Page 18 of Sins of a Scot
Nay,” Owen shook his head, still clearly astonished at her disclosure, “but I ken o’ him.”
“Och, I see.”
“But I dinnae understand?” he continued, a deep frown furrowing on his forehead. “What are ye doing on Sinclair lands? More tae the point, what are ye doing wandering around taverns alone? Where are yer guards?”
“Tis a long story—” she began, thinking he had finished with his questions, but he continued.
“And what possessed ye tae try and steal from me? And what about Daire?”
Iseabail raised her hand to try and slow his tirade. “Please. If ye give me a moment, I will explain everything.”
He now paced back and forth, clearly agitated in his confusion.
“Ye may well ken o’ me faither, but what ye dinnae ken, because the council and mesel’ deemed it best tae keep it secret, is the fact that both me faither and me braither have been kidnapped by Laird Dylan Sutherland.”
She watched as he stopped pacing, his eyes flying wide open with a gasp. “What?”
Iseabail shrugged. “It is true. At this very moment, me faither and braither are being held against their will by the laird because he wants me tae find something fer him.”
Owen stared at her intently. “What dae ye mean, something? And why has he chosen ye? Why nae yer braither?
Iseabail was careful with her next words. Owen Sinclair didn’t need to know everything. Just enough to satisfy him so she could then ask her questions in return. In that second, she decided to omit the fact that Laird Sutherland wanted her hand in marriage.
“Laird Sutherland is determined tae take over our clan. He has been trying fer some time, but we have fought back valiantly. As he has advanced, we have kept him at bay, and clearly, he has become both frustrated and impatient. It is those circumstancesthat have caused him tae take the drastic action o’ taking me faither and braither captive. And I dinnae ken why, he is using me and nae me braither. All I ken is that I must find an enchanted crystal and bring it back tae him.”
Owen lifted his hand to his necklace. “This crystal?” he exclaimed.
“Nae,” Iseabail shook her head, “that is only part o’ the stone I need. Somewhere out there,” she nodded towards the window, “there is a far larger stone.”
“And why does he want the crystal so badly?”
“Because it blocks powers,” Iseabail said plainly.
“I kent it,” he exclaimed, seemingly delighted at her words. “Ye dae have a gift, dinnae ye?”
Iseabail nodded. “As does me braither. We inherited it from our maither’s side o’ the family.”
By his expression, Owen was clearly working through what that meant, and then, coming to the only conclusion he could, he said, “That’s why ye were able tae affect Daire, but nae me.”
“Aye.” She nodded. “I have told ye what ye want tae ken, now it is yer turn.”
Owen looked at her with raised eyebrows, clearly suspicious of whatever Iseabail was going to ask. After realizing he could not really go back on his word, he said, “What dae ye want tae ken?”
Nodding to the crystal, she replied, “Where did ye get it?”
But he did not answer straight away. Instead, he resumed his pacing, back and forth across the rug he went for what felt like an eternity. Evidently, he was considering her question, and trying to ascertain if he ought to answer it.
Eventually, he turned back to her. “Why dae ye want tae ken?”
Iseabail snarled. “Ye told me that if I answered yer questions, then ye would answer mine. I have been open and honest with ye. In fact, ye’re the only person outside o’ me clan that kens the truth. Ye owe me an answer.”
“Fine. Me stepmaither gave this tae me. She wanted me tae be protected against anyone using their powers against me.”
Iseabail’s brow furrowed. “How does she ken about powers?”
He looked at her intently. “Because she has gifts, like ye.”
It was Iseabail’s turn to be surprised, and she gasped a little at his words.
