Please. Please. Please stop me.
“But, if it pleases you in some manner, if it fulfills some need in you, then go, with my blessing.”
All she could do was nod, for words of any kind might reveal more than she should.
“I will have an escort for you when you need.”
“Guards?” she asked.
“An escort, for your safety, lady. I have hesitated to tell you this for I do not know your feelings on it, but…” He paused, lowering his voice. “Your cousin Eachann has been sighted close to Dunstaffnage. He murders without care, his victims innocent or not, and leaves a trail of dead bodies as he moves through the countryside.”
She gasped. She’d known he was about, but hadn’t realized Sebastien was aware of it as well. He misinterpreted her surprise and continued.
“I know he is kin, but you must have recognized the kind of man he is and the danger he presents to any who oppose him. That is why I want you to have an escort anytime you leave the castle walls.”
“Murder?” she asked. “He murders?” She knew her cousin was capable of much cruelty, but had never any inkling of this.
“Three crofters in the next valley were murdered as they slept. Two more near the loch.”
“But it could have been anyone, Sebastien.”
“Except that he cuts his name into their flesh….” He stopped and looked at her. “I did not want you to hear this.”
“My lord!” Sir Hugh’s booming voice filled the stairway and the room, startling her in its loudness.
“I must go, but you must promise to have a care.”
She could only nod her head in agreement. He kissed her and released her hand, trotting down the steps to answer Sir Hugh’s demanding call. Lara’s body shook as she went back into the chamber, closed the door and leaned against it.
Did this change anything? Was she truly ignorant of Eachann’s ways or had she simply not admitted to herself that she knew? Would he harm her when she refused him? Lara shivered as she realized he would if she did not hold some worth to him.
She remained in her room until most of the afternoon had passed, sending Margaret off on various errands and assigning her tasks to keep her away. Finally, when she knew she must leave, Lara knelt in front of Sebastien’s trunk and lifted the lid. Sliding her hand down the side, she retrieved the pouch and took out the pieces of jewelry again.
After studying at both, she decided that the cross was the best one. It did not look costly and it might not cause a stir if he discovered it was missing. Turning the ring over and over in her hand, she thought something was familiar about the insignia inside of it. Finally, unable to solve that puzzle, she placed it back in the pouch and hid it back in its pocket.
The walk to the chapel was a blur to her. The guards who escorted her were pleasant and shared with her the gossip of the castle and nearby villages. ’Twas clear from their talk that they considered this their home and not a stop along the way to another battle.
How would things change if Robert was defeated? Would her father return here to claim everything that had once been his? Where would she go and what would happen to Sebastien?
The guards stopped at the door and allowed her to enter alone. She made her way to the front of the church slowly and waited for some sign of Eachann’s arrival. Despite the daylight outside, the stone walls and small windows did not allow much light inside.
“Ye made the right decision, cousin,” he whispered from the shadow near the altar. “I feared ye would no’ take me seriously.”
“I think I know what you are capable of, Eachann. I take everything you say seriously.” She hoped her voice did not tremble.
He walked over to her and reached out his hand to touch her cheek. She tried to stay still and not pull away, but it was difficult.
“Ye have the look of a well-ridden whore, Lara. If I were to smell your skin, I would wager I could smell his seed on ye. They say he takes ye to his bed for hours and hours.”
She stepped away then, from his touch and his disgusting words. “Stop this, Eachann. I do not have much time here.”
He started at her words and she waited for his reaction. “And, ’twould appear that ye have grown a backbone. I will enjoy watching ye be tamed once more when yer father returns. Oh, aye, it will be a sight to see.” He slid his hand down now and rubbed himself as he spoke. “Spare the rod and spoil the child, the book does say. Yer father will no’ spare the rod on ye when he finds out the filthy things ye have been doing with the enemy.”
This was becoming dangerous, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to escape if he attacked her. Lara walked away and put the altar between them. Then she realized what he’d said. “What do you mean,whenmy father returns?”
He gazed at her as though lost in thought, and then shook his head. Reaching inside his tunic, he removed a folded parchment and held it out to her. “This is from yer father. He said to read it and then I’m to burn it so that none know about it.”
Lara took the parchment, broke the seal and opened it. Holding it close to the candle that burned on the altar, she read her father’s greetings, news of his triumphant entry into England and into Edward’s favor and his appointment as Admiral of the Western Seas.
