“You will never trust me again, Sebastien. We both know that. And any love you felt for me is surely gone now that you know the truth.”
“I told you that I have known the truth for some time. I knew when you finally gave yourself to me that you were a spy.”
Lara felt the heat in her cheeks. He’d told her that they would both recognize the moment when she declared to him, and they had. Unfortunately, her sins were so great that they could not be forgiven. Not by him with his honor. Most likely not even by the Almighty.
“I do love you, Lara. Do not run this time. Give me your trust and let me find a way for both of us.”
“Ah, but you see? That is the problem. There is no way out if I stay here. Your honor will demand that you turn the spy over to your king. You will have no choice.” She stepped back from him. “This way, you can disavow me. Let me take the children, for Robert will seek vengeance on them for both my and my father’s acts. Let us go now before it is too late.”
“It is already too late if you love me.” He faced her and asked her again. “Do you love me, Lara?” He held his hand out to her, as he had so many times before, and waited for her answer.
She spied the movement in the shadows too late to warn him. With one blow to his head, Eachann laid him low. Lara began to scream, but her cousin stopped her with his hand over her mouth.
“Yer pardon for interrupting such a touching scene, Lara. Yer father waits offshore for us and we dinna have much time to reach him before the alarm is raised.”
Jerking herself free, she fell to her knees next to Sebastien and lifted his head from the floor. Blood streamed from the wound on the back of his skull and he did not move.
“Why did you have to kill him?” she cried.
“He is not dead, but we shall be if we stay,” Eachann said as he wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her away. “We go now.” He pushed her toward the altar and, after placing something inside Sebastien’s tunic, he followed her.
When they reached the altar, he walked to the far corner and pressed a certain place on the stone wall. The door she’d never seen open swung back and, after lighting a torch, he stepped in first and waved for her to follow. The damp, fetid air in the low corridor made her nauseous. She covered her nose and mouth with the edge of her cloak and tried to stay with Eachann.
It took almost a quarter hour to traverse the tunnel. Once they reached the end, he lit a small, covered lantern there and extinguished the torch. Pushing on the wall, Eachann pulled her out the tunnel and along a rocky path. They were in one of the caves on the firth, to the southwest of the castle.
Eachann motioned for her to stay back as he stepped out cautiously and surveyed the beach. Was he looking for guards? Then he lifted the lantern, uncovered it, and waved it to and fro for nearly a minute before lowering it and stepping back inside the protection of the cave.
Numbed by what had happened between her and Sebastien and then Eachann’s attack, Lara slid down on the floor and began to shake uncontrollably. Her cousin eyed her with amusement on his face. He stood watch at the edge of the cave until he whispered her name a short while later.
Eachann lifted her to her feet and wrapped his arm around her waist. It was then Lara noticed a small boat coming to shore. Her cousin tugged on her arm and they ran from the cave, down the beach to the water’s edge. He handed her into the craft and pushed it back into the water, climbing in as it moved away.
The boat bobbed about in the waves, and Lara’s stomach rebelled. Three times she was forced to hang over the side of the small vessel as nausea gripped her. The cold water terrified her, and she clung to the side, closing her eyes and offering a prayer for Sebastien’s safety. She did not ask for herself, for she deserved whatever suffering she got.
The journey to her father’s ship took a long time, and she was exhausted by the time she was handed up to him. Instead of a warm welcome, he simply nodded to her and directed her to a place on deck where she could sit. Puzzled, she watched as he and Eachann exchanged words and laughed together. The glances they threw her way made her nervous.
Finally, the ship moved into smoother waters and she fell asleep, huddled under a blanket on the deck. Some time later, as dawn broke over the water, she was awakened by harsh whispers.
“Does she know?” her father asked.
“Nay. She believes that she is the one they came for.”
“Eachann, this is working better than I had hoped. She is here believing that we saved her. The bastard is left behind and the king’s men have the proof that he is the spy. His honor and sworn oath will prevent him from ever admitting she is the guilty one.”
“Aye, Uncle. The king will execute him and our path will be clear. And the children?”
“Another way to guarantee his silence—if the Bruce believes him to be the spy, he will not take action against either of them. And the letter left on him will implicate the bastard even more.”
They laughed again and Lara tried not to open her eyes.
“When will she be mine?”
“In good time, Eachann. In good time.”
“I would like just a sample of what will be mine, Uncle. Let me have her just once and let me tell her the truth. Ye can watch if ye like.”
Though revolted by his words, Lara could do nothing, lest it give away the fact that she listened. Her father did not want her back. She was his means to destroy Sebastien and, ultimately, the Bruce. And the thought that he would give her over to Eachann, knowing the disgusting things he wanted to do to her, turned her stomach again. The sound of flesh striking flesh drew her attention. Daring a peek, she realized that her father had punched Eachann in the face.
“Nay, Eachann. She has her uses in my plans before she is yours, and I will not have her damaged before then. She is the key and the safeguard. Once the bastard is executed, she is yours for whatever uses you wish.”
