She closed her eyes, and for a moment Aiden believed that there would be no answer, but she finally said, “Not Lochurkie. There’s nothing for him there but bitter memories.”
“Then where?”
“I suppose he might return to the Continent,” she said, doubt tugging at her words. “But he is a third son, and my understanding is that there was some sort of trouble and he is no longer welcome in Bigorre.”
Aiden waited, but impatience clawed at him. He was a man of action, not a man of softly spoken words. He needed answers.
Her eyes popped open. “There isoneplace where he might go....”
“Name it,” he demanded.
“My dower estate, Tayteath. It lies on the eastern coast, six leagues south of Arbroath.”
“Quite a distance,” he said. “Why would he go so far?”
“He and my brother spent a month there every spring,” she explained. “He knows the castle well, and my retainers know him. He could settle there for some time without suspicion. If not there, then I have no idea where he would go.”
Aiden sat back. If they pushed hard, they could make the coast in two days. But if de Lourdes wasn’t there, it would be a wasted two days. “What does he intend to do with the treasure?”
Isabail licked her very dry lips. “He told me it would enable him to right a grave injustice. He suggested he had a contact in the king’s court who could help.”
He handed her a cup of ale and watched her wet her parched mouth. A mouth he had kissed numerous times—and still desired to kiss again. Her frailty only enhanced her delicate beauty. “So he planned to meet with someone from Edinburgh?”
“So he said.” She grimaced. “But everything he originally told me was a lie. Before he ran me through, he confessed that he was the one who killed my brother.”
A pang of sympathy shot through Aiden. He well understood how Isabail must have felt receiving that news. The stab of betrayal reaches deep. “At that point he had no reason to lie,” he said. “His true nature had been revealed. Tayteath is an easy day’s ride from Edinburgh, and a coastal castle would make a suitable place for a clandestine meeting.”
He stood. Even if de Lourdes had been spouting lies, the choices were limited. There were no other clues to follow. He turned to leave.
“Is that all you’ve come for?” Isabail asked. “Information? Not a word of sympathy or good wishes for a swift recovery?”
Aiden halted, but he did not turn to face her. Knowing the truth about what she’d done did not make it any easier to distance himself. He still wanted her desperately, craved to draw her into his arms, bury his face in her bosom, and forgive her. But he was the chief. It was his responsibility to mete out justice. No matter how much it cost him. “Why would I offer well wishes to de Lourdes’s accomplice?”
She gasped. “You think I helped him willingly?”
He spun. “He never left his hut until today. The only person he saw, other than Muirne, was you. You have a long-established relationship with the man. Of course you helped him willingly.”
“Nay,” she cried. “You accuse me falsely. I aided Daniel only because he threatened to kill Jamie if I did not.”
“Do you deny that you and de Lourdes are lovers?”
Isabail’s eyes darkened, and her mouth twisted in a poor mimicry of a smile. “I do. Even had I suffered a tenderness for him, it would have remained unrequited. I am not what Daniel finds attractive. He and my brother were lovers.”
The ache in Aiden’s heart eased. She did not love de Lourdes, nor he her. “You still aided him. He could not have known about the tunnels or the location of the tomb had you not told him.”
“Label me a fool, if you must, but not a traitor. He was my brother’s companion for more than five years. I trusted him. Did I tell Daniel about the tunnels? Aye, I did. But only in passing, as I explained where the stores were kept and shared the tale of my misadventure. I never told him of the crown.”
“So you say.”
Isabail broke eye contact, and she stared at the glowing coals in the brazier. “It appears you have little respect for me.”
“Actually, I have the deepest respect for you,” he said quietly. “I believe every word you’ve told me this eve, because you’ve never given me cause not to. In spite of everything that has happened to you in the past sennight, you’ve remained forthright in your comments, helpful in your suggestions, and unwavering in your opinions. You’ve shown genuine affection for your maid, your dog, and even your brother’s traitorous lover. If I did not wear the mantle of chief, I would be begging your forgiveness for doubting you, even for a moment.”
She stared at him, mouth agape.
“But I am the chief,” he said. “And a chief must do everything in his power to protect his clan, even if it means hurting those he cares for. As such, I must withdraw my promise to return you home. Names or no names, you know too much.”
“What are you saying? That I’ll forever be a prisoner here?”
