Page 82 of Beguiled By the Highlander
He thrust the bloodied shawl at her. “D’ye have any idea what went through my head when I saw this? I trawled through the undergrowth searching for ye, imagining the worst of things. Believing he’d done unspeakable things to ye before—” He swallowed and tossed the shawl onto the rug as though he could no longer bear to touch it. “All that blood. I couldn’t believe ye’d survive whatever injury he’d inflicted upon ye.”
Somewhere in the back of her mind it was gratifying to know how deeply he cared about her wellbeing, but as relieved as she was at knowing he was safe and home again, she didn’t relish being accused of reckless behavior she hadn’t committed.
“It wasn’t my blood.” Before he could launch into another ill-placed accusation, she added, “William, ye must listen to me.There’s another hidden passageway that leads from the lady’s chamber to out beyond Creagdoun’s walls. Right to the forest’s edge. I discovered it just the other day but didn’t have the chance to tell ye about it.”
He stared at her as though she had just spoken in tongues. She tried again. “’Twas secured when I first found it. But after ye left this morn, someone had opened the door that led into the chamber. I swear, I didn’t mean to investigate. I intended to find Patric, but Sjor ran into the passage, and I couldn’t leave him.”
William’s jaw flexed, but before he could respond, servants arrived with their supper. Instead of the usual light meal, she’d directed the cook to ensure a hearty stew was provided for the returning men. But her husband barely gave the meal a second glance.
As soon as the door shut behind the servants, he spoke. “Ye should have left him.”
For the first time, anger sparked. “I would never leave him if I thought him in danger.”
“He wouldn’t be in danger, Isolde. MacGregor wouldn’t care about a dog that’s beneath his notice and could easily escape him. But ye—ye’re a prize he’d never imagine would fall so easily into his clutches. I cannot believe ye were so foolish.”
“Foolish, was I? ’Twas only by following Sjor I discovered MacGregor’s intention was to invade the castle through the secret passageway. To be sure, ’twas doomed to failure since ye thwarted his plan at Glen Clah, but I didn’t know that at the time.”
“He captured ye.” The words burst from him, an accusation, yet the tortured expression on his face caused her anger against him to die. Deep inside, she acknowledged he was right. MacGregor had no use for Sjor, and her darling lad had only gone to attack when MacGregor had threatened her.
Even so, she still would never have left him at the edge of the forest and shut the hidden door against him. William hadn’t been there. He couldn’t understand.
“But I escaped,” she told him. “He didn’t hurt me, William. I bolted the door against him and put Creagdoun on alert for attack. Thank God, ye had already quelled the rebels, but at least ye know yer castle was well defended in yer absence.”
“The castle.” He appeared to choke on the words before swinging about and marching to the door where he paused, his hand on the iron ring. “I’d weather the loss of Creagdoun but—” He snapped his jaw shut before half turning to face her. “Ye were right. Ye should never have left Eigg. This marriage was a mistake, but I’ll be sure to rectify it. Ye’ll return to the isle as soon as it can be arranged.”
His words hit her like a punch to the gut, and she stared at him, speechless, as his meaning thundered through her mind in an endless refrain. He wanted to send her back to Eigg? No. She wouldn’t believe it.
“It wasn’t a mistake.” Her voice was hoarse. “Ye don’t mean that.”
“Don’t ye understand? I won’t always be here to protect ye.”
“Ye weren’t here today,” she shot back before she could stop herself. “And I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
His jaw tightened as though she’d hit a nerve. “Aye, but what of another day? I’m giving ye what ye always wanted, Isolde. Why must ye always be so contrary?”
Contrary?
“Ye’re not giving me anything. Things have changed, William. Ye must see—”
“I do see.” Anger throbbed through each word, and there was a wild gleam in his eyes that dried her protests in her throat. “Nothing’s changed. And there’s nothing left to discuss.”
With that, he pulled open the door and left her alone.
She released a ragged breath and sank to the floor beside the hearth. Sjor came up to her and she wrapped her arms around him, the way she longed to wrap them around William. But it seemed he no longer wanted her.
Yet she was certain that wasn’t true. The way he’d looked at her from the moment they’d entered their bedchamber. The things he’d said.
And the things he’d left unsaid.
His anger was directed against MacGregor, not her. But what difference did it make if he refused to open his eyes and see the last thing she wanted was to return to the isle of her birth?
*
William pulled thedoor shut behind him, and the sound of the wood slamming against the jamb was a death knell that echoed through his head.
Besides the reddish bruise on Isolde’s forehead, she was unharmed. Thank God. He squeezed his eyes shut, but his heart thundered in his chest, all the same. As though just to remind him how easily he could have lost her.
As if he’d ever forget that.
