Page 14 of Sins of a Scot
“I ken I’m going tae get ye intae trouble, but ye must understand,” she said, walking toward him, “that I have tae leave.”
Delving into her purse, she grabbed a handful of coins. When Owen discovered her escape, she had no doubt this guard would likely be punished, even kicked out of the castle, if not worse. He needed something to keep him going.
“Here,” she said, dropping them into his pocket. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am.”
“What is going on? What are ye doing tae me?”
Iseabail looked at him sympathetically. “I need ye tae sleep now.”
As though his soul had left his body, the guard’s knees collapsed under him, and he fell in a slump on the stone floor. A second later, Iseabail heard a soft snore leaving his open mouth.
Bending towards him, she unclipped the large ring of keys from his belt. She had no idea if she would need them, but they might come in useful somewhere along her journey. Grabbing her cloak and draping it over her shoulders, she fastened the clasp at her throat, took one last look at the cell, and then hurriedly stepped through the iron gate. Even the screeching sound as it closed did not wake the guard.
Fumbling with the key ring, Iseabail searched for the right one. She tried one after the other, and on her sixth attempt, her heart now pounding in her chest for fear of being discovered while she was so close to escape, the key turned and she locked the cell. If the guard did waken anytime soon, she certainly didn’t need him running about and raising the alarm.
“If I am lucky, I may get a few hours head start,” she muttered to herself. “Clearly, everyone in the castle has retired, which means, I only have that one guard at the gate tae deal with. Well, that’s if I can remember all those darned instructions tae get tae him.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Leaving the dungeons, Owen made his way back to the main castle. He could not help but smile at his interaction with the prisoner, for Iseabail was as stubborn as she was beautiful. He had to admit it was difficult to feel animosity toward her, with her striking looks, and yet it was obvious that beneath the gorgeous exterior lay something far more than an ordinary lass.
He was determined to get to the bottom of her actions, no matter how long it took. If she didn’t want to talk, she could enjoy the accommodations the dungeons provided for as long as her stubborn little head would let her.
He had been trying to make sense of what had happened since they had returned, but he simply could not get his mind around it. She had denied it, but maybe she was a witch. She had certainly cast some sort of spell on Daire. The man was no fool.
In fact, his integrity far surpassed that of any other man he knew, apart from his father. He was certainly not a man who waseasily led, and yet, like a child, he had obeyed Iseabail without question. It was even more worrying that he could hardly remember the incident, nor the reason he had so compliantly done as she had directed.
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.
Continuing down the castle corridors, he had considered that she might be a spy, sent by the men who were hunting him. The evil gang used women for many nefarious actions, usually against the lass’s will. Perhaps Iseabail was being blackmailed to do their bidding.
And ye’ve led her right tae yer faither’s castle!
Owen then shook his head. “Nay, that cannae be right,” he muttered to himself as he ascended the wide staircase. “They would hardly send her just tae steal me necklace.”
He was determined that it was the stone around his neck she had been after. She had lured him outside so they could be alone, like the seductress that she was, only to steal something that was of no real monetary value. Or at least, he didn’t think it was. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he ought to speak to Eden and find out whether this stone was indeed, valuable.
But even as he neared his father’s study, it still didn’t add up. In fact, he was certain she was not unlike Eden. She had to be. How else had she made Daire leave his side?
He found Daire where he had left him, drink in hand, lounging beside the fire in his father’s study.
“Well, has she found her tongue yet?” Daire said, as Owen walked in and headed to the dresser.
He poured himself a fresh drink, and then joined Daire at the fire place.
“Nay. She’s as stubborn now as she was earlier. She has spirit, I’ll give her that. But there are too many questions and nae enough answers.”
His father and Eden had retired to their bedchamber before Owen and Daire had arrived back from the tavern. Something Owen was more than grateful for. He still had a few cuts and bruises he would need to tend to before he saw his father. More than that, he didn’t want Madigan knowing about Iseabail until he had figured out who she was and what she was up to.
Daire had been right earlier. Madigan was no fool. He would see through any lies Owen tried to feed him. His father had always been a rather discerning man. He did not particularly approve of Owen’s lifestyle, for he was a self-declared rake and proud of it, but nor could he do much about it. Owen was a man in his own right. A man of four and twenty who led his own life anyway he chose.
“I still think ye’re looking too deeply intae this, Owen. It was a lass at a tavern who saw an opportunity. She flirted, ye flirted back, she made her move.”
“Aye, and if I hadnae witnessed ye being put under some sort o’ spell, I could believe that. But I did.” Owen looked his companion in the eye. “Yer drink was right there beside us, Daire. Think about it. I can hardly get ye tae dae anything ye dinnae want tae, but that lass made ye go and buy another drink,” Owen said determinedly.
“I think there is a bigger picture here that needs yer attention. In fact, I cannae believe that ye seem more concerned with some strange lass than ye are about the men who are trying tae kill ye.”
Owen gave him a steady look, and then smirked. “Are ye worried about me murder, or the fact ye’ll have tae tell me faither the truth when they find me cold, dead corpse?”
