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But he couldn’t afford to indulge in such behavior now. He had an important mission, a message he needed to deliver.

“No, you don’t understand,” Amber said. “He saved us. He was tortured and didn’t say a word about the Bruce. He—”

Owen cared about the lass and was grateful she was defending him, but she was only making matters worse. The appalled expression on his father’s face deepened. No doubt, he thought Owen was hiding behind a woman, letting her fight his battles.

“Amber.” Owen interrupted her. “Let me explain, aye?”

She closed her mouth, nodded, and stepped back.

Owen fixed his gaze on his father. “Aye. I did get myself kidnapped. And I didna succeed in keeping Inverlochy when Kenneth Mackenzie fell. But I saw John MacDougall in Stirling.”

Dougal crossed his arms on his chest. “Aye? And what did the man say?”

“They plan to ambush the Bruce when he moves to Lorne to attack them.”

Dougal sighed. “Did he say that?”

“Aye.”

Dougal threw a heavy gaze at Amber. “Did ye hear that, too, lass?”

“No. I wasn’t there. But—”

Dougal shook his head once, interrupting her. “Do ye have any other proof, son?”

Helplessness weighed at Owen’s shoulders as well as the sinking feeling of loneliness, of being a stranger in his own clan. Craig wore a deep frown, and doubt was written all over his face. Owen had let him down at Inverlochy last year, so he couldn’t blame Craig for doubting him. Domhnall eyed him like every word out of his mouth were made of shite.

“I dinna have any proof other than my word, Da,” Owen said.

“Aye. Well, yer word isna the most reliable source. And knowing how ye like to impress lasses… Ye having this information now seems too convenient.”

“Ye think I’m lying?”

“Nae. I dinna ken if ye’re lying. But I ken that where John MacDougall is concerned, one needs to be verra careful of trickery. Ye and John have that in common.”

“Dinna put me on the same category as that bastart.”

Dougal sighed. “Aye. That was too much. Let us forget the matter. Come, let us eat and drink to yer return and hear stories from the caliphate and from Stirling. Now that yer back, there’ll be entertainment enough.”

He hugged Owen’s shoulder and led him towards the great hall. Owen gave Amber an I-told-you-so glance, and she eyed him with a worried look on her face.

No matter how much he tried to help his clan, they all had this image of him in their minds. He knew they wouldn’t trust him. But even if they didn’t believe him, he needed to get word to the Bruce. That was his mission, and he wouldn’t fail this time.

Chapter 18

They settled at the table, the tension weighing on Owen’s shoulders. Even knowing he needed to explain himself and try to convince his family what he’d said about de Bourgh was true, he didn’t let Amber from his side for a moment.

He felt protective of her. Not that anyone would harm her here. Still. She was part of him. She made him feel better about himself. She’d defended him back in the courtyard like an angry mother lynx. No one had ever defended him like that.

Not that he needed someone to defend him.

Still. Knowing that a woman had his back was new and fresh.

And he loved it. Too much.

He studied Amber’s golden-brown profile for a moment as she chewed a piece of bread, her full lips moving seductively. They had tasted so sweet. So sweet he never wanted to stop kissing her.

People noticed and stared at her, he saw that. The color of her skin was unusual, but they also stared at her beauty. How could they not? How could anyone not be mesmerized by those eyes, and lips, the kind of femininity wrapped in strength and power. She possessed the grace and confidence of a predator, and yet she could be as sweet as a domestic cat.