“There you have it, then,” she said. “My debt is paid.”
“Nay,” he said. “You still owe me the names of your guests at Lochurkie.”
A cold lump dropped into Isabail’s belly. How eager he was to see her gone now. It was as if the night of bliss they’d shared had never been. She wrapped her arms about her waist, feeling a little nauseous.
“Fetch me a quill, a pot of ink, and some parchment, and I will give you the names,” she said quietly. Then she spun about and headed back to the hut she’d once shared with Muirne.
* * *
Niall dropped the arrowhead back into the chest with a soft clatter. “She seems a wee bit angry.”
“She is not pleased with me at the moment,” Aiden admitted.
“But you’ve got what you desired. She’s going to give you the names.”
Aiden frowned. So she had said. But why now? Why give him the names today when he had pressed her repeatedly for them to no avail? If anything, he had expected her to be more stubborn than ever, after their discussion of this morning. Anger, yes. Compliance? That seemed out of place.
And why did the knowledge that he would soon have the names he sought not fill him with joy? Those names were the very reason he had risked everything to capture her. “In truth,” he admitted, “I had not thought much beyond gaining the names. I’ve no plan for how to coax the truth from these men.”
“Ask them each to don a hooded cloak,” Niall offered. “Perhaps you’ll recognize the thief simply by the way he holds himself.”
“Perhaps.”
“The camp will certainly be a quiet place once Lady Macintosh has departed,” Niall said. “And your mother may venture out of her rooms more often, God help us. She seems to be avoiding the lady for some reason.”
Aiden was no longer listening. His thoughts had come to a crashing halt with the wordsonce Lady Macintosh has departed. She had been in his camp only a sennight, and already he could not imagine the place—especially his own hut—without her.
“Who among the older men can count?” Aiden asked his brother.
“Hamish, I believe... and perhaps Gordon.”
“Tell Hamish he’s now the seneschal,” Aiden said, handing his brother the chest of arrowheads. “And have these made into arrows.”
Niall’s eyebrows soared. “Where are you going?”
“To speak with Lady Macintosh.”
“Are you certain that’s a wise idea? Perhaps it would be best to wait until she’s written the names of her guests.”
Aiden quelled his brother’s suggestion with a hard stare, then marched across the close to his hut.
* * *
Daniel was standing near the back of the hut when Isabail entered. He was dressed in a cream-colored lèine and laced leather boots. For the first time since MacCurran’s men dragged his bleeding body into the close, he looked tall and self-assured—every bit the handsome Frenchman who had drawn her brother’s attention.
“Where’s Muirne?” she asked, glancing about.
He turned to face her. “Beathag had need of her services.”
“I have need of her, as well. We need to pack up our belongings.”
Daniel frowned. “Why?”
“I’ve promised MacCurran the information he seeks,” Isabail said. “Once he has the names, he will set us free.”
“Don’t be a fool. We know the location of his camp. He cannot set us free without compromising the safety of his people.”
Isabail paused.Shedid not know the camp’s location—because she had been blindfolded. But the same could not be said for Daniel. Nor had MacCurran said he would free Daniel. She had simply assumed... “In truth, he said nothing of settingyoufree,” she admitted.
