Chapter 6
Chapter Six
The air was heavy with smoke and distress as Graeme cleared away the bowls in which their dinner had been served around the campfire.
Briana murmured thanks without even really thinking, though it had been humiliating to eat while she struggled with her bound hands.
She had struggled with the spoon, but she'd been too proud to allow any of them to help her, even Noah.
She still did not know what to think about the fact he was even alive despite what her father had sworn to her, never mind the fact that he had joined the Broken Blades.
Briana's wrists and ankles ached from the tightness of the bonds that Theon had tied around her, but she did not complain. She would not allow him to see any more weakness from her. She may be a prisoner, but she would not be a plaything.
"Thank God ye took over the night's cookin', Noah," Graeme said as he washed the bowls in water they'd gathered from the nearby river. "If I'd had tae eat any more of the swill that Keir served us this mornin', I think I'd have died here and now."
Noah smiled, but that smile died when his eyes flicked to Keir, who was scowling and staring directly at Briana.
Briana had tried hard to ignore him, but he hadn't taken his eyes from her all through dinner, and she was almost certain that he was just waiting for an excuse to draw his sword across her throat.
She shuddered, averting her gaze, and turned her eyes back to Noah. He was now watching her too, his eyes more brown than black in the firelight, shining with concern and sympathy.
"Me lady, it's gonnae rain again," Noah said. "Ye're nae gonnae sleep on the ground another night. If ye want, ye can sleep in me cabin. I'll even give ye the bed if—"
"Nay," Theon interrupted sharply in a voice that brooked no argument. "She'll sleep in me cabin. It's the most central, and it's the easiest way for me tae keep an eye on her."
Noah frowned, and he and Graeme exchanged glances.
"Ye need tae sleep at some point, Theon," Graeme said.
Briana hated how brotherly he sounded when he spoke. She would rather not think of these people, these criminals, as a real family rather than the monsters they were.
"I will sleep. We'll take turns on the watch. Ye ken I'm a light sleeper, anyway," Theon replied. He glanced at Briana. "Nae that she'll run again anyway. Will ye?"
Briana didn't dignify the taunt with a response. She held her chin up high and said nothing.
Theon smirked into his cup, but Keir looked furious again.
"Now I'm tae lose sleep for her?" Keir demanded, the rage fizzling palpably in the air around him. "For this Cameron—"
"Ye're tae lose sleep for yer brother and for all of us," Noah admonished. His hand hovered casually near his sword belt. "And I advise ye nae to finish that sentence."
Keir set his jaw, but Theon held up a hand. Briana, wide-eyed, looked between all three of them, then to Graeme, who was watching her with a curious smile. It was hard to believe, given how her life had gone so far, that all this fuss was for her.
"I'd listen. He nearly broke me nose earlier," Theon reminded Keir.
"Ye'll take a watch just like everyone else.
Ye can sit outside the cabin if ye want, if ye prefer the rain tae her company, but ye'll do yer duty.
I'll take the first shift, then Graeme, then ye, and Noah can finish out the night. "
"Nay," Keir snarled. He shot Briana a look so venomous that she felt herself shrinking back without any conscious thought.
"I'll guard if I must, but I will go last. If she runs, she's most likely tae try it just before the dawn, when the rest of ye are asleep and the last watch is groggy from wakin'.
And if she does, I'll take pleasure in puttin' me arrow between her shoulderblades.
" He smiled, a horrible, dark grin of vengeance. "It's the least I can do."
Theon abruptly stood. Ignoring Keir, he moved toward Briana and undid the ties on Briana's feet, though he kept her hands tied. He helped her to her feet, then, without a word, turned and walked toward his cabin.
Briana shot a nervous look toward Noah, who nodded with a faint, encouraging smile. She took a breath, then followed Theon, trying not to notice the feeling of Keir staring daggers into her back.
The cabin was sparse but still strangely comfortable, with a desk and chair, another chair, a bed, and a small trunk where Theon most likely kept his belongings.
A threadbare rug had been placed on the floor, and as Theon lit a small candle to light the inside of the small room, she noticed that it looked handwoven.
Where had he gotten that? It didn't look like the sort of thing worth stealing.
It was very pretty, even if it was a little out of fashion, and she was surprised at the fact he'd have such a decoration at all.
"Come here," Theon ordered.
Briana approached and, at a gesture from him, held up her arms. He took one of her hands in his, which sent an unwitting shiver down across her skin, then undid the ropes that still bound her hands.
When they were free, he frowned and traced a finger along the red welts the rope had left behind on both her wrists.
"Ye should have told me they were too tight."
"I didnae think ye'd accept complaints or suggestions from yer prisoners," Briana replied caustically. "I'm surprised ye didnae have me gagged again as well."
"I still could. Nae every man would tolerate such a smart mouth from a woman," Theon warned, but she saw a small sparkle in his eye that made her think he wasn't quite as irritable as his words and tone would suggest. "Go behind the wee partition and change.
Take one of me léines. That should be more than long enough tae keep ye modest, and ye can wash yer dress on the morrow. "
Briana blushed and quickly looked away so he wouldn't see. She hadn't expected the offer, but more than that, she felt a strange, dangerous excitement at the idea of changing in the room with Theon right there. Yes, she'd be behind a partition, and yes, he wouldn't see anything, but…
She shook her head, clearing away those thoughts.
Theon grabbed a shirt from a small shelf and threw it to her. She caught it and carried it behind the partition, changing as quickly as she could.
"Ye'd better nae peek," she warned as she dropped her dress to the floor and shivered in the cold air, then reached to pull the long linen shirt over her head.
Theon snorted but didn't answer. Briana was both relieved and, secretly, a little put out that he found the idea so funny.
She finished dressing and looked down. The léine was very baggy on her, and the length, which would likely go down to Theon's mid-knee, reached almost to the bottom of her calves. Still feeling warm and sure her cheeks were pink, she stepped out from behind the partition.
Theon looked up. His eyes dilated at the sight of her, the gray storm within them seeming somehow darker.
For a second, she felt like a deer in an archer's eyeline, and she shivered at the thought of being his prey.
But the second passed, and he looked away, disinterest once again his primary expression.
"Ye can take the bed. I'll sleep on the chair after me watch is done."
"Why would ye give me the bed?" Briana demanded, her hands on her hips. "Because a woman cannae survive the harshness of the chair?"
"Do ye want tae sleep in the bed or not?" Theon demanded.
She almost made another sarcastic remark, but instead she sighed and moved to the small bed.
It had a thin straw mattress and a single hard pillow, but after her night tied to the tree, it felt like the most comfortable bed she'd ever encountered.
Almost the second her head hit the pillow, her eyes suddenly felt heavy.
Theon reached for the shelf again and drew down a thick embroidered blanket, placing it at the end of the bed on top of the thin sheet he'd obviously been using. Then he turned and grabbed the desk chair, dragging it over to the door. He positioned it carefully then sat down, his arms folded.
Briana watched him sleepily. In the dim light and through her tired eyes, the rough criminal before her almost still looked like the lost love she'd dreamed of for so long. "Do ye think Keir would really shoot me if I ran?" she asked.
"I've nae doubt. He's shown great restraint by nae doin' so already," Theon deadpanned.
"Why does he hate me so much?" she asked. Her eyes were so heavy now that she wasn't sure if she was asleep or awake.
Theon frowned. "He lost everythin' because of yer family. We all did. Our father. His mother. Our whole clan."
Briana shook her head. "That's not right. Ye attacked us. Ye…" she sighed. "Why could ye nae just be happy? Why did it have tae come tae this?"
He shook his head. "Go tae sleep."
But she wasn't finished. "How long do ye intend tae keep me here?"
"As long as it takes. Until we get a good offer for yer return. One that benefits all of us and helps us get back some of what we've lost," Theon replied. He wasn't looking at her anymore, his eyes fixed on a distant point on the wall.
Briana's voice shook as she forced out the worry she'd had since she'd first heard his plan. "And if naebody makes an offer?"
"They will. How could they nae? Ye're Cameron's only daughter and the bride-tae-be of MacFarlane's heir. Ye're too valuable."
Theon spoke with such confidence that Briana was sure he thought she was someone else. If he knew her at all, he'd see the flaw in his plan straight away. Nobody was coming for her.
"What would ye do if I suddenly wasnae valuable?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. Her head ached as sleep called her, but she had to know.
Theon still didn't look at her. "I'd be rid of ye. I've nae time tae be a governess tae a spoiled lass when me brothers and I have tae survive this world."