Chapter 4 #2
"I'll be headed tae the monastery now. I dinnae fancy being caught out here in the middle of the night," he jerked his thumb back over his shoulder.
"Ye can follow me if ye want the help." Owen turned to leave and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Or ye can stay out here taking yer chances with the elements and bugs.
" He walked a little further away before calling over his shoulder.
"By the way, lass, that spider that climbed onto yer hand was just a baby. They get ten times bigger than that!"
Owen smiled to himself when he heard her hurried footsteps following behind.
"Ye'll have tae walk faster than that if ye want tae keep up, the monastery is a good few minutes away, and I dinnae want tae get caught in the rain," he said lightheartedly, chuffed with his efforts at winning her over.
He wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he knew she was out here alone in the forest. What if it was his sister, Evie?
No, no, leaving her was no option. Owen would have dragged her to safety had Charlotte not come willingly. The wind would blow her over, being the slight little thing that she was.
Charlotte quickened her pace and joined Owen at his side before too long. "Will the other monks be fine with you just bringing me in?" she asked, out of breath.
He shook his head. "The other monks must nae ken yer even there.
I'll sneak ye in and keep ye in me chambers until we leave in a few days.
Ye will have a warm bed tae sleep in and food tae eat.
It's better than being out here in any case," he noticed the panic on her face and quickly added.
"I will nae lay a hand on ye, lass. There's plenty of room.
Me uncle is away, so naebody will check.
I may nae be a proper monk by trade, but I've adopted the celibate way of living, as I already mentioned.
I mean it," he looked at her sincerely. He really had been celibate for a long time now.
It was the least he could do to redeem the sins scarring his soul.
"Is your uncle also a monk?" she had to jog to keep up with his strides.
"Aye, he brought me here tae live at the monastery."
"So, I was right. You aren't a real monk then, after all?"
He stopped and looked at her. "Let's make one thing clear, lass.
Part of the deal is that ye dinnae ask me any questions about me past or how I came tae be here at the monastery," he searched her face before continuing.
"And I will nae ask ye any questions about yer past and whom ye are so clearly running from. Deal?"
His heart skipped a beat for a second as she gazed into his eyes. Her beauty was dangerously beguiling to him. He'd have to watch himself around her. He didn't have time for distractions in life.
"Sounds like a fair deal to me," she finally said.
He nodded and continued to walk as a soft drizzle of rain fell through the canopy of trees.
They walked in silence for a while before either of them spoke again.
Owen wondered who she was and who she could be on the run from.
He just hoped that he wasn't aiding and abetting a crime; he had enough problems of his own to contend with at present.
"May I ask your name at least?" she suddenly asked. "I mean, you do know that my name is Charlotte. What am I to call you if we are to be living together for a while?"
"Owen," he said after a moment's hesitation.
"Is that your real name? It's not Scottish."
He felt slightly offended at the way people kept questioning his honesty.
Obviously, his morals were somewhat questionable.
Granted, he had met her in the middle of the forest on a dark night while paying a man who was clearly a scout.
But where was her trust in humanity and her fellow man? Was there no trust left in the world?
"Aye, it's Owen," he said again.
She nodded as if to say she'd accept his answer, whether it was true or not. "Pleased to meet you, Owen."
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Charlotte…" He took a shot in the dark in the hopes that she'd open up to him a bit more.
"Just Charlotte will do," she said bluntly.
Owen sighed and gave up as the trees opened, revealing the dark meadow that lay between them and the monastery grounds. The building loomed on the horizon with its ever-watchful towers, reminding him that his past wasn't too far off.
"Is that it?" Charlotte asked. "Is that the monastery?"
"Ye'd be surprised if it wasn't, wouldn't ye?" Owen smirked, eliciting a glare from her. "I doubt there are many other buildings around here where men would cluster together in robes," he paused to consider. "Nae any buildings that I would like to visit anyway."
"You made your point." She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "You don't have to be so sarcastic about everything," she pouted slightly again.
He laughed as he set out over the grass, with Charlotte struggling to keep up.
This is going to be fun, Owen thought to himself.
If not interesting, staying with a woman like her would surely liven things up at the monastery.
He only hoped that he could pull it off.
He'd have to devise yet another plan to make his mad life work.