“Nae,” he said sharply, and rose to a sitting position, swinging his legs off the side of the bed.
“Finlay,” she said desperately, putting her arms on his shoulders.
“There are things ye dinnae understand, Anne. I wish I could explain them tae ye, but it’s tae complicated.”
She looked down at her naked body, thinking that perhaps this was the only night when she would truly know what it was to make love.
“Besides, I’m sure that yer uncle would never allow ye tae marry a man who was out of favor with his father,” Finlay continued. And there was another complication, the lie she had woven. She pinched the bridge of her nose, hating that she had seduced him to bed under false pretenses. It was only a matter of time before he discovered the truth, and what would happen then? He would see that she was nothing more than a harlot, and so perhaps they should leave it as it was. Life was not a thing of happy endings after all. It was a hard grind and she had never been destined to fall into the lap of a noble. This was the closest thing she could have to a real romance, and she would cherish it forever. It was just a shame that it could not last for longer.
“I’m gaeing downstairs tae wash up. I’ll be back soon,” he said, cupping her chin in his hand and kissing her softly. The heat lingered as he pulled on his clothes and walked out of the door. He left his other things behind. Anne got dressed, dark thoughts swirling around her mind. She had done what she had set out to do, but it was clear that she was never going to win him as a husband. She had to think of her and Rory’s future. If she didn’t make the most of the opportunities at this gathering, then she would always regret it. She needed enough money to fix the holes in the roof, or even buy them a better home. There were plenty of targets. She had played the role of a naive noblegirl for too long and had started to believe the dreams they had, but she had to remind herself that she was common. Finlay had his ownproblems to contend with, and it was best if she left him to deal with them.
She grabbed his coin purse, thinking that he wouldn’t miss it considering his father was nearby. After all, he had paid for the dagger without thinking twice. He would hate her for it, for running away from him. Perhaps it would be easier that way. She blinked away the tears in her eyes as she slipped out of the room and lost herself in the breakfast crowd, finding Rory.
Rory’s lips were greased with bacon fat and he looked sullen. There were shadows under his eyes. “I came by the room last night. Thought it best tae nae interrupt,” he said dryly.
Anne averted her gaze and blushed. “It’s all over now,” she said, giving him a glimpse of what she had stolen. “I think ye were right. It’s better tae stick tae the plan. If we make the most of this opportunity, then we can gae anywhere we want, and we will nae need anyone else.”
Rory breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s better this way. At least we will nae hae tae worry about anyone discovering the truth.”
Anne nodded, looking around cautiously in case Finlay should show his face. She could come back to gather her things later. She would disappear, becoming little more than a ghost to him. She could lose herself among all these people and there would be no chance of him tracking her down, even though she liked the thought of seeing him again.
She chastised herself. There could be none of those thoughts. She needed to harden her heart. Finlay could not marry her, and even if he could, he would eventually find out the truth. It was easier this way, easier than having to lie to him for the rest of her life, easier than loving him as well, because love always ledto pain. It hadn’t exactly worked out for her parents, had it? Her mother had left her life of privilege for her common father and what had it gotten her? Nothing but death.
“Let us leave this place for a while. I cannae risk him discovering us,” she rose from the table and dragged Rory with her. The stolen gold nestled against her hips. She glanced around again just to make sure that Finlay wasn’t nearby, and then headed towards the door. She steeled herself against the regret that swam in her heart. She couldn’t help but think of how things might have been different if she stayed in that warm bed with him and lingered in the affection they had for one another, but that was a life a girl like her could not be afforded. The gods were not generous like that.
However, as she left she heard some voices shouting. They were rough and coarse, cursing. It seemed too early for words such as this. Most people ignored the commotion, not wanting to get involved in whatever local business was going awry. Anne was one of these people, seeking to stick close to Rory and sidle away unnoticed.
That’s when she heard Finlay’s voice among the cacophony. She twisted her head immediately and saw that three men were dragging Finlay away. He was protesting loudly, flailing his legs about. The men had a firm grip on his arms, preventing him from moving them. As his head bobbed about, she could see a panicked look on his face and she wondered who those men were and what they were doing with him. She wished that he had told her more details about how he had fallen out of favor with his father. Could this be connected to that? Perhaps his father did not take kindly to him spending his evenings in taverns. Had there been an agent who had spied on herself and Finlay? Perhaps he wasn’t supposed to stay the night with a woman suchas her. She drew her arms across her chest and cast a furtive gaze around, worried that someone was watching her. Nobody came to grab her though, only Finlay seemed to be of concern.
“Anne, let’s gae,” Rory said, an anxious look on his face. Anne took a step in his direction, but then paused. She looked back towards Finlay, who was disappearing among the crowd. Soon enough, he would be gone from her vision entirely, and her life. Was this really how she wanted it all to end? His problems weren’t her problems, and yet they had shared so much already that she felt she ought to help.
“Just give me a moment,” she told Rory, who promptly rolled his eyes. Anne hitched up her skirt and strode through the crowd, determined to catch up with Finlay and demand an explanation from his captors. Despite everything she told herself, she couldn’t tear herself away from him. There was an errant, whispered thought at the back of her mind that wondered if this was the same way her mother had felt about her father.
14
“Hey, hey where are ye taking him? What dae ye want? If ye are working for his Da, then I can promise ye that he hae done naething wrong,” Anne cried out, desperately trying to get the attention of the three burly men who were dragging Finlay away. Nobody else seemed bothered by this disturbance, not even the guards. Perhaps they knew better than to meddle in these affairs. Finlay wore a defeated look and shook his head as Anne approached, while the other men halted their stride. They looked Anne up and down and smiled. Anne put her hands on her hips and glared at them. They laughed mockingly and shook their heads. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, did the talking for them.
“His Da? Ye dinnae know much about him, dae ye? We work for Murdoch. I take it ye are one of the Laird’s guests, sae ye probably hae nae heard of Murdoch. If ye keep yer wits about ye, it’ll stay that way.”
“And what daes Murdoch want with Finlay?” she asked.
The man grunted. “Finlay here owes Murdoch some money, and sae far he hae refused tae pay up.” He swung his gaze to Finlay and glared at him, telling him the exact amount. Anne’s eyes widened. It was not a small amount at all.
“It’s all a misunderstanding! There was a misattribution of funds and I have tried to correct the oversight before but-” Finlay was silenced by a thump in the gut. He doubled over. Anne winced. Another man grabbed Finlay’s head and pulled it back.
“Keep yer mouth shut,” he growled, showing in no uncertain terms that Finlay would be in for another beating if he spoke out of turn again. Anne had no idea how these beastly men were able to get away with such a show of violence in plain sight, but clearly, things worked differently in this clan than she had believed. To treat the son of a Laird like this was asking for trouble, but at least it shed light on things. Finlay must have fallen out of favor with his father because of money. She should have guessed that to be the case really, since money was at the heart of so many problems in the world. He probably hadn’t even told his father about this to save face, and to make matters worse she had just stolen Finlay’s money.
“If ye are foolish enough tae care for him, then bring money tae Murdoch’s tavern by nightfall, otherwise ye should say a sweet farewell tae yer prince here,” the men then laughed again as they dragged Finlay away. It was a horrible sound. Anne’s heart shuddered with pain. They disappeared into the crowd, while Anne went to chase after them, seeking more answers. She wanted to know exactly what had happened for Finlay to owe this money. It must have been some mistake, surely, and were they really going to kill him? Such a crime could not go unpunished, could it?
Rory held her back, however. There was a desperate look in his eyes. “Dinnae gae after them. Men like that are trouble.”
“Well, I know they’re trouble, and Finlay is gaeing tae hae plenty of it,” Anne tugged her wrist away from his grip, but she remained rooted to the spot. “Surely this cannae be allowed tae stand. How can a man get away with such a brazen crime?”
“I almost went tae Murdoch’s tavern yesterday when I was looking for targets. People warned me against it. Apparently, Murdoch gets away with a lot. He’s bad news, Anne, and if Finlay is mixed up with him, well, we should get away. Let’s take what we hae and just forget about Finlay. That was the plan anyway, aye?”
Anne furrowed her brow and looked in the direction in which Finlay had been taken. Then she turned back towards Rory. “I know what ye are gaeing tae say-”
“I know whatyewould say if I was getting intae something dangerous. Ye would tell me tae stay safe. This is nae safe, Anne. Finlay can take care of himself.”
