Chapter 6 #2
"Curiosity killed the cat, ye ken?" he helped her up by the arm. "Or the lass on the run, in this case."
Charlotte allowed him to help her up before looking at the tub of fresh water in the center of the room. "Do you have any soap?"
"Do I smell like I dinnae have any soap?" he asked sarcastically before walking over to his cupboard and retrieving a towel with a bar of soap.
"Do I smell like I dinnae have any soap?" Charlotte mimicked him under her breath when his back was turned, annoyed at his sarcastic tendencies.
"What was that?" he asked sharply.
"Nothing," she answered quickly, bending down to swish her hand through the water. "I was just asking if the water was hot, but I can feel that it is indeed."
Walking over to the desk, he placed the towel and soap on the chair before pulling it closer to the bath. "I did mention I was nae feeling well; they had the water especially heated."
"That was very kind. Thank you," she was once again touched by the thought he put into looking after a complete stranger.
"I'll sit on the edge of the bed while ye undress an' take yer bath," he added quickly. "With me back turned tae ye, of course."
"You aren't going to leave while I bathe?"
"Half the monastery thinks I'm dying of the plague by now, lass. They will all run for cover if I leave me room now."
She narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke. "Don't you dare peak," she said, gingerly turning her back to him as he began undressing.
"Don't you dare peak," he copied her English accent in a mocking tone.
"What was that?" she whipped around.
"I said I would never look," he stifled a laugh as she glared at him.
Charlotte turned her back and faced the wall as she discarded her cloak, letting the dirty fabric fall to the ground.
She reached behind and began to undo the ribbons that held her dress together.
She froze when something moved beneath her hand.
Thinking she could have imagined it, she waited a second and moved her hand again.
Something scurried across her back beneath her dress, eliciting an involuntary squeak from her.
"What's the matter?" Owen asked without turning to her.
"There's… There's something in my dress," Charlotte stammered as she danced around to reach the bug.
"Like yer body?"
"Of course not like my body! Like an actual bug!" she raised her voice even higher until she was almost screaming.
"Shhh, lass," Owen hissed, quickly coming around the bed and trying to calm her down. "Ye will have Brother Thomas in here 'afore too long if ye carry on like that. It sounds like someone swinging a cat by the tail!"
"Get it out!" she begged as she frantically tapped across the room like a deranged drunk.
"I will if ye stand still!" he ordered more sternly.
Trying to stand still, she reached down the back of her dress again when she felt something scurry across her neck.
"Oh my God!" her eyes widened in shock. "It's a spider, Owen!
It's a spider! I felt the legs. It's because you made me hide in that alcove!
" she continued to jump up and down as she hurled accusations at him.
"I'm going to die of a spider bite because you had to be in the forest paying a scout! "
Owen bit his bottom lip as he tried not to laugh. "Calm down, lass. Turn around an’ I'll see if I can find the bugger."
She did as he said without hesitation and turned her back to him, doing a tiny jig as she stood in one spot. "Just hurry! I can feel it moving!"
Taking the laces one at a time, he began to carefully undo them in the hopes of not tearing the fabric.
"Would you hurry!" she whisper-yelled and yanked the dress from the front.
The ribbons gave way with a rip and the fabric nearly tore as she spun around and glared at him while looking for the spider in her dress. She quickly let go when something moved.
Owen watched in shock as the dress and undergarments dropped to the floor, leaving her standing naked before him.
She jumped from one foot to the other as the offending spider scuttled across the floor and under the door, making its escape. "I told you there was a spider! I told you!" she almost cried with relief and disgust, her skin prickling with goosebumps.
"Charlotte!" Owen finally gasped after gawking at her for a time.
"What?" she asked in annoyance as she scratched at the itchy patches, still moving from foot to foot.
"Will ye get in the water, for pity's sake! Monk or nae, I am a man!"
Suddenly realizing he was staring at her breasts, Charlotte quickly climbed into the tub and lowered herself into the water, her crimson cheeks burning.
Owen adjusted his robe over his legs and went to sit on the bed with his back turned to her, muttering something under his breath about women and how they would be the death of him.
Charlotte was mortified. She reached for the soap and began to slip the bar over her skin, soothing the red patches where the nettles had stung.
Her cheeks were hotter than the water as she thought of what Owen had seen.
She'd danced around him, wearing nothing at all.
And she noticed how aroused he was. She'd never been around a man that way before now; she felt so embarrassed and ashamed.
In the space of a few short hours, she had found herself naked and alone with a monk.
The thought mortified her as she washed her arms. She didn't know how she would ever look him in the eyes again without thinking of what he had seen.
Her entire body had been exposed to him, including the scar on her leg.
Charlotte shifted in the water, looking at the rope of scars that crisscrossed over her flesh.
She'd never allowed anyone, other than the healers, to see it before. Until now…
Owen suddenly laughed from the bed and placed his head in his hands, causing Charlotte to sink even further into the water until her head was completely submerged, wishing that the earth would open up wide and swallow the bath along with her.