched with the marks of a long time of heavy crying and they held hands as they moved toward her. She immediately felt sympathy for them but was determined to be firm. They had done something that was seriously wrong and needed to be punished for it.
The two girls curtsied and the taller one said, “We have come to beg your forgiveness, m’lady. I am Florence and this is Davida. We did wrong, m’lady. We ken it. ’Tis just that Biddy was so scared and crying and . . .” She fell silent when Davida nudged her in the ribs.
“Biddy was the eldest and we have long done what she told us to. This time we should have found the backbone to say nay. She had done a terrible thing. Nay, a lot of terrible things and would have done more with no care to who might suffer. I am shamed by what she did. I helped let her go simply because I couldnae bear to watch her die e’en though she deserved such punishment.”
Annys was a little stunned by the blunt honesty of Davida, the girl’s gaze never faltering as she had spoken. This girl was the strong one in the family, she suspected, with none of Biddy’s weaknesses. It was tempting to say they were forgiven and send them on their way but she could not, as the lady of the keep, be that lenient over what was a very serious crime.
“’Tis good that ye ken how wrong ye were and there will be a punishment handed down. Howbeit, your sister is dead and it can wait until ye bury her. Good or bad, she was your kin. When that is done, ye go to Joan and she will tell ye what ye must do to pay for this.”
Annys reached out and took each girl by the hand. “I understand and I forgive ye. But, it was a grave wrong ye did, so I will also see that ye serve your punishment. Aye?”
“Aye,” said both girls and they turned to leave but halted after a few steps and Davida looked back at her.
“It was a grave wrong but, do ye ken, it was also foolish. One of the saddest things is that we risked ourselves to try and save her from hanging, but she kenned full weel her plans and her betrayals would bring an army to these gates, mayhap right inside when we were nay looking so that we could be slaughtered more easily. She didnae e’en consider that that could mean we die, too, and all so she could sit higher at the table.
“So I bless ye for being kind enough to forgive us but, weel, I am nay sure I have that kind a heart. Help her though I did, it will be a verra long time before I e’en consider forgiving Biddy.”