Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Innes stirred first that morning, her head lifting from the pillow with an uneasy restlessness.
But when she felt the arm resting across her body, something uncoiled within her.
She knew that last night had hardly gone to plan, not the way she had intended, at least. She had hoped that her brother and her new husband might find a way to see from each other’s point of view; she had not wanted to indulge in mention of the attempt, but if it brought them together, she had been willing to embrace it.
However, the atmosphere in the room from the moment they had all entered was…
weighty. Isobel seemed keen to add to that in any way she could, and Innes could not help but wonder what she had been saying to her brother since she’d had him alone that night.
Perhaps warning him of Lachlan, telling him all she knew of his madness, and assuring him as to why she had chosen him over that mad Laird after all.
Innes turned to Lachlan, who was still fast asleep in the bed next to her.
She had been fearful that the argument might have led to tension between the two of them, but it seemed to not even have crossed his mind.
He kissed her as soon as they were alone together, scooping her into his arms to carry her to bed so she could get some rest.
And there he slept, his chest rising and falling slowly, his head turned in her direction.
She reached out to stroke his cheek, drinking in the sight of him, if only for a moment.
She knew that there was far more to this man than the peace he seemed to rest in now, but she would take every inch of it she was able to get.
She dropped a kiss on his jaw and slipped out of bed, as careful as she could be not to disturb him in the process.
She dressed swiftly, intending to go out and meet her brother.
He was an early riser too, just like her, and she was sure he would be walking the courtyard, trying to clear his head of all that had happened the day before.
The morning light had just begun to swim across the courtyard, casting everything into a comforting glow.
She could remember so many mornings spent just like this one with her mother when she was young, getting up so early that even the servants hadn’t risen yet, making their way out to the garden to see which flowers had unfurled overnight.
And, when she reached the courtyard, she found that her brother was, indeed, out there. But he was not pacing to clear his head, as she had expected. No, he was carrying a trunk towards the carriage, slipping it into the back like he intended to leave.
“Arthur?”
He glanced up at her. He seemed distracted.
“Are you leaving so soon?”
She tried to phrase it as a joke. It was ridiculous to even ask such a thing, given that he had only just arrived. But the expression on his face did not move an inch, and she knew at once that she was right.
“Why?” she asked. “Ye only… you only just arrived here! I ken that last night didnae go too well, but you cannae judge him off just that.”
“It’s not Laird Fraser,” he replied, speaking the word with such a measure of dismissal. “It’s Isobel. She’s taken sick.”
Innes’ brows knitted together. She was not sure how sympathetic she should feel or whether to believe her at all.
“I’m terribly sorry to hear that,” her tone was measured. “I hope she recovers soon.”
“Aye, I’m sure she will, once she’s back at home.” And then, his brows knitted together slightly, and he leaned in towards her. “I spoke wi’ the healer today,” he exclaimed. “She confirmed that the herbs that arrived in yer trunk were poisoned.”
She tensed again. She didn’t want to frighten her brother with such things, especially if his wife was not feeling well.
“Yes, that’s what they think,” she conceded vaguely, waving a hand. “But ye’ll return soon, won’t you? I’ve missed you so terribly since I’ve been here.”
Arthur’s face softened, and he pulled her into another hug. “I promise ye I will,” he vowed, cupping her head briefly before he turned back to the carriage to continue packing their things.
Isobel emerged from the Keep, and Arthur rushed to her. They came down, she leaning on Arthur’s arm heavily. She didn’t seem too unwell to Innes, at least at a glance, but she supposed it wouldn’t have been becoming for her to make mention of the fact.
“Have a safe journey home,” she told Isobel as she pulled her sister-in-law into a hug.
“Oh, thank you, dear sister,” she hugged back, but, before she pulled back entirely, a glimmer of something showed in her eyes.
“Ye know,” she remarked. “I think I might have left something in our chambers. I packed in a haste. Would you be a dear and check them once we’re gone to make sure there’s nothing in there that shouldn’t be?”
“Of course,” Innes nodded. Isobel smiled, though it did not reach her eyes.
“See you soon, Innes.”
She climbed into the carriage, and Innes stood and watched until they were out of sight. Though Arthur had promised her that he would be back soon, she could not fight the feeling that this was the last she would be seeing of him in a long time.
She made her way up the stairs and to the chambers that Isobel and her brother had stayed in the night before. At a glance, it looked like nobody had been there at all; as though Isobel had never unpacked. Perhaps never intending to stay longer than she entirely had to.
But, as Innes began to move through the room, she spotted the corner of what looked to be a piece of parchment sticking out from beneath one of the pillows.
She took it at once. It was folded over itself, and, on the front, the word Lachlan was written in a curling, looping font. Her heart dropped.
Was this what Isobel had meant for her to find?
Had she sent her here to see the note she had left her husband?
It was addressed to him, but Isobel would not have asked her to come here unless she knew she would find it…
Glancing back over her shoulder to make sure that she would not be disturbed, Innes unfolded the letter. And what she saw inside was enough to make her stomach turn.
Lachlan, I have missed you terribly. Seeing you again has only made what I need to do more clear. Meet me at the Torrisdale Inn, midnight. I have convinced Arthur to stop there overnight.
The note was not signed, but it hardly needed to be. There was only one person this could be from, and Innes knew that Isobel had intended for her to see this. But why? To prove to her that she had complete and utter command over her husband, even after all this time?
Innes wanted to believe more than anything that Lachlan would not have paid heed to these words, but even she could not be sure.
She rose to her feet, tucking the letter beneath her skirt and making her way to her chambers. She should have gone downstairs to eat with the rest of the Keep. She was sure that there would be plenty of questions about her absence, but she did not feel like answering them, not in that moment.
She waited in her room for what felt like a lifetime; surely, Lachlan would have to come and check on her as soon as he heard of her brother’s departure to make sure that she was not entirely distressed.
And, eventually, she heard his footsteps on the stairs. She glanced up as he arrived in the doorway, a grin on his face, entirely unaware of the distress running through her mind in that moment.
“Ye left me alone in bed this morning,” he remarked playfully, sliding his hand to her shoulder and dropping a kiss on top of her head.
She managed a small smile, but only just. The letter felt like it was burning a hole in her dress, and she knew she had to give it to him. She had to make sure that his feelings for Isobel were well and truly gone, or she might be dragged into this mess even deeper than she had before.
“There was a letter for you in their chambers,” she said, as casually as she could. “It was addressed to ye.”
She held it out to him, feigning innocence.
He looked down at the writing on the front, and she wondered if he recognized the script.
Perhaps he and Isobel had sent love letters back and forth to each other.
The way that Isobel wrote about him in that note, it certainly seemed they had shared something of some seriousness.
He flipped it open, his eyes glancing across the words. She held her breath, studying his face for any sign of a response, of something that might give away what he truly felt.
“What is it?” she asked lightly.
“Nothing fer you to worry about,” he claimed as he folded the letter and tucked it into his tunic. “Just brotherly warnings from Arthur.”
Her face tightened, the smile gritted. He had lied to her. Which meant, no doubt, that he had intentions of taking Isobel up on her offer.
She turned her attention towards the empty hearth, willing herself not to let the pain show on her face.
As he strode out of the bedroom, though, she could not help but cast a look after him and wonder if everything she had been starting to believe about this man had been nothing more than a tale of her own imagination.
The night drew on; the darkness outside took on a velvet-blue hue, the air still and silent as everyone retired to their chambers for the night.
But not Lachlan. He had kissed her goodnight and told her that there was business he needed to take care of and that he would not be there to join her till later. But she knew what business he meant, and she did not intend to just sit by and let it happen.
Rising from the bed, she made for the window, peering down into the courtyard. She had not been able to sleep anyway. It was difficult to rest when all you could think about was what your husband might have pictured when he saw those words from his former lover.
Had he been excited? Was this what he had hoped for when he had finally accepted that her brother could visit her at the Keep? She wished she could snake inside his mind and find out…
But a noise drew her attention from down below, and she realized that she might not have to become a seer to tell the truth anyway. The glow of a lantern cut across the courtyard and towards the stables, and, as it turned the corner, it cast a glow down on to the man carrying it.
Lachlan.
Her heart felt like it was sitting in her feet. She watched helplessly as he went to take a horse from the stables, making his way towards the gate in silence.
He was going to meet her, there could be no doubt about it now.
He had lied to her, knowing that she would be so hurt by what he was about to do, but not thinking better of it to leave this meeting entirely. She felt a sickness stir within her as she watched him leave, realizing what this was.
And then it turned to something else. To anger.
No.
If he was going to do something like this, then she deserved to know exactly what it was he was getting up to. If he thought she was just going to sit at home like a simpering little wife while he ran off to do goodness knows what, then he had another thing coming.
She turned to her trunk to pull out some warm clothes for riding. She might not have imagined that tonight would end in a mission of espionage, but if that was what it took to find out her husband’s true intentions, she would take it.