Page 17 of In Bed with a Scot

Moving quickly and quietly, Isabelle made her way to the stables. Slipping through the door, she verified that no one had seen her enter, then she waited in the shadows for Madden. As she stood there waiting, she grew chilled. She was not certain if she was actually cold or if it was her fear getting the better of her, but either way she did not care for the sensation. Looking around her, she noticed a cloak hanging on a peg in the corner and she grabbed it wrapping it around herself for warmth. It smelled of hay and horses, but she did not care. She actually found the smell comforting.

When Madden entered, he looked around for a stable hand. Isabelle stepped out of the shadows and into the lantern’s light.

“Madden, we need tae talk.”

Madden’s head jerked around in surprise, and he took a step back, his hand going to the blade at his side. Isabelle lowered the hood of the cloak so that he could see her face.

“Isabelle? What are ye doing in the stables at night? Are ye searching fer yer next conquest?”

Isabelle glared angrily at him. “Other than me husband, ye are the only man that I have ever been with in that way,” she seethed. “It was a mistake born of desperation tae feel anything other than pain. Yer behavior thus far has shown me that I chose a most undeserving swine and I deeply regret it.”

Madden stood there staring at her with a doubtful look on his face. “Swine?” he asked, nearly laughing at the word.

“Aye, swine,” she affirmed.

“I am nae the one of us that is married. Ye are the one who acted in bad faith,” he pointed out angrily. “Ye are the one who acted the whore with a man that ye didnae ken.”

“Whore?! Whore?!” Isabelle nearly shrieked, feeling as if she might explode from the sheer force of her wrath. Before she realized what she was doing, her hand lashed out and slapped him hard across the face.

“Me husband beats me every single day. He fornicates with any woman that will have him and some that would nae of their own free will but fer sheer terror. Ye were the first man who had been kind tae me in years.” In spite of herself, tears began to stream down her cheeks. “I only wished tae feel something other than pain fer once, and if I am honest, I wished tae bring him some small amount of shame as he has shamed me at every opportunity.”

“He beats ye?” Madden asked frowning.

“If me husband ever finds out what transpired between us, me life will be forfeited. And yers too. I have come tae ask ye nae tae speak another word about what transpired between us tae anyone as our very lives depend upon it. If he were tae ever learn the truth he would kill us both.” Isabelle’s eyes pleaded with him to understand.

Madden shook his head. “I would nae let that happen.”

“Ye would have nae way tae stop it.”

He studied her face for a moment in silence. “Ye are safe. I have told nae one yer name. Keelin kens that I was with a woman at the inn but does nae ken who it was. She had nae way of kenning the truth and neither does yer husband.”

“Let us pray that nae one guesses the truth from what ye said at supper. How could ye shame me in that way?”

Madden sighed. “I was angry. I dinnae lay with married women.”

“I am sorry that I did nae tell ye the truth. I am sorry that I shared me bed with ye. Had I tae dae it over again, I would choose differently.” Tears slid down her cheeks disappearing into her borrowed cloak.

“I am sorry that I called ye a whore. It was nae me place. I dinnae ken the life that ye lead. I will nae tell yer husband anything about what transpired between us. Ye have me word.”

Isabelle studied his face to gage whether he was being genuine. The look in his eyes told her that he meant his words. She nodded in acceptance. “Me necklace…” She was about to ask him if he would be so kind as to return her necklace to her when a stable hand emerged on the ladder to the loft.

“Is someone down there?” the stable hand called down.

Isabelle covered her face with the hood of the cloak and fled the stables. As she fled, she heard Madden’s voice speaking with the stable hand about going for a ride. “I am in need of a horse.”

“Are ye in need of two horses or one? I thought I heard a woman’s voice,” the stable hand replied.

“Perhaps ye dreamt it,” Madden’s voice responded. “I am alone.”

CHAPTER SIX

“What is going on with ye?” Keelin’s voice demanded from above him, pulling Madden out of a deep sleep. He had not returned to bed until very late and had not had nearly enough sleep to be awakened by an angry Keelin. “What was that last night?”

Madden groaned and rolled away from her. “Go away, Keelin. Let me sleep.”

“I will nae let ye sleep until ye give me answers. Ye were acting very strangely and ye bragged about a conquest in front of the entire clan. Ye have never been so uncouth when it came tae yer lovers before. It is a good thing that the woman in question was nae there tae hear herself being shamed.”

A stab of guilt caused Madden to sit up and face his accuser. “I am sorry, Keelin. Ye are right. I am nae quite meself.”