“Aye. But I can’t let her loose either. Once she gives me theEalach, I’ll be sending her home, but not before.” Duncan clenched his jaw and stared at the thin layer of new snow blanketing the dirt and grass around the castle. He glanced up again at the dark window, his heart heavy in his chest before starting back toward the castle. By the time he reached the kitchens, Bridgid was in the process of covering Aileana’s breakfast tray with a clean towel. Steam rose from a cup of spiced ale she poured from the kettle, and she placed the drink next to the other things on the tray.
“I’ll be taking her food up this morning, Bridgid. Give it to me and go on with your other duties.”
Thebailielooked startled, her eyes wide, as she handed the tray to Duncan. “Is everything in order? Are you sure you don’t need me to come with you to…to help in any way?”
The anxiety in her voice made Duncan wince. It was clear that she cared for Aileana and was concerned for her safety.Perhaps Bridgid thought him a monster now as well.After his flare of temper the afternoon he’d dragged Aileana upstairs, he couldn’t blame her.
“I wish to speak with Aileana in private; that is all.”
Bridgid colored pink. “I’m just worried for the girl.”
Duncan’s teeth ached he was clenching them so hard. “There is nothing to fear, I assure you.” He started toward the stairs. “While I’m with Aileana I need you to prepare food enough for me and four of my men. If all goes as I plan, I’ll be taking a short journey before nightfall.”
“Aye, it will be done.”
With a nod, Duncan carried the tray to the steps, taking each stair slowly, deliberately, to allow himself time to think of what to say to Aileana, and how. They hadn’t exchanged a word in the three days she’d been held; each night when he’d come to the chamber, she was already in her pallet, feigning sleep. He’d never pressed the point, though he knew her to be as awake and sleepless as he was. It was the one concession he’d been willing to make.
Halfway up the stairway, Duncan paused. His feet refused to move further. He felt weighted down and unhappy, but his feelings made no sense. If what he was about to do proved successful, he’d finally gain all that he’d wanted, all that he’d dreamed of for thirteen years. Yet it left him empty. Aching.
He reached the top of the landing. Setting the tray on a table in the hall, he pulled the key from the tie at his waist. The lock turned with a rusty creak, and the door swung open to silence. From his position the room looked vacant and cold, though a fire burned in the grate. The faint crackling of the flames was the only sound to break the stillness.
He stared through the shadows.There she was.His heart thudded a slow, steady rhythm. Aileana sat with her back to the door, hidden in a corner, her chair a few paces from the window. She’d drawn back the curtain, but he noticed that she’d positioned herself far enough from the pane to avoid being seen from outside.
“I’ve brought your food.” He stepped in and waited.
At the sound of his voice, she twisted around, but the look of surprise lasted only an instant before she masked her expression.
“Have you decided to play nurse to me again, then? It has been weeks now since you first thought it amusing to undertake the chore during my bout with the plague.” She spoke quietly, but her words pricked him.
“Nay.” Duncan cleared his throat. “Bringing your meal is not the only reason I’m here.” He put the tray down, indicating that she should eat if she wished, but she shook her head and remained seated. He walked closer to her, silent, pausing to stare out as she was at the loch, glowing pink and yellow now in the rising sun.
“I’m here because you have a decision to make, Aileana. I’ve come to discuss it with you.”
“Discuss it…or direct me to your way of thinking?”
He felt her gaze shift to him, but he didn’t trust himself to look at her, to drink in the beauty of her eyes without losing his will to continue.
“Only you can choose the path we’ll both be taking.”
“Then I wish to be freed from this room.”
The anguish in her voice made his heart twist, but he forged ahead. “I’ll be releasing you when you give me theEalach, and not before. It’s the whys and whens that I wish to discuss.”
“Ah, I see. Another attempt at blackmail.” A harsh sound caught in her throat. “My father imprisoned me in my chamber in order to protect theEalach, and you lock me inside in order to make me surrender it; the irony of that is almost amusing, don’t you think?”
Duncan faced her, steeling himself against the hurt he saw in her face. “Aileana, we cannot go on as we have, that much is clear. Despite what you think, I don’t relish the thought of keeping you locked away.”
“Then why continue to do it?” Her eyes welled with tears, and Duncan’s hand shook as he struggled not to reach up and brush the sadness away. She wrapped her arms around her middle and whispered, “Keeping me in here…you’re killing me, Duncan, breath by breath.”
A stabbing pain pierced him, but he gritted his teeth against it. “Just give me the amulet, Aileana. Then I can release you to your kin and we can find a peace between us.”
“I cannot do that. No more than I could those months ago when you first attacked Dulhmeny.”
“Why not?” Irritation fueled him again. “Why are you sacrificing your freedom for the sake of something you were made to keep—something you didn’t even choose to protect?”
“My life and freedom were sacrificed to theEalachlong before I met you.” Her voice sounded hard, and his stomach lurched at the shadows in her eyes. “Besides, who are you to ask such a thing—a man whose sole purpose lies in stealing back an amulet you’ve lived without for thirteen years?”
“It is my birthright. TheEalachwas my father’s and his father’s before him.”
