He hurried her forward, relaxing only a little after they’d made their way out to the bailey. At least here he could see what might be coming at them.
He almost stumbled over her when, in the middle of the courtyard, she abruptly halted, whirling to face him.
“We have to do something about the way my grandfather is treating Auld Annie. She’s being held prisoner in her own quarters.”
“That’s no yer grandfather’s doing, lass. It’s Lardiner who’s given those orders.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned in toward him, her hands on her hips. “Roland is naught but a toothless lapdog for my grandfather. He does the laird’s bidding.”
Isa had been too long away from the company of others if she believed that. Lardiner looked to him to be a dog with very sharp teeth. But this was neither the time nor the place to try to convince her of that fact.
Instead he shrugged and shook his head. “Say what you will.”
“Explain yerself, MacQuarrie. And for that matter, what was that blether about Jamie? What was going on in Auld Annie’s room?”
If the dangerous glint in her beautiful eyes hadn’t warned of her anger, her use of his surname certainly did. But he had questions of his own that needed answers.
“I might well ask the same of you. What happened to you in there? You looked as if you were suffocating.”
Isa’s lips drew into a thin line, and her eyes quickly darted away from his and back again. “That’s no what I meant. How could the laird have fathered Jamie?”
She obviously thought to ignore his query. He wouldn’t be sidetracked as easily as that, but if she wanted to parry words, he was more than up to the task.
“In the usual way, I’d imagine. You do have a knowledge of that process, do you no?”
Her cheeks flushed an attractive pink and she turned to look out across the courtyard, her arms crossed under her breasts.
Now there was a sight to make a man’s mouth water if he’d ever seen one.
“Because if you dinna ken how it’s done, lass, I’d be more than happy to demonstrate for you once we’re away from this place.”
The pink in her cheeks morphed into an overall dull red.
“What are those men doing?” she asked, walking away from him in the direction she faced even as she spoke the words.
“Wait!” he called, looking ahead as he hurried to catch up with her.
Did the woman just live to make his life difficult?
Ahead of them, a group of men and boys had gathered near the large gates that opened into the bailey. Their growing noise, angry jeers and laughter, must have been what first attracted Isa’s attention.
They had formed a circle around a man and woman holding a small child, hurling insults at the couple. He could feel the crazed excitement of the crowd building momentum, each person stoking the anger and suspicion of the one next to him.
How careless of him! He’d been so distracted in his banter with Isa, he’d failed to notice what was going on right under his nose. As he drew up beside her, he reached out to grab her elbow.
Too late.
She dodged his arm and bulldozed her way forward. “What do you men think yer doing? Stop that! Stop that right now!” Isa, her head barely level with the men’s shoulders, stepped into the center of their circle to where the couple stood, taking a stand in front of them.
Robert elbowed his way through the men, too, likely shoving a bit harder than was actually necessary in his irritation. The instant he’d realized what was going on, he should have remembered her affinity for the underdog. Seeing the quarrelsome mob surrounding her triggered his own anger.
“What’s going on here?” he demanded, sizing up the situation even as he spoke.
The crowd that had gathered was little more than stable hands and castle servants. Dealing with the lot of them would be easy enough should it come to that, but Robert didn’t like their position in the least. Having both Isa and the woman with her child inside this circle was unacceptable. His most immediate priority was to shift them to a more easily defended spot. A spot with no one at their backs.
He chose the most expedient means he could think of to get people moving away. He drew his sword, pulling it hard against the scabbard to ensure the ring of metal would carry through the air.
The circle evaporated, with men and boys scattering off to both sides, all keeping their distance as he backed the couple and Isa toward the open gate.
