Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Owen was terrified. It had been a while since he had been informed of everything that was going on, and there had been no word from the soldiers who had been sent after Charlotte to ensure her safety. What could be keeping them? Had they lost track of Charlotte and thus failed to return?
He wished he knew what was happening. He groaned and clutched his side, but he kept pacing.
The medicine had worn off an hour ago, but he had been so preoccupied with his worries that he hadn't noticed.
However, the ache was becoming too much for him to bear.
He knew he needed another dose of his medication, but the last time he agreed to take it, it lulled him to sleep, and the last thing he needed right now was slumber.
He didn't want to be passed out on a bed when the news came.
Owen refused to think about all the things that could have gone wrong. He knew more about her than anyone else. He was well aware of her uncle's danger and the type of man William Dodd was. They had eyes everywhere, and it wouldn't take much to catch her.
He went to the shelf in the far corner of the room and poured himself a drink from a canister.
Owen's face crunched up as he swallowed it in one gulp, his throat burning.
He poured himself another and drank it all at once.
He closed his eyes, reflecting on how all of this could have been avoided if he had simply told her the truth.
This was all his fault. He should not have set that damned fire in the first place, and he most certainly should not have hidden anything from her after all they had been through together.
Sure, there was no guarantee that telling her would have done anything to help him or to make her stay, but at least he would have had an advantage.
Maybe he could have even convinced her to stay, but now, none of it was possible because he had messed it all up with his lies.
The warning Sweeney had given him continued to sound in his head.
Unfortunately, he had not been given the chance to make his confession because of the battle.
Owen looked up when he heard footsteps coming into the room.
Evie and Hamish came in, eyeing him cautiously.
Owen sighed. He had been irritated when he found out that the men who were sent after Charlotte had not returned.
But surely that did not mean that his own family had to be cautious around him, especially after what they had all been through, just to make sure that William Dodd's men did not kill him.
He sniffled before standing up straight.
Owen could see the instant the look in his sister's eyes changed from caution to concern.
He knew he looked worse for fear. He needed to rest and heal from his wounds, but how was he to do that when the woman he loved was lost to him?
"Evie, Hamish. Thank ye for being here for me today.
I dae nae ken what the family would have done if ye had nae shown up when ye did.
" Although Owen had been passed out in the healer's room, he had heard all about how they fought off the attacks from William Dodd's men because Evie and Hamish had shown up with their men just in time.
"Of course. We are a family. What else would I have done? We always help family," Hamish said, clasping Owen's arm in his. Owen wrapped his sister in his arms and kissed her forehead. "They're still waiting for the news?"
"We are," Owen said. He sighed and lowered himself into a seat. The pain in his legs relaxed and he no longer felt the pressure on his side. He closed his eyes and let out another sigh.
"Who would have thought that ye would have ended up with an ally of the Musgraves," Hamish said suddenly.
Owen and Margaret had filled everyone in regarding Charlotte's identity.
It made sense to tell them that and a little about the dangers she faced so that they would know how important it was that they knew where she was.
Still, there were some things that Owen kept to himself.
They did not need to know everything, especially since she had told him in confidence.
And simply because he wanted to have a piece of her that was private for only him and her.
"Yes. I never expected it either, but from what we have seen so far with our family, one should always expect the unexpected.
" His brother was married to Margaret, who was a Musgrave and Evie was married to Hamish, who had been from a clan of allies to the Musgraves.
So was it really a surprise that he had ended up falling in love with Charlotte, another ally of the clan?
What mattered was that they had ended up with good people who did not care for injustice.
"Ha! That's true," Hamish said. He took his wife's hand in his and kissed it, grinning widely when she smiled at him.
Owen got up when he heard a commotion coming from outside.
He quickly ran out with the hurried footsteps of his sister and brother-in-law following closely behind him.
His heart filled with relief when he saw that the soldiers had returned.
But they had returned, unfortunately, without Charlotte.
Owen shelved his disappointment to listen to what they had to say.
"We followed her tracks like ye wanted me tae, tae where it stopped, but by the time we arrived there, there was more than one track.
She had been joined by more and eventually stopped at a point.
It seems like she had been involved in a scuffle and had raced off with her horse.
I found the tracks of her horse again, but I dae nae believe that she was on the horse.
Since the other tracks did nae follow, it is obvious tae me she did nae escape, and they must have caught her. "
Owen processed what he had just heard. There were only two people who would care to send men after her.
And that was her uncle and William Dodd.
Seeing as the uncle had betrothed her to William Dodd despite her encounter with him years ago, Owen did not need anyone to tell him that the two men were working together.
He gave his attention to the soldier who had resumed talking.
"Since we now believed that the men had taken her, we abandoned the tracks of the lone horse and went after that of the group that took her.
We followed them and they took us to William Dodd's castle.
" Owen felt his heart tearing apart. He had already deduced that from the moment he realized they had taken her.
But hearing the man confirm his fears was too much for him to bear.
He knew the plans William Dodd had for her.
She had escaped her uncle because of it.
Owen was worried. He could not very well allow those monsters to have their way.
But what if they had expected that someone could try to save her?
And because of that, William Dodd had gone ahead with his plans to make sure that there was nothing they could do about it if they did indeed come for her.
"Owen, dae nae worry. She will be all right.
" Owen heard Rory say as he was walking toward them.
He had not realized that his emotion was clear for everyone to see until he looked around and saw his family members staring at him with pity.
The guards had been excused after they finished recounting the details, and now they were alone.
Owen nodded, but how could he not worry?
What if irreparable damage had been done?
Charlotte would never be all right if William Dodd had gotten what he wanted already, and it would all be his fault.
How was he going to pick up the pieces of they had done something to her. All Owen wanted was to save her.
Owen would kill the two men with his bare hands if they had hurt his Charlotte. She had already been through a lot for them to put her through any more torture.
"We have tae go get her," Owen walked over to his brother and stood before him, his eyes pleading in ways that words could not describe.
Charlotte was his everything, and he did not want to think of how lost he would be if anything happened to her.
He looked at his brother, who appeared to be weary.
They had only just finished with one battle after all, and he felt guilty for asking them to go into another.
He needed them if he had any chance of getting Charlotte back and he had no other option, at least not one that enabled him to get to her on time.
"Brother, I ken that ye are tired and have already been through so much, but I can nae leave her there tae him. We need tae go and save her," Owen said, turning to the rest of his family, particularly Hamish and Evie. He would need their men if they were to go against someone like William Dodd.
"All right, I need tae tell ye all something. Something I have kept hidden for years. It-it was me who set the fire at the wedding," he started. If he was going to get their support, then maybe he needed to tell them everything.
"Ah, so that was ye," Hamish gasped in shock. Owen nodded, ashamed of what he had done.
"Aye, it was me, but I promise it was nae intentional.
I only set the fire because I was trying to save Charlotte.
But the fire had gotten too big and before I kenned what was going on, it had gotten so out of control that I could nae put it out like I had planned to.
All I wanted was tae get her away from the people who were trying tae hurt her.
" He looked at Hamish as he spoke so he could see that he really had meant nothing by it.
"All I did was save her from the fire and escape.
Unfortunately it ended up costing her something important and I have nae been able to forgive meself since then. "
"I understand. A man has tae dae all that he has tae dae, especially tae protect those he cares for," Hamish said, clapping him on the back.
Owen was once again filled with gratitude.
Here he was trying to save Charlotte from her own uncle, while he had been blessed with family members who were very understanding and caring, and she was so much better than him. Life was unfair.
Owen knew he should let them be, let them have some rest after the battle they had just fought, especially since they had done it for him; however he also knew that leaving Charlotte there for even an extra hour could prove detrimental.
He already did not know what the circumstances would be once they got there, so he needed to make sure that no time was wasted and for that to happen, he needed his family by his side.
He had made the mistake of losing her once, but he would not be doing so again.
He would do all that was necessary to get her back, even if he had to go alone.
"Aye, it is why I am begging ye. Please, help me save her.
This is what I have tae dae. I would nae be asking this of ye if I did nae think that it was crucial tae go now.
Charlotte has suffered a lot, and she does nae deserve tae go through all of that.
She can nae fall into the hands of the same man after escaping him some years ago.
Please, I need tae ken that she be safe, and the only way that she will be is if she is nae bound tae him or her uncle. "
Owen looked around at his family members, and he could see the conviction in their eyes. They had made up their minds to rescue Charlotte from the terrible fate that awaited her. He felt relief course through him when he saw this.
"Aye, ye are right, we can nae leave her there with those wretched men," Rory approached him and rested a hand on his shoulders. "Let us go get yer woman back, little brother."
Despite already expecting this response, Owen felt the relief flood him. He wrapped his hands around his brother and buried his face in his shoulder, laughing when the others cheered and whooped. He really had the best family.
"Well, ye ken what tae dae. Gather yer men and sharpen yer weapons. It is time tae go save our own."
I am coming tae get ye, Charlotte.