Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
Akey turned in the lock in the morning.
Isla’s heart lifted with hope, only for it to descend again when she saw that it was a maid bringing some food and water.
Isla wasn’t hungry. She was sleep-deprived, tired, and anxious. Her copper locks fell loose around her head. There were shadows under her bloodshot eyes. Her chest ached from ragged breaths.
“Iain… Where’s the Laird? I must speak with him,” she said.
Her voice came out as a thin rasp. She almost didn’t recognize it.
The maid recoiled, a wary look on her face.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but Laird Anderson is busy with yer father and we are under strict orders tae allow ye tae rest. Yer Da is worried that ye are ill. He says that it could be the same illness that plagued yer Ma. Laird Anderson agrees that ye must hae yer rest.”
“I dinnae need rest,” Isla groaned.
“Please hae something tae eat. Both the Lairds are eager for ye tae get better in time for the wedding. Yer father even suggested this meal himself, telling us that it was yer favorite.”
Isla stared at the plate of mushrooms and her stomach almost retched. She couldn’t stand mushrooms and this was another taunt by her father.
“Ye must get him for me. I must speak with Iain,” she said.
She had been through the situation many times over in her mind and the only thing that was apparent to her was that she could not succeed alone, especially not when she was locked in her room.
Iain might not believe her, but she had to try to make him see the truth, if only for his own clan’s benefit.
The wedding wasn’t the only thing that had to be brought forward. All of her plans needed to be accelerated as well. If she was going to trust Iain then she needed to trust him now and hope that his love and faith were enough for him to believe her.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but I am under strict orders.”
In her frustration, Isla leaped off the bed and launched herself towards the door, trying to squirm beyond the maid and escape.
However, the maid shrieked and with the way Isla was plagued with fatigue it must only have confirmed the maid’s suspicions that Isla was ill.
She backed away quickly, reaching the door before Isla could.
Isla scratched at the door like a trapped cat and then banged her fists against it when she heard the key being turned. The maid’s footsteps were rapid as she hurried away, and Isla was left feeling utterly hopeless.
She turned and kicked the plate of food, sending the mushrooms flying.
Day turned into night.
Iain had not come to visit her. He must have believed her father’s lies, although she doubted the maid had bothered telling him that she wanted to speak to him.
Soon, midnight approached and Isla was restless.
It felt as though there was a heavy stone in the pit of her heart as she thought of Gavin. He would be waiting at the stables. But how long would he wait? If he stayed until dawn her father would find him. If he left, then her father might take his revenge on her mother.
There were no victories, not while her father lived anyway.
She needed to uproot his poisonous vines from the Highlands, but to do so she needed Iain’s help. There were too many steps, too much distance between them. She had to take matters into her own hands.
She looked towards the window. The starry sky was above her, and below was freedom. The Anderson Keep was not as large as Inverdane Hall. It was still a risky descent, and if she fell it would certainly kill her, but it was not impossible to reach the ground.
She pulled on her cloak and ventured to the window, saying a quick prayer for protection. She then placed her hands upon the sill and brought her leg up.
But as she looked down she saw someone else looking back at her.
Gavin.
His face was soaked with sweat and he grunted with determination. He placed his fingers in between the gaps in the stones and pulled himself up, his great muscles heaving his bulk towards her.
The whites of his eyes were visible as he stared at her and Isla waited at the window, utterly astounded to see him like this. The ground loomed below, causing her to feel dizzy, although perhaps it was just Gavin’s presence that disoriented her.
His fingers came upon her windowsill and with a deep grunt he pulled himself up. Isla took his hand, helping him clamber through the window. She placed her hand on his back. His shirt was soaked with sweat, clinging to his body. She could see the outline of his muscles in the soft candlelight.
He almost collapsed to the floor but pushed himself up. He looked at his fingers. His nails were broken, his fingers bruised, but then he looked back at her as if nothing mattered.
“Gavin, what are ye daeing here? Are ye mad?” she gasped.
“I see ye are dressed for adventure. Ye changed yer mind after all,” he replied.
“I was just cold,” Isla countered, pulling the cloak more tightly around her body. “I thought ye were waiting at the stables.”
“They were surrounded by guards. I decided tae come tae ye directly. Someone must hae seen me. There are probably guards everywhere. We need tae be quick. I dinnae hae much time.”
“Ye need tae leave,” Isla said, choosing not to reveal that she was the one who told her father that Gavin would be waiting at the stables. Clearly Laird Sinclair hadn’t wanted to take any chances and positioned guards there with plenty of time so that they could catch Gavin when he arrived.
“Isla, I cannae leave without ye. Ye dinnae belong here. Ye dinnae need tae sacrifice yerself for the Highlands. The three clans are united in fighting. He hae caused enough sorrow already. All the pain he’s spread will come tae an end,” Gavin said.
“I meant what I said before. My place is here now. I want to be with Iain.”
“And I need tae be with ye,” Gavin replied almost immediately.
The force of emotion in his voice was almost enough to knock her off her feet. Sweat dripped of Gavin’s brow and his cheeks were rosy. He was still breathing heavily from his efforts to climb the Keep, and she couldn’t help but be impressed with the lengths he went to in order to reach her.
But it was still dangerous, especially to be in the same room.
Gavin didn’t care about danger, though.
“I ken what ye said, lass, but the only path worth walking is the one that leads me tae ye. Ye tell me tae gae home, well, what home? Dunrath Keep hae burned. Ye tell me tae gae back tae my family. My brother hae a family of his own. My sister will end up in Stormhaven. I was the eldest, but I won’t be Laird. ” He shook his head then went on.
“I hae naething but ye, Isla. I hae nae purpose, nae place other than by yer side. All of that was taken away from me a long time ago, but ye helped me see that I still hae value. Ye were the only one tae look at me as though I still mattered, and I cannae leave that behind. There is only ye. If a part of ye is still mine, stop this ploy or we die.”
“Gavin… dinnae say such things.”
Her voice trembled. Emotions were overwrought.
“But if ye truly love Iain, then sae be it. At least I shall finally be at rest. If I cannae hae ye then there’s nae point in living.”
She clutched his shirt, her fingers feeling the dampness of his sweat, the taut muscles beneath. Her heart hammered within her chest and her breaths were frantic. He’d come all this way and declared so much and it was music to her ears, but it was just the wrong time.
“Ye’re all I hae left. I love ye, lass. I held back in Inverdane Hall. I was a prisoner then. I’m still a prisoner now, held captive by yer love. Ye say I am a free man, well, this is me being free. This is the choice I’m making and now ye hae a choice as well. Dae ye love me?”
“Why are ye sae impossible?” she cried, hammering her fist against the wall of his chest. “Why cannae ye dae as ye are told?”
“Must be the lion in me,” he said, and then he took her hand and held it before him.
They stared at each other. The air felt as though it was on fire. Isla gazed into his eyes and knew that she was lost.
They kissed again, more frantically and passionately than before, for this might well be the last time. She clawed at him, clinging to him as her entire body shuddered. The kisses were breathless.
“Tell me, lass. Tell me ye dinnae love me,” Gavin challenged, the words breaking through their smacking lips.
“Curse ye, Gavin. I wish I dinnae but I love ye. It’s dooming us both.”
“At least we will be doomed taegether.”
She drank in the scent of him, the raw power of his masculinity. It broke through all of her resolve and her intentions, and now that she was kissing him like this she didn’t want to stop. But Gavin grabbed her hand and turned towards the door.
“It’s locked,” she said.
Gavin’s face darkened. “Nice of yer betrothed tae trust ye.”
“It was nae his fault. It was my father,” Isla replied, although her words fell on deaf ears as Gavin turned towards the only exit to the room, the one he had used as an entrance.
The window. He beckoned Isla over.
“Follow me. I shall make the descent first. Watch carefully where I place my hands and feet. Take yer time, and if ye fall, I’ll catch ye,” he said this in such a way that she couldn’t be certain whether he was joking or not.
Trepidation entered her heart, but only about the climb, not about Gavin.
Now that he was here she wanted to leave with him.
She didn’t try to pull her hand away from his.
At least when her feet were on solid ground she could make a move against her father, which was more than what she could do from behind a locked door.
Gavin had his hand on the sill, but then their time ran out.
The key turned in the lock.
And the door was flung open. Guards had their swords drawn.
Her father came striding into the room, but he was not alone.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Isla, how could ye? I’m shocked,” Laird Sinclair said.
He wore a smug, knowing smile, as if to taunt her for daring to think that she was smarter than him.
Isla did not pay him much attention. She was more concerned with Iain standing by his side. His emotions broke through his stoic demeanor. His lower lip trembled and his eyes shimmered with despair and anger and betrayal.
Gavin turned and snarled, ready for a fight as he ever was, but Isla realized that everything she hoped for was falling apart.
Her father had played everything perfectly again, ruining her image in front of Iain’s eyes, and she had nobody to blame but herself.