Chapter 8 #2
"Ha! A-aye, that is so. I cannae wait for him to return and tell me everything that has happened so I can be prepared for when it is my time to go.
" To his surprise, the more Owen spoke to Brother Matthews, the more he wished he were speaking to Brother Thomas instead.
He had grown so used to being accosted by Thomas and having every inch of his life pried into by the man that he now knew how to avoid his questions, only giving him whatever information he wanted to give.
This man was more intense. Owen had lied so much during this short conversation.
He was certain he had filled the empty space on his long list of sins and had probably moved to a new one.
"Ye are turning out to be the monk ye were called to be.
" He clapped Owen on the shoulder, chuckling once more.
"Ye should go and eat yer fill so that ye would be well rested and strengthened enough to ask him all the questions ye want when he arrives.
" The monk turned away from him and resumed his conversation with those he had been speaking with before he addressed Owen.
Owen went on his way, making a beeline out of the kitchen as his mind raced.
This was awful. In all his planning, he had not accounted for what could happen if his uncle suddenly returned.
He had thought he had enough time to hide Charlotte until he had to leave for Scotland, to take her with him until she got where she wanted.
What was he to do now? He could not very well toss her out to fend for herself.
She had gone hungry for a long time, being stung by nettles, had tried to accost a man twice her size, had even closed her eyes during her silly attempt at robbery and was scared of everything that crawled.
She could not very well survive on her wits alone, that much was certain. Damn it!
With hurried steps, Owen made for his room.
He had already planned to go home and take her with him on his journey anyway.
They would leave today. He did not believe his mind would ever be at rest if he tossed her out of the monastery to fend for herself.
Somehow, in less than a day, she had become his responsibility. And her welfare mattered to him.
Mind made up, Owen pushed open the door, his face grimacing as the door squeaked loudly.
He had never noticed how loud the doors sounded until this moment and his hands were not free, so he could not be as stealthy as he had been on his way out.
He looked at the bed to find that she had completely covered herself, save for a small part of her head that was strategically left out so she could see who it was that had just come in. She is awake then, that's good.
"I see ye are awake, lass. I ken that ye would be famished when ye woke so I went tae get ye some food and ale.
" Owen smiled when she groaned at the last part.
She must not have liked the ale at all, then.
In truth, it had taken him a long time to get used to it himself.
The ale in the monastery was made there.
It was an acquired taste, more bitter than any he had ever had.
He had quickly gotten used to it when he noticed that it helped him sleep during the first few months when he struggled to relax.
However, now he found that he no longer needed it but still drank it anyway. It was better than nothing.
"Ye dae nae have tae drink it if ye dinnae want to. There is water in that jar to drink." He placed the small basket on the bed and took out everything he had brought. He picked up a bowl and split the frumenty into two, giving her some bread. "Here, eat."
"Thank you," she said simply, smiling at him before picking up the bread and dipping it into the porridge.
He smiled as he watched her. She had clearly been starving and unable to do anything about it since she could very well not come out of hiding.
He picked up his bowl of porridge as well and dipped the bread into it, realizing that he was famished as well.
He had not eaten the previous day. He supposed he had not necessarily been lying when he said he was fasting.
Only that he had not intended to fast, neither had he been fasting for the right reasons.
He put down his empty bowl just in time to see her clean her bowl with what was left of her bread.
She picked up the ale and drank from it, grimacing still.
"All right. It is good that we are done eating. So, I hope ye liked the monastery, but now we need to leave immediately," he finally informed her.
"W-what? Why?" she looked at him questioningly. "I thought we still had a few more days." She asked him frantically, watching him as he began packing up some things. "What's going on, Owen? Talk to me."
"Aye, I ken what I said, but my plans fell through.
I have just been informed that my uncle and the others are on their way back, so we need tae leave before he gets here.
We absolutely cannae be caught." Owen said, not looking at her.
His attention was caught by what he was doing.
He looked around, trying to locate something but could not remember what.
His head was all over the place with worry, and her questions were not helping.
Not that he could blame her for asking them anyway.
"What?!" she jumped out of bed, her eyes wide as she looked around as though her uncle and the other monks were already in the room with them. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" she whisper-shouted.
Owen stared at her disheveled state and shook his head. Aye, it was a good decision tae nae tell her earlier. Look how she was acting right now. How would she have been able to get something into her stomach with how frantic she was acting.
"I wanted ye tae enjoy yerself. It is of nae importance right now. Why dinnae ye just get prepare yerself so that we can leave as soon as possible."
"Well, what are we going to do now?" she asked him. "Where will we go?"
"We'll have the same plan; just execute it a couple of days earlier, lass, dinae fret.
We'll leave for Kirklinton. My family resides there, so we can stay until ye are ready to continue to where ye want tae go.
If ye wish tae leave immediately when we arrive, I will nae stop ye either.
I will help ye with all ye need." Owen had paused to stare at her as he promised to help her so that she would be assured of his sincerity.
"All right. I thank you for the offer, but what about your family? They might not be so open to having me around… A sassenach in a Scottish home." Charlotte stared at him with wide eyes, her hands on the sack she had been carrying the day before.
"I assure ye, my family will nae mind having ye around.
They are good people and will always help someone in need, especially with me tae vouch for ye.
Nae that ye would need vouching for, of course.
" He went back to his packing. "There ye will nae have tae worry about being safe.
My family will take care of ye as if ye are one of ours. "
He heard her sigh and faced her again, just in time to see her nod. "All right, I appreciate your help, Owen, really. If you are certain they will not mind my presence, I will go with you."
"Good, let me dispose of this and I will be right back," he picked up all the dishes and placed them in the basket.
He quickly opened and closed the door behind him and returned them to the kitchen, thankful that no one tried to speak to him this time.
He hurried back to his room and they tried to plan how to get out of the monastery without being noticed.
"Right now, many of the monks will be in the prayer room.
But there will be others going about their various tasks or simply taking a stroll.
We will need tae be quick and take care tae pay attention tae our surroundings if we are to succeed.
" Owen paused to make sure Charlotte was listening.
"I unfortunately, cannae make any solid plans tae get us out of the monastery.
But if we are able tae do that, the rest of the journey should be easier. "
"Does that mean I may end up hiding in an alcove again?" she shivered in fear. Owen was amused but mustered all his strength not to show it.
"I will do all that I can to make sure that ye do nae end up in an alcove again," he promised before smirking.
"Although I am sure the spiders will miss ye if ye do nae visit one last time.
Ye are the only visitor they have had in so long.
Ye do nae want them to be sad, do ye?" he asked.
He chuckled slightly when she glared at him viciously.
"Why don't you pay them a visit and I will wait for you? Brute!" she asked.
"Aye, I would love tae but it is nae me they want tae see.
It is ye who have caught their attention and affection.
" And with this last jest, he turned serious.
They had to leave now. Owen opened the door, looking left and right to make sure the corridor was clear.
He gestured for Charlotte to come closer and then he stepped out, locking the door behind her.
Together the two of them tiptoed down the hallway to the entrance, walking cautiously, careful not to make any noise in their hurry. They reached a bend just as a monk passed by in the distance, smiling as he noticed Owen.
Owen stiffened. They had been caught. His thoughts were all jumbled in panic. He turned around to see that Charlotte had not made the bend. He looked down to see the edge of her outfit moving in the breeze and sighed in relief.
The monk waved and Owen waited a moment longer until he could no longer see him in the distance. Then he reached out and tugged on Charlotte's sleeve so they could continue their way. Soon they were at the entrance of the corridor.
Owen signaled at her to wait and walked a little way off to make sure there was no one at the entrance before he returned to motion for her to follow.
With hurried steps, they ducked and ran until they were standing behind the large statue of the woman praying, situated close to the gate that led outside.
Owen appeared confident on the outside because he did not want to scare her but his heart had been lodged in his throat since the moment he found out that his uncle was on his way.
The more they moved closer to the gate, the more his heart swelled in his throat until it seemed like he was struggling to breathe.
These people had welcomed him with open arms when he needed a place to stay.
And while they always tried to be in his business, they had taken care of him and regarded him as one of their own.
Owen did not want to disappoint them by being found in a situation he could not explain away.
Nor did he want to leave without explanation.
They waited for a few minutes and then made a run for the gate when they realized there was no one in the front yard.
Owen took a deep breath when they were finally in the clear.
His heart that had been lodged in his throat finally returned to its proper spot.
He took Charlotte's hands in his, ignoring the sparks that shot through his palm and dragged her away from the entrance to a secluded area.
He heaved a deep sigh of relief, his heart beating a mile a minute as he laughed.
"See? We managed tae make it out of there without any encounters with yer little friends." He laughed harder when she smacked him lightly on the chest, her lips curling up into a small smile as she watched him.
"Where did yer fear of spiders even come from?" he asked curiously. He looked at her in thought. "Before ye tell me anything, it is nae a bad story, is it?"
"No, it is not a bad story," she said, still sporting her smile.
"One night, when I was younger, a spider crawled into my bed and climbed onto my face.
I still remember the tickling feeling of his legs," she shivered.
"I jerked awake when I felt him moving around and I have been scared since then. I cannae even look at them."
Owen did not know what he had been expecting when he asked her but it certainly had not been that. He stared at her with a mix of shock and confusion, trying to determine if she was being honest with him. Seeing the sincerity in her beautiful green eyes, he burst out laughing.
"What?!" he laughed even harder. "Wha- how could ye- oh me- I cannae imagine how that is possible.
I am sure ye never slept with yer face uncovered ever again.
" He laughed even harder as he tried to imagine her reaction when she woke up with a spider on her face.
Suddenly, his expression changed from one of laughter to disgust. "Please tell me it didnae fall in yer mouth. "
"What?! Of course not. I jerked it off immediately and rinsed my face to get rid of whatever it might have left on my face." She scowled at him, rolling her eyes when he simply grinned at her.
Owen could feel their bond deepening despite his constant chastisement and the reminder that he was celibate and should not allow himself to be attracted to her.
But how could he not be when she was so lovely?
Her scowl gave way to a beautiful smile that jolted his heart in ways nothing else ever had.
Her blonde hair was chopped unevenly, but she was radiant.
Her green eyes were currently filled with trust and amusement.
Charlotte was a gem. It helped that they had great conversations and she understood his humor.
She was perfect in a way that no other had been to him. His eyes darted to her kissable lips, but he looked elsewhere, not wanting to be tempted more than he already was.
"Come along then, let us be on our way," Owen gestured for her to follow him. As they walked, he regaled her with stories and smiled when she shared some of hers.
She was in the middle of telling a story about her mother when he heard a noise behind them.
Owen tuned her out, paying no mind to what she was saying as he tried to hone in on where the noise was coming from.
He tried to subtly look around not to alarm her and not to alert the person following them that he was aware of their presence.
From the corner of his eye, Owen saw an arrow heading fast in their direction.