Iain shook his head. “So many things can go wrong with a scheme like this, lad.”
“I know that, and the reason I called you here is so that we can try to anticipate some of those things and prevent them from happening. I do not want a hair harmed on her head. But I also do not want anyone here getting too comfortable with her around. As far as we are concerned, she is as much our enemy as the Stewart and his English queen.”
“Aye, you will get no argument from me on that point,” Iain said.
“And what about the rest of you?” Angus asked the other four.
The three lads nodded their heads and mumbled, “Aye.”
“Some of this anticipating you wish us to do, might that involve a scenario where your father has been murdered?” Robert asked.
“Aye, it is a possibility we have to consider. We also need to decide what to do if the Stewart decides to attack in an attempt to reclaim Lady Annabella. I can only hope he will negotiate a trade, but I cannot be sure and there was no time to anticipate any of this when we took her. One thing I will say for certain—her life is not more important than those of the people under my protection here. If the Stewart comes for her, I will not allow blood to be shed to keep her.”
Angus looked over at Graham to see if he would defy him in front of the other men. Thankfully, he kept his mouth closed. If something had happened to his father, Angus would immediately take full command of the lands and title. He needed to ensure there was no doubt among the men over whom he would eventually rule.
CHAPTER SEVEN
True to her word, Osla collected Annabella and brought her to the kitchen for a bath. The cook—a hulk of a man named Gordon—had cleared the larder of servants, and allowed the tub to stay in there for the time being. While she bathed, only Osla, Gordon, and another kitchen maid named Lauren remained. A sheet was raised to offer her some privacy.
She melted into the steaming luxury; the heat from her bath had brought her weariness to the surface. Afterwards, Annabella struggled to climb the many steps to her prison cell. Once inside, the door was bolted from the outside and the guards remained. She knew this because she had heard MacDonald order it.
A fire raged in the hearth, and the chamber, which at first had been cold and damp, now appeared inviting, as though it had longed for a guest.
She walked to the window and opened the wooden shutters. Not accustomed to such a dense scent of the peat they used for fuel up here, she drank in the fresh air. The scent was pleasant enough, but quite overpowering at times. Not wanting to lose much of the precious heat, she closed the shutters again.
Annabella removed the pale, blue gown she had chosen, and slid into underneath the heavy quilts. The sheets were cool but she was too tired to care. She lay there looking around the chamber, watching the shadows from the fire play on the walls.
She was lulled toward slumber and nearly there when she heard voices outside. A moment later the door creaked open. Annabella closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. There could be no doubt as to who it was, though she could not fathom a reason why he would come to check on her at this hour.
“I know you are not asleep, Lady Annabella. You only arrived here a few moments ago and, while I appreciate you are weary, I am sure you cannot fall asleep in mere seconds.”
Without opening her eyes, she said, “What do you want, MacDonald? I am tired.”
“I wanted to ensure my orders were carried out, and it appears they have.”
Annabella opened her eyes and sat up, careful to keep the quilts raised to her chin. He had lit a candle, and in its light his giant shadow loomed behind him. “And which orders would those be? That I bathe with a man present, or that I am to be kept under lock and key like a criminal?”
His eyes grew wide, then narrowed. “Did the guards watch you bathe?”
“No, Osla would have never allowed that. But the cook, Gordon, would not leave, though he did provide me with a sheet to cover the doorway to the inner larder to afford some privacy. They turned their backs. At least some among you know how to honour the request of a lady.”
He chuckled and shook his head as he dragged a chair toward the bed.
Annabella could not fathom what he intended, and pulled the covers up even higher when he sat and leaned an arm across her legs.
“I ask again, what do you want, MacDonald?”
“I told you. I wanted to see if my orders were carried out.”
“You still have not told me to which orders you refer?”
He pointed to the opposite side of the chamber. “The chest belonged to my older sister. She was married last year and left some of her older gowns. I guessed that you were both about the same size, and since you had not thought to bring additional gowns with you,” he grinned, “I wondered if you might like to wear something other than the rags you were wearing when I found you.”
Annabella’s jaw dropped. This flaxen-haired, stubborn Highlander was capable of teasing? She would have never guessed it. In truth, she had thought the gowns, the bed, and everything that had arrived were more than considerate, and she had not yet had a chance to tell him so.
She smiled at his jesting, and he blinked several times. “I may be your prisoner, and I may not like it, but I am lady enough to know when to be grateful. Thank you for the comforts you have afforded me.”
“You are very beautiful when you smile.”
