Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
Isla had been in a daze ever since she found Gavin’s gift.
Her gaze turned to every shadow. Her breath caught as she rounded every corner.
He’d been in the Keep. He might be anywhere.
Sometimes she felt an itch at the back of her neck and turned swiftly, only to find empty space. But still, she was certain he was near and if he was in the Keep then it was only a matter of time before her father caught him.
Should she warn him? Should she lure him in?
It might be the only way he learned to accept that she had made her decision, and it might also save her mother. Gavin had promised to bring them back together after all. It was a twisted way to keep the promise, but Isla had few options.
She decided to leave the Keep at dawn, wasting no moments of the day. She didn’t think Gavin would be foolish enough to stay in the Keep the entire time. It was likely that he had snuck in and then darted out again. There was only one place she knew where to look, where they had met before.
Isla passed through the town square. It seemed different now that it was empty. Some of the banners had come loose and draped across the floor, covered in dust and dirt. There were marks on the ground where everyone had been dancing.
A smile flickered over Isla’s face. The village was humble, quiet. She and Iain could do a lot of good here, she thought, if she could dim the glow of her father’s influence.
There was an inn near the alley. Isla wagered that Gavin had made it his temporary home.
The scent of ale was strong in the air and at this early hour it was enough to make her gag.
A group of men were standing near the doorway, their eyes bloodshot and hazy, their words loud and brash.
It was far too early to be this drunk, so she assumed they had been drinking all night.
She diverted her gaze and attempted to move past them, but they turned and blocked the entrance.
“Dae my eyes deceive me? ‘Tis Lady Sinclair,” one of the men said. They all bowed at once, although Isla got the sense that they were mocking her. “Ye honor us with yer presence.”
“Would ye honor us with a dance too?” another one asked, and the men cackled.
A third man stepped forward and did a clumsy jig, almost falling over himself in the process. The others seemed tae find this hilarious.
“Ach, give over with ye, Jimmy, that’s nae way tae impress a lady. Ye need tae be graceful,” the first man said, adopting the pose of a dancer and moving with an invisible partner to a tune that only he could hear.
The second man leered at Isla.
“And what are ye daeing out of the Keep at this time of the morning? Should ye be out of bed?”
“It’s nae yer business where I gae or what I’m daeing,” Isla said.
A gap had opened up after the two men danced. Isla attempted to dart through, but just as she began to move the dancing man caught her arm and spun her around.
“Dinnae leave us sae quickly! Let us show ye the true hospitality of the clan,” he said, his grip tight enough that she could not wrest her hand away.
“I want tae dance with the lady!” the one called Jimmy said, having regained his balance. He tried to step in and jostled the other man, who pushed him back.
“If ye two are gaeing tae fight over her then I’ll step in,” the other man said.
His look sent all the alarm bells in her mind ringing. Isla’s throat ran dry and she suddenly regretted her decision to come here. She backed away, but as she took a step the men followed.
“If ye ken who I am, ye ken that Laird Anderson will nae be happy, neither will Laird Sinclair,” she said. The men were either too brazen or too drunk to care.
“We just want a dance, lass.”
“If ye want a dance then dance with me,” a low, familiar voice came rumbling from the shadows.
Gavin emerged, scowling, half his face visible from beyond his hood. His shoulders were squared and his hands were already curled into fists. His footsteps were heavy and his voice was imbued with threat.
Isla’s heart skipped.
It shouldn’t have. But it did, against her better judgment.
She felt guilty, but it happened without any foreknowledge. It was instinct.
Iain was her betrothed. He should have been the one coming to her rescue, not Gavin. But here Gavin was, barging in with the same recklessness that had almost gotten him killed in Inverdane Hall.
He stood in between the three men, glowering at each of them in turn. They muttered to each other.
“Dinnae realize she hae a guard,” one of them said.
“Makes sense Laird Anderson would want tae protect his treasure,” another added.
At least this was a relief, Isla thought. She doubted they would tell anyone about this encounter given they would have to admit that they accosted her in an alley. If they did most people might think it was quite natural that she took a guard to accompany her.
The men jostled each other as they shuffled away.
But the tension didn’t go with them, it simply changed.
Isla was staring at Gavin’s back. He turned, slowly, his profile coming into view, still obscured by his hood. But there was the strong jaw, the crooked nose that had been broken many times over the past decade.
He dipped his head, keeping his eyes hidden for now. “I assume ye got my message?”
“The flower? Aye.”
A smirk flickered across his face. “I thought ye might remember, even though ye are pretending that none of it happened.”
“I am nae pretending, Gavin, nor hae I forgotten. I am trying to find my way through the world. Ye hae tae dae the same. What are ye thinking, coming intae the Keep like that? Ye could hae been captured.”
“These guards are nae as good as the ones in Inverdane Hall. I just hae tae avoid the ones yer Da brought here.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they find ye, and what dae ye think will happen tae ye when they dae? Ye escaped once. It will nae happen again.”
“That’s why we must run, Isla.”
“I cannae. There is too much for me tae dae here.”
Gavin lifted his head and stepped closer to her. Their voices were low but terse. Her breath caught as he came rushing towards her. She could see his stormy eyes now. They were locked onto her as though nothing else in the world mattered.
“Yer mother is safe in Stormhaven. Yer brother is thinking of a way tae defeat yer Da. The Highlands are changing and I can take ye away from here, weaken yer Da’s position.”
Isla wore a wry smirk. “After all the time ye spent in Inverdane Hall, dae ye think Da would nae plan for this? Naebody is safe from him, which is why I must dae what Kai could nae, what naebody else could nae. I will stop him.” She gritted her teeth with fierce determination.
“Ye are only putting yerself in danger.”
“It’s ye who should leave. Every moment ye stay here ye are in danger, Gavin. Ye hae asked and I hae answered, now gae, and dinnae come tae my room again.”
“I am nae leaving without ye.”
“Then ye will die,” Isla said, meeting his gaze.
She hated to say the words. Pain coiled within her, but if he wasn’t listening to reason then she could do nothing but offer harsh truths. Silence simmered between them.
“There are some things worth dying for, and I feel as though I hae died a dozen times over already. But every time, ye pulled me back from the brink. Ye were the only one?—”
Isla couldn’t listen to words like this. It was too painful. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side.
All the memories came flashing back at once, overwhelming her. The food she offered, the look in his grey sorrowful eyes, the way he kept fighting, kept suffering, the way she tried so hard to break through the pain and offer him affection. The way he always pulled back…
“And now I’m trying tae save ye again. Listen tae me, Gavin. Ye are a free man after a decade. Enjoy that freedom because naething but misery awaits ye here. I dinnae ken how tae say it more plainly. I dinnae need yer help. I dinnae want yer help.”
Isla had to force the words out of her throat because they did not come naturally to her. Lying was the way of the fox, but she had always been honest with Gavin. There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to flee with him, but she had to think of her mother and the Highlands.
There were more important things now than a life that could only be a dream.
“Ye hae it anyway.”
Then, he reached up, his long fingers touching her riding cloak, a gift from Iain upon her arrival. He touched the fabric that had been stitched along the shoulders, the pale yellow and white tartan of the Anderson Clan.
“Although I suppose why would ye need my help when ye already hae Laird Anderson protecting ye? His colors are yer armor. How can ye think of marrying him? It is just another kind of prison.”
“A prison of my own making, my own choice. I hae tae think of the bigger picture, Gavin. Da is trying tae bend Iain tae his will. I can influence him in the opposite direction. I can ensure peace because he will listen tae me. He is a good man at heart, but like sae many others he cannae see Da for what he truly is. But he is loyal. He hae a good sense of duty. He is a good man, and I ken eventually he will realize that war is nae the answer.”
“And I suppose he will be a good husband as well. I’m sure ye will be comfortable in this Keep, with all these people adoring ye,” Gavin snarled, gesturing with his hand to the surrounding village.
Isla lifted her chin, unwilling to show that she was affected by this insult.
“We are all daeing what we must tae survive, Gavin. None of us get tae choose the path of our life, we must make the best of what we are given. That is all I am trying tae dae, and it’s what ye must dae as well.
All I ever wanted for ye was tae be happy and now ye hae a chance.
Gae be with yer family, please,” she said, added emotion coming into her words.
She was practically begging him and yet she knew how single-minded he could be.