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Taking a chance to go back out into the castle to find him was a ludicrous idea. Even though he had clearly risen early that morning, if he slept in his bed at all that is, staying there and waiting for his return was likely her best option.
At first, she felt uncomfortable. This was the man’s private space after all, and one did not ordinarily enter someone’s chamber without first being invited. A bedchamber was a place of solace, somewhere one did not need to hide or pretend.
After a while, however, the feeling passed, for she once more concerned herself with her situation. The guards would soon come searching for her if they were not already.
If she was discovered, she would not be aslucky again. She only wished Finn would show up. At the very least, he could then find Duncan, giving herthe opportunity to tell him the truth.
In her impatience, she paced around the bedchamber. The nervous energy running around her would simply not allow her to sit. Not being able to help herself, she gazed at Finn’s possessions, from the strange vials sitting upon his dresser, likely tonics for Keir’s ailments, to the small ornamental silver and brass that sat upon an elevated shelf. The usual items sat around the place, a jug and basin for washing, a basket for linen, and a footstool and a chair.
As she looked at the chair, Elaine suddenly frowned, for she was certain there was something tucked beneath his linen shirts that looked familiar. Walking over to get a better look, she moved the shirts out of the way and suddenly let out a cry, gasping in horror at what lay beneath.
It was a sackcloth mask with dreadful jagged stitching for eyes, nose, and mouth. A mask she knew well, for she had seen it on more than a few occasions.
But this cannae be!
Finn had been so friendly and welcoming. But, as she lifted the mask and held it tentatively in her hand, as if it could harm her at any moment, what other explanation could there be?
Shewas thinking about this when the bedchamber door squeaked behind her. She spun around, nervously watching as it opened.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Elaine was still clutching the mask tightly in her hands when Finn entered and shut the door behind him. At first, heseemed perplexed by her presence, as one might upon discovering an uninvited woman in one's bedchamber. And yet, he did not look completely displeased. Still trying to make sense of her discovery,she struggled to express herself.
“Elaine,” Finn gasped. “What on earth are ye doing in here?”
It was not a demand, and there was even a slight smile with his inquiry. But before Elaine had chance to answer, his gaze dropped down to her hands. The smile fell from his lips. A long moment hung between them where neither of them spoke. It appeared neither of them knew what to say.
Elaine was waiting for an explanation, and she could only assume by his expression, he was figuring out a way to give her one. Eventually, the tension grew to be too much, and she could not wait any longer. If Finn was not going to speak, she would have to force him to. Regardless, the question she asked was one she knew the answer to.
“Why dae ye have this mask, Finn? Tell me where ye got it?”
A part of her wanted to believe he had found it somewhere—that he had discovered it on his expeditions while looking for herbs and flowersand had picked it up out of interest. She did not want to believe the obvious truth. For the other part of her, the most of her, in fact, knew the real reason it was in his bedchamber.
There was no reaction from him at first, as though he did not know what to say, but then, he suddenly smirked at her. Not a pleasant smile, but a nasty snicker that curled his lips to thin lines. Cocking his head to one side, his expression changed to arrogant assurance. And in that moment, the Finn she had grown to know disappeared, replaced by the cold and sneering man that now stood before her.
“Now, Elaine,” he growled. “We both ken the answer tae yer question. Ye are nae fool, so dinnae pretend tae be. In fact, I’m surprised it’s taken ye this long tae work it out.”
Elaine could hardlybelieve it, even with his open admission. Finn had been manipulating her the entire time. With his demands, he had her dancing like a puppet. But it didn't make any sense. Hehad been fighting alongside Duncan when the castle was attacked. Had he truly planned an attack and then, in order to avoid detection, fought and killed the very men he had hired to cause the distraction?
As the thoughts whirled through her head, she could only glare at him in utter astonishment, for she was rendered speechless at the callousness of such a plan.
Finn frowned and looked at her with a realization of his own. “Och, but ye didnae work it out, did ye, Elaine?” he suddenly grinned. “Ye are nae here because o’ the mask. Ye’ve only discovered it because ye entered my chamber.” And then, as he worked through her reasons for being there, he suddenly chortled sadistically. “Och, nae, Elaine,” he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “Ye didnae come tae me for succor, did ye?” he grinned even broader.
She suddenly felt like a fool, for that was exactly why she was there. Finn had been her only hope. Now, that hope was dashed, and she was once more, on her own.
More than that, the night before, she had sat and poured out her heart, and he had offered his sympathy and comfort. What madness, running to the very man who had been blackmailing her the whole time. Everything started to make sense now. She had wondered how Duncan could have discovered her reason for being there, or how he could have found the arsenic on his own. He would not have searched her bedchamber in the middle of the night unless someone had told him to.
Having told himthe night before that she was going to confess everything to Duncan the next morning, shewould no longer be of any use to him, and Duncan would be on the lookout for anyone who might cause him harm. However, Finn had taken care of that by discrediting herbefore she had a chance to confess. Nothing she could have said after that would have been believed, which had proven to be true. Duncan didn't need to be suspicious of anyone else because, in his mind, he had caught the perpetrator. Elaine, still unable to believe Finn's deception, could only blurt out what she had discovered.
“It was ye,” she gasped. “Ye told Duncan where tae find the poison, so he would throw me in the dungeon and think any threat tae him was now over.”
Finn grinned sadistically and shrugged with glee. “It was a clever plan, dae ye nae think?” sounding proud of himself. “Ye were going tae ruin everything, Elaine. Ye were going tae tell him the truth. What use tae me would ye be after that?”
“Ye have tricked me this entire time,” she cried. “Pretending tae be my friend, when in truth, it has been ye, threatening me behind this horrible mask.” She waved it at him, her anger growing moreat her own foolishness thanat him. She had been so blind.The masked man seemed to know far too much about what was going on in the castle to not be a resident. She had suspected Samuel McKinley for a time, but only because of the vial of arsenic. Why had she not thought ofFinn? Clearly, a part of her couldn't accept that the man who had been so kind to her could have tricked her so cruelly.
Rhona suddenly came to her mind. “And ye kidnapped my sister,” she shouted. “Where is she, Finn? Where are ye keeping her?”
Somewhere along the way, Finn appeared to lose his patience as a dark and threatening look took over his face. While he had been laughing at her, she had been frustrated at what a fool he had made of her. But now, it was clear she had opened the door to his anger. Or perhaps, given his sadistic behaviors so far, it had always been open.
