Page 8 of Bound to a Highland Beast (Tales of Love and Lust in the Murray Castle #8)

CHAPTER SEVEN

W hen Isabeau caught the first glimpse of the houses in the distance, she could have sobbed with joy.

Nothing else mattered in that moment. They had already been travelling for a few hours, still on foot, hungry and tired and desperate for a break when they came upon the village. There was one thing she couldn’t have predicted, though, and it startled her when they reached it, walking through the narrow streets.

Everyone was looking at Tiernan.

Surely, part of it was because of his clothes and the fact that he still had some blood on him. They had tried to camouflage it as well as they could, but the brigand’s clothes had been stained when Tiernan struck him dead, and much of the blood on his skin was still there, even after he had tried to wipe it off. But that couldn’t be the only reason they were staring. Those were not curious stares, like she would have expected anyone covered in blood to receive, nor were they concerned.

Instead, they were equally fearful as hateful.

Whenever she was somewhere with her brothers, people would stare at them, too, but this was very different from what Isabeau was used to. Her brothers were respected and loved by the people. Never before had she encountered such stares and now that she was under scrutiny, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“What is happenin’?” she asked in a low voice, leaning close so that Tiernan would hear her. He had his head down and was looking resolutely forward, avoiding people’s eyes even as he spoke.

“People ken who I am in these parts,” he said. “I’m nae very… liked.”

That seemed like an understatement to Isabeau. They had escaped the brigands, but now she feared these people would do something to retaliate for everything Tiernan and the Ravencloaks may have done to them. She stayed close to him, even going so far as to grab his arm as they walked, and she too avoided the stares of the people so as to not provoke them by accident.

“I must gather information about Constantine,” Tiernan said, but Isabeau couldn’t imagine how he could possibly be concerned about that in that moment.

“Later,” she said. “First, we must find a room an’ some food. An’ clothes. We cannae keep walking’ around like this.”

They had to wash the grime and blood off them if they wanted to have any chance of people speaking to them. Besides, Isabeau was starving and she was certain it was the same for Tiernan. Neither of them had eaten in a day and it was taking a toll on her.

Tiernan grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but then he pulled Isabeau towards the village inn. Once inside, the innkeeper, an older man with a greying beard and inquisitive dark eyes, gave them a sharp, curious look, and so did everyone else.

It was a small place, one which must have had few rooms for travelers, but the lobby was warm, heated by a large fire, and neat. There were a few empty tables and a few which were occupied by patrons, some of them eating and others drinking, but there was none of that familiar stench of alcohol in the room, much to Isabeau’s surprise. In the inns where she had stayed in the past, there had always been a distinct smell of ale permeating every inch of the building.

“Room?” he asked, already reaching for a key.

Isabeau breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was willing to give them one, even if he seemed to recognize Tiernan.

“An’ some food an’ clothes,” Tiernan said. “If ye have them.”

“We have the food,” said the man. “I’ll see what I can dae fer the clothes.”

Tiernan reached for the key, but the innkeeper quickly snatched it back, holding out his other hand. With a roll of his eyes, Tiernan reached for the pouch of coins instead, handing a few to the man, who then proceeded to hand him the key.

“Ye ken I pay me debts,” Tiernan told him, and the man scoffed, shrugging a shoulder.

“An honest thief!” he said. “That’s a surprise.”

A few of the men who sat in nearby tables and had heard him, laughed. Isabeau narrowed her eyes at them, disturbed by the way they were all treating Tiernan, but then again, she remembered that she hadn’t treated him much better. She had been suspicious of him from the start, reluctant to approach him, always on guard. How was she different than any of them?

“I’m nae a thief anymore,” Tiernan said through gritted teeth.

“Is that so?” the man asked, leaning over the counter and resting his elbows on the wooden surface. “An’ what is it that ye dae now? Work with lasses?”

Tiernan slammed his fist on the counter, making everyone around him, including Isabeau, jump. When she dared to look at him, he seemed murderous, as though he was on the verge of jumping over the counter and attacking the innkeeper.

The man seemed to notice it, too, his teasing attitude dissipating. Only fear remained in his gaze and he pulled back, knowing to put distance between him and Tiernan.

“Say that once more,” Tiernan hissed. “I dare ye.”

The man said nothing. He only stared at Tiernan, slowly inching farther and farther back until his shoulders hit the wall. For a while, the two of them only stared at each other in silence, the man trying to make himself smaller and Tiernan seemingly barely able to control his wrath.

The tension in the room was palpable. For a moment, Isabeau feared that Tiernan would truly kill him, but then he dragged the key over the counter and turned to leave. Not wanting to cause another incident, Isabeau followed close behind, the two of them heading inside the room the innkeeper had given them. Only when the door was closed did she dare to ask what was on her mind.

“Why are ye so angry? What happened?”

Tiernan’s fury quickly shifted into confusion as he turned to look at her. “What dae ye mean? Ye were there. Ye heard him.”

Isabeau had, indeed, heard the man, but she didn’t know what he had said that had set Tiernan off like this. He had called him a thief, that much was true, but it was also true that Tiernan had been a thief. It wasn’t that which had upset him so. It was something else, and she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Tiernan stared at her in silence for a few more moments before he said “I am angry because o’ what he implied about ye.”

Isabeau thought back to the conversation Tiernan had with the innkeeper. It took her several moments, but in the end, she understood.

He thought me a harlot!

Now it was her turn to be furious, her anger rising up inside her like bile. She had half a mind to march right back to the innkeeper and give him a piece of her mind, but that would only draw more attention to Tiernan, and she didn’t think that would be a good thing.

But then, just as she was stewing in her own anger, Tiernan laughed, the tension in the room melting away.

“Why are ye laughin’?” Isabeau demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Because if he saw ye like this, I think he might fear ye more than he fears me.”

Despite herself, Isabeau chuckled, shaking her head. Some of her anger drained out of her, but she still couldn’t believe that man would dare imply such a thing about her. She was a lady! And even if she hadn’t been, even if she had been nothing more than a peasant, his attitude had still been unacceptable.

“Ye should bathe first,” Tiernan said, making his way to the door once more. “But dinnae take too long. This isnae Castle MacGregor. I’ll wait outside.”

“Wait!” Isabeau said, but then she didn’t know how to continue her protest. She feared that if she got in the tub, then Tiernan would take the opportunity to come back inside, but she couldn’t say that to him. It didn’t matter whether it was an irrational fear or not. What mattered was that even suggesting it would be utterly rude and Tiernan would have every right to be upset over it—unless he was planning on doing just that.

Tiernan paused by the door, glancing at her over his shoulder. “What is it?”

Isabeau couldn’t think of a single thing to say. No excuse popped into her mind. Besides, even if she refused to bathe first, she would have to bathe at some point, so her concern would not go away.

All she could do was try to trust in Tiernan’s decency and convince herself that he would not take a peek.

“Naethin’,” she said. “It’s naethin’.”

Tiernan didn’t seem entirely convinced, but he didn’t say anything else before he left the room. Shortly thereafter, there was a knock on the door, and Isabeau opened it to find an older woman there with a tub and inside it, some clothes.

One look at Isabeau’s state was enough to confirm she was in the right room.

“Here,” she said and promptly dumped the tub in Isabeau’s arms. She barely had the time to register what was happening when the entire weight of the tub dragged her down to the floor for a moment before she let go, for she was not used to such weight. The tub clattered against the floor, the sound so loud and jarring in the small room that Isabeau couldn’t help but blush furiously with embarrassment, shrinking under the woman’s scathing gaze.

“Ye better nae destroy me tub,” she chided her. “I’ll bring ye water fer it.”

Without another word, she was once again gone only to return a short time later with the water. By then, Isabeau had taken the clothes out of the tub and had dragged it—as much as she could—farther into the room, where she wouldn’t be so close to the door.

By the time she was sinking into the water, she was regretting every decision in her life that had led her to that moment, but as she submerged her body in the steaming warmth, everything finally melted away and she closed her eyes with a satisfied sigh, wishing she could stay there until the water ran cold.

She couldn’t do that, of course. Tiernan had told her to hurry. She was not in her chambers, with all the hot water she could desire at her disposal.

Washing up as fast as she could, Isabeau made sure she was clean of grime and blood and then jumped out of the tub, drying herself in a hurry with a cloth the woman had brought her. Then, she dressed just as hurriedly, tugging at the laces of the dress she had been brought. It was a drab garment, a plain, dull brown, unlike all her colorful clothes, and it didn’t fit her very well. It was a little too large for her, but as she tugged at the laces, it settled on her body.

Still, in a hurry as she was, she hardly managed to fix it properly before she had to call Tiernan. She opened the door and peeked just outside only to find him there, sitting on the floor, waiting just as he had promised.

I shouldnae have judged him so harshly.

When Tiernan looked up at her, he didn’t immediately meet her eyes. In fact, for several seconds, it seemed to Isabeau as though he was staring at her dress and she couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious about it. She knew it was far from a good choice, but she hadn’t been the one to make it and considering they had far more important things to be concerned about, her dress was hardly of any importance. Still, she knew Tiernan wasn’t used to seeing her looking that drab with limp, wet hair, and she had the urge to apologize for it. If there was one lesson her governess had taught her was to never appear in front of company looking anything less than perfect.

But then Tiernan pushed himself to his feet and walked inside, and Isabeau followed him for a moment to put on her shoes.

“I’ll ask the innkeeper fer food an’ drink,” she said. Tiernan gave her no response but when she glanced up, he was staring at her with a look she couldn’t quite decipher. “I hope the water isnae too cold fer ye. I was as fast as I could.”

“It’s fine,” said Tiernan, sounding terribly distracted.

What could have gotten into him? Had something happened in the time it took her to bathe, Isabeau wondered? Was it just another thing she had failed to notice, just as she had failed to notice the innkeeper’s comment about her?

“An’ I think we should get some rest afore ye start askin’ fer information,” she continued, standing to make her way to the door. “Ye didnae sleep at all last night, did ye?”

“Nay,” said Tiernan.

Isabeau lingered by the door, waiting for him to say something else, but he never did. With a small shrug to herself, she opened it. It was then Tiernan decided to speak, stopping her.

“Me lady,” he said. “Perhaps ye should fix yer dress.”

So, the dress is the issue!

“It wasnae me choice,” she said. “I understand it is hardly fit fer a lady o’ me station but?—”

“That isnae what I meant,” said Tiernan and then subtly nodded his head towards her cleavage with a small smile.

Isabeau glanced down to see that most of the swell of her breasts was on full display, the loose bodice revealing much more than she would have ever dared. With a shriek, she covered herself with her hands as best as she could and turned around to face the wall, her cheeks feeling as though they were on fire.

“Why didnae ye tell me sooner?” she screamed, trying to resist the urge to hit her head against the wall. There was no looking-glass in the room and in her hurry, she had entirely missed it.

That’s why he was starin’! He saw it all!

“Forgive me!” Tiernan said. “I didnae ken how! I didnae wish tae make ye uncomfortable but… ye cannae go out like that.”

“O’ course I cannae go out like this!” Isabeau said. “I’m nae a bampot!”

“O’ course ye’re nae.”

“Get out!” she demanded. “I need tae fix this!”

“Would ye like some assistance?—”

“Tiernan, get out!”

Tiernan all but fled the room, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he retreated. Suddenly, Isabeau was alone, but her embarrassment didn’t fade one bit.

What did fade a little, though, was her fear of him.