Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Charlotte was embarrassed by how easily she had fallen for his innocent act.
Had anything about him been true? Had he known that she was there the night she met him in the bushes, or was that by chance?
She could not believe how easily he had manipulated her, the person she had told herself she would get revenge on for her father's death and the only man she had ever loved in her life. How were they the same person?
She could not believe she had slept with the man responsible for her father's death.
The thought brought her more grief than she had ever felt before.
Charlotte felt like she had betrayed her family by laying with the enemy.
She shook her head to get rid of that thought.
She did not want to break down in tears because of it.
How could he have been so heartless? Even after she had told him everything about herself and how her parents had died, he still didn't tell her.
Charlotte looked at his still unconscious form and wished she could shake him awake to get all the answers she desperately needed right now, because nothing made sense.
She did not know how long she had been on the ground when she heard the rustle of sheets on the bed. Her head shot up just as she heard Sweeney exclaim excitedly.
"Owen! Are ye all right? Dae ye feel pain anywhere?" he asked as he stood, looking at Owen as if he had just experienced a miracle.
"What happened?" Owen asked, groaning when he tried to sit up. Sweeney pushed him back down gently with a look of disapproval.
"Nay, dae nae get up. Ye have so many injuries and it will take a while for ye tae recover."
"What happened to the battle, Sweeney? Please tell me. Did we lose? Is everyone all right? Is Rory alive?" he asked desperately.
"Och. Aye. It is all right, ye can rest. Hamish came just in time with his men and the battle is being concluded as we speak. Dae nae worry. Everyone is all right. All ye need tae focus on is recovering quickly." Sweeney smiled at him. "Ye focus on recovering and dae nae worry about anything else."
Charlotte had been watching their interaction with mixed feelings.
While she had been kept locked up by her uncle, two thoughts had kept her going.
Her parents would have wanted her to live and be happy.
And she knew she wanted the most to avenge her father's death; to look into the eyes of his killer and make sure he paid for his crimes.
She was at a loss now that she finally knew who it was.
While she made plans for what she would do when she finally found out who the culprit was, she had not accounted for falling in love with him.
She looked startled when she noticed Sweeney had turned to look at her. She wondered if he had addressed her while she had been lost in thought since he smiled at her before looking back at Owen.
"Now that I have seen for me self that ye are all right, I can rest easy. I will leave ye alone so that the two of ye can talk." He got up and walked away, chuckling as he went.
Charlotte watched him go and wished that he would have stayed. Nothing could have prepared her for this moment. It was as if a wall had gone up between them and she could no longer speak to him as freely as she once could, and who could blame her?
"Charlotte, are ye all right?" Owen asked her worriedly when she did not move from her spot on the ground.
"Dae ye hurt somewhere?" The look of concern in his gaze confused her.
Did he truly care for her, or was he just very good at pretending?
Maybe since he did not know he had been outed, he was still playing a part.
She wondered how he would act if she told him what she knew.
Would his attitude toward her change? Or would he continue to act in this manner? She did not know which would be worse.
She struggled to construct her thoughts and answer his question, but she did not know what to say.
Was she all right? She did not know if she was.
She was worried about him and wanted to ask him how he was feeling and if he hurt anywhere, but she did not know how to form those words.
She knew she could not stay, though. She doubted she could ever look at his face again and be fine.
She suddenly felt empty, like there was nothing inside of her.
"Have you ever killed an innocent man?" she blurted out suddenly, shocking herself and him.
Charlotte watched the many emotions that went through his face.
She watched as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.
She saw the fear in his eyes as he looked at her, unable to turn his gaze from her just like she struggled to remove hers from his.
Her heart broke even further. She had not realized it but a part of her had been holding onto the hope that this was all a misunderstanding, and he would tell her Sweeney had been mistaken and they could go back to the way they had been barely hours ago. She knew his answer before he spoke.
"Aye," he whispered, suddenly breaking off from the trance they had both found themselves locked in.
Charlotte heard him gasp, and he looked back at her.
She could see the realization in his eyes as he understood why she had asked that question.
She knew. She felt the tears she had been holding well up and could not stop it from coming this time.
"How did ye find out?" he asked her. Charlotte felt the tears well up, but she managed to stop them. Something about what he said clarified that it was all over between them. He had not asked her to forgive him, nor had he said he was sorry or that she should let him explain himself.
"How could you do this to me?" she whispered. "You are the reason for almost all the terrible things that have happened in my life, and yet you never said a thing. Why?" she asked, the tears she refused to share blurring her sight.
"Charlotte, please let me explain. I am so sorry.
Please, let me tell you what happened," Owen pleaded, but she shook her head.
If he had anything to say, he would have done so earlier instead of asking her how she found out.
He was guilty. That was all she needed to know.
She heard him gasp in pain as he struggled to sit up in bed and a part of her almost reached out to him to stop him from hurting himself even more, but she resisted.
"Charlotte, please," he begged once again, but she headed for the door.
She refused to listen to him trying to fix what he had already broken.
She doubted he could do so even if she gave him a chance, anyway.
She could hear the desperation in his voice, but she solidified her resolve and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
Unable to see where she was going because of the tears that had finally freed themselves and flowed freely down her cheeks, Charlotte sat in front of the closed door. She rested her hurting head and heard Owen cursing loudly as she struggled to figure out what to do.
Charlotte did not know how long she stayed there before she got up from the floor.
She walked to the stables, careful to make sure no one saw her, for she was not in the mood to answer questions or make conversations.
When she arrived at the stables, she noticed that it was empty and that many horses sat there completely readied.
She figured it was horses from the men who had arrived to help them fight.
Charlotte did not think about it much. She picked an apple from an abandoned basket in the stables and fed the horse before climbing onto its back.
As the steed galloped, Charlotte wondered if this was a stupid idea.
There was a battle going on currently and she probably should not be out here in open sight.
William might have been here for Owen, but that did not mean he would not take her if the opportunity presented itself.
She raced off in the opposite direction of the battle, hoping that she could escape unnoticed.
She knew it was probably better for her to stay there until things calmed down, but she wanted to leave now.
No, she needed to leave now. She was too heartbroken.
Charlotte felt her heart beat faster when she noticed riders following behind her.
She hoped they would be men sent by Owen to ensure she was safe, but she knew they weren't. There was something about them that made it clear that their intentions were dangerous.
Most probably, they were Dodd's men. Charlotte increased her pace in a bid to escape them, but as she did so, she knew she could not. They were simply too fast.
"No, please, no. This cannot be happening," she cried out in fear. Charlotte kicked at the sides of the horse, trying to make it go even faster, but she could not. Her fear worsened when the men got closer and she realized they were all four of her uncle's men.
They separated, two going on each side, and slowed to her pace when they had her between them.
Charlotte increased her pace, reading to ride into them, but the men pulled out of the way at the last minute.
She continued to ride on, feeling victorious for a minute, but they caught up with her once again.
This time, two men threw out their cloaks, each of them holding an end, and then they went in front of her, throwing it above her head to form a barricade.
Charlotte could not stop quick enough and rode into them, falling off the horse.
She shut her eyes and felt hands that prevented her from hitting the ground.
Of course, they had tried to keep her safe since she was precious cargo, about to be married to one of the men who had ruined her life.
She struggled against their grip, trying to escape them, but they were too strong.
"Finally got you. You are one slippery lady," one man said, grinning widely at her. Charlotte looked at him and realized that he was the man she had failed to kill the day they had been ambushed.
"I wish I had killed you," she hissed into his face, her eyes hiring with hatred. Charlotte watched as the man's eyes glazed over in anger. She closed her eyes when he raised his hand to smack her in the face.
"You know what will happen to you if the lord sees any marks on her and realizes you are responsible for it," a man whom Charlotte believed to be their leader spoke.
"Tie her to my horse and let us be on our way.
We do not want to lose her again if they find out she is missing and come looking.
" He walked away, going to stand beside his horse.
Charlotte looked at the man who was about to hit her and he scowled at her before smiling once again.
"You are lucky we have our orders. You deserve what will happen to you and even much worse," he sneered at her before dragging her along.
Charlotte felt chilled to the bones. She did not want to be back with her uncle.
She knew he would most likely punish her for the stunt she had pulled.
Not that he was not already punishing her by marrying her to the man who had almost assaulted her, anyway.
"Stop struggling and let us get this over with," the man screamed at her. "You cannot escape us." But Charlotte did not listen to him. She continued struggling, hoping she would be found before they could take her away.
"Let me go," she screamed. "You are going to be sorry when I get free.
I will make sure you pay for this," she was scared but did not let it show.
She wished she had stayed back at the castle, she wished they would notice she had gone missing and would come to her rescue.
She wished for many things, but it did not seem like any of that would be happening.
She had once again placed herself in a terrible situation.
"Let me go!" she screamed just as they placed her on the leader's horse and tied her up. Charlotte squirmed and shouted, hoping to make it difficult for them.
"Careful, she might bite you if you get too close to her," the men said, joking and laughing as they tied her up, but it did not deter Charlotte.
She continued to wiggle around and noticed that the men were no longer laughing but seemed to be angry with her now.
She opened her mouth to scream again, not caring about their anger, when one of them gagged her before she could.
She coughed from the sudden intrusion and the smell and taste of the dirty fabric and tried to push it out with her tongue, but it was useless.
They had successfully bound and gagged her.
The men climbed on their horses and began their journey.
Charlotte did not know how long they had gone when she noticed they were heading in a different direction from her uncle's castle. Her heart pounded as she realized there was only one place they could be taking her.
William Dodd's castle.