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Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

C atching Ruthven at a time when he wasn't busy turned out to be much more of a challenge than Bonnie could have ever anticipated. Days passed with her trying to run into him only to find him locked up in his study along with his advisors from dawn to dusk, the man rarely ever leaving the room. Had it not been for the necessity of sharing at least one meal with his guests, she wouldn't see him at all.

Is that how it would be were we tae wed? I suppose it wouldnae be so bad if I never saw him.

It was the kind of bargaining she had reached when she realized her council wouldn't let her get away with turning down this marriage proposal. But now she had another choice. Now she could hold onto some hope that Evan and Alaric could bring the truth about Ruthven to light and save her from this loveless pact.

The difficulty Ruthven posed, though, also meant that Bonnie couldn't get him to be alone to extract more information from him no matter how much she tried. She had begun to despair, thinking that all her efforts were in vain, when that morning she stumbled upon Ruthven as he walked out into the courtyard, for once alone.

She didn't waste a moment before she rushed to him, eager to grab her chance now that she had it.

"Good mornin', me laird," she said, bowing her head to him. "I havenae managed tae speak with ye in a while."

"Miss MacLaren," Ruthven said, for a moment taken aback by her sudden appearance, before he smiled warmly at her. "Indeed. I must apologise. Ye came here so we could spend more time together an' yet I have neglected ye all this time. It truly is terrible o' me."

Ruthven sounded truly remorseful, though Bonnie couldn't be certain that it wasn't all an act. "It's alright. Yer a busy man."

"Aye, so I am," Ruthven said. "But I have some time now if ye would like tae speak."

As he spoke, Ruthven offered Bonnie his arm and she beamed as she took it, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She could finally get what she wanted—perhaps she could even get the key from him if she found the opportunity.

Ruthven must have mistaken her excitement as directed towards himself, but that only made Bonnie's task easier. As long as he thought that she was fond of him, she was confident she could trick him into many things.

"Shall we take a walk around the grounds?" Bonnie asked. "I enjoyed the gardens very much when ye first showed them tae me."

Ruthven obliged with a tilt of his head and the two of them headed towards the gardens once more, where there was more privacy than in the open field of the courtyard. It was chilly that morning, too, Bonnie's breath fogging the air in front of her every time she exhaled, but the sky was clear, bathing the gardens in its golden light.

It was an idyllic scene, so much so that Bonnie could almost forget why she was there and with whom. She would have liked to show the gardens to her sister, she thought; Cathleen would have enjoyed the lush greenery, the way the dappled light illuminated everything around them, the birdsong that echoed from the trees. When Ruthven tightened his grip on her, though, steering her another way, Bonnie was brought back to the present abruptly, reminded of the man next to her.

"Are ye enjoyin' yer stay here?" Ruthven asked. "It is rather unfortunate yer sister couldnae come. I am concerned ye dinnae have anyone with whom tae spend yer time."

"I have Evan an' Alaric," Bonnie said with a small shrug. In the past few days, she had spent most of her time with them, but always made sure she was never alone with Evan. She even had the suspicion that he was careful, too, keeping his distance and leaving the room whenever Alaric was not around.

Still, she couldn't claim the time they spent together was unpleasant. The more she got to know the two of them, the more she realized they were not as brutish and violent as she had once thought. It was even entertaining to listen to them, the two of them bickering all the time for the simplest of things and then making up moments later with nothing more than a shared chuckle.

"I see," said Ruthven, but offered nothing more. The animosity between him and Evan was obvious and for a moment, Bonnie feared that mentioning the two brothers had been unwise, souring Ruthven's mood, but then he changed the subject as if they had never been mentioned at all. "Perhaps we can write tae yer sister tae visit soon. Surely, the weather must have cleared by now or at least it will soon. An' I will try tae find more time fer ye, Miss MacLaren. I didnae expect tae be so occupied in clan matters that I couldnae attend tae yer needs."

"Dinnae fash, please," said Bonnie, waving a hand dismissively. "It's perfectly fine. Like I said, Evan?—"

A blur of movement drew Bonnie's gaze towards some trees in the distance, the oaks swaying gently in the wind. It was as though speaking his name had summoned him—Evan, hiding there behind one of the tree trunks as he watched her and Ruthven walk around the gardens.

What is he doin' here? Has he lost his mind?

Bonnie wondered about Evan's sanity a little too often for her liking. Just when she was starting to think that maybe she had misunderstood him, he did something like this, watching her from the shadows of the trees, and proved to her that he was perhaps not as stable as she had thought.

There was no good reason for him to be trailing after them. Perhaps he worried about her, Bonnie thought, or perhaps he was trying to find out information on his own by watching Ruthven, but either way, he should have left once he saw that she had everything under control. If Ruthven caught him snooping around, then he would certainly have several questions to ask him and his suspicion would be warranted.

"What about Evan?" Ruthven asked, startling Bonnie. There was a brief moment when upon hearing Evan's name, she thought Ruthven had already spotted him, but then she remembered she had stopped talking in the middle of her sentence.

"Evan . . . Evan an' Alaric keep me company," she said with an awkward chuckle as Ruthven looked at her in confusion, his head tilted to the side.

"Is somethin' the matter?" he asked. "Ye have lost yer color."

Bonnie cursed silently, chancing a glance back at the trees. She saw no trace of Evan, but she didn't know if he had left or if he was simply hiding better.

"I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile on her face. Then, an idea popping into her mind, she said, "Only a little cold, perhaps."

Ruthven had said he always carried the key to the secret room on him, though he hadn't specified where, precisely. It was a gamble, but there was no real in risk trying to get his coat, pretending to be cold so he would give it to her.

The key could be in his pocket. If I can find it, then I can give it tae Evan an' Alaric, an' we can put an end tae all this madness.

"It is cold, though the weather is surprisingly nice fer the time o' the year," Ruthven said, but Bonnie's complaint didn't seem to faze him much. They continued their walk around the grounds, Ruthven making no move to give her his coat. "It is often much colder than this here. Is it nae the same in yer lands?"

"Our lands are cold, as well," Bonnie confirmed, her gaze flitting back and forth as she tried to spot Evan. Soon, she caught another glimpse of him, their eyes locking, and she tried to wave him off as discreetly as she could.

Whether he realized or not, Bonnie didn't know. Either way, he didn't move. Instead, he continued to watch them from the shadows and the little cover the trees and the bushes were providing.

When Ruthven came to a halt, Evan swiftly hid behind a tree once more and Bonnie was seconds away from yelling at him in frustration.

"Are ye certain yer alright?" Ruthven asked. "Ye seem . . . worried."

From the corner of her eye, Bonnie saw Evan's head popping out from under a bush and she quickly grabbed Ruthven, making sure that he was positioned with his back to Evan.

"I'm fine!" she said, her voice taking on an almost hysterical tone which surely did nothing to reassure Ruthven. "Truly . . . it is only the cold."

Ruthven watched her carefully but Bonnie offered no further explanation. Yet again, he continued to walk, pulling her along without offering her his coat, and Bonnie didn't know how many times she would have to complain before the man got the hint and handed his coat to her.

In the end, she decided that perhaps the best approach would be to ask him directly for it.

"Me laird . . . dae ye think I could have yer coat? I truly am very cold an' I dinnae wish tae head back inside so soon."

Ruthven stuttered, eyes opening wide as he realized that Bonnie had been trying to get that coat for a while now. Even his cheeks had a wash of pink over them, his embarrassment apparent as he shrugged off the coat and draped it over Bonnie's shoulders with an awkward chuckle, shaking his head.

"Forgive me," he said. "It didnae cross me mind."

It was a heavy thing, that coat, enveloping Bonnie entirely and almost reaching the ground. The fur on the hem was thick and luxurious, the hide from which it was made sturdy. Bonnie had been so focused on her task that she hadn't realized just how cold she had truly been until she was nestled in the garment, its warmth seeping into her skin.

Behind Ruthven, in the distance, Evan was glaring daggers at him from behind yet another bush where he had been hiding.

Bonnie quickly dragged her gaze off him and met Ruthven's instead, smiling softly at him. "Thank ye," she said, as she slipped her hand discreetly into one of the pockets only to find it empty. Surely, the coat had more pockets, though, she thought, and so she didn't allow disappointment to wash over her just yet.

As they continued their walk, Bonnie explored all the pockets, always a half-step behind Ruthven so that he wouldn't notice. When she slipped her hand into the interior one, her fingers brushed against something long and made of metal—it certainly had the contours of a key.

Now all she had to do was place it in her own pocket without being detected. Ruthven wouldn't suspect her of stealing it if she did it now, in his presence—or at least so she hoped.

"We could take a ride around the loch one o' these days," Ruthven said. Once again, Bonnie was startled to hear his voice, but she schooled her features into an expression of neutrality quickly, hiding her surprise. "It's a bonnie place. Ye ken how tae ride a horse, dae ye nae?"

"Och aye," said Bonnie. "I never take a carriage. I prefer ridin'."

"It does make one feel free, does it nae?" asked Ruthven. "I prefer it, too. I've been ridin' since I was a bairn."

Bonnie let Ruthven talk about his childhood and riding, only half-listening to him as he spoke about his favorite horse and the fact that he rode the same one for over twenty years. The entire time, she nodded along, keeping him occupied as she carefully plucked the key from the pocket of the coat and quickly stashed it in her tunic, making sure it was secure.

"What was that?"

Cold sweat drenched Bonnie's back in an instant, a ripple of fear running down her spine. She had been so careful. Had she been discovered already?

"What, me laird?" she asked, surprised by her own ability to keep her voice steady and well above a whisper.

It took her a few seconds, but soon Bonnie realized Ruthven wasn't looking at her at all, but rather somewhere in the distance, in a small thicket of bushes, and she barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Evan! That fool!

"I thought I saw somethin', over there," Ruithven said, pointing at the bushes. "Stay here . . . I will go an' see."

"I'm sure it was naething!" Bonnie said, stepping in front of him to stall him, hopefully long enough for Evan to flee. "Yer castle is secure, o' course. It must have been a squirrel or a bird."

Ruthven wasn't deterred. He placed a strong, warm hand on her shoulder and stilled her, before brushing past her to walk over to the bushes. Bonnie's breath caught in her throat as she watched him, her heart beating erratically and the blood rushing to her head with fear.

What if Evan was there? What if Ruthven found him hiding among the leaves?

To her horror, Ruthven pulled his sword out of its sheath as he approached. Bonnie tried to close her eyes, her terror getting the better of her, but it was as though her lids would not cooperate with her. She could only watch, wide-eyed, mouth hanging open, as Ruthven parted the bushes with one decisive move of his hands—and found nothing.

Relief washed over Bonnie when Ruthven turned around after his inspection, satisfied that there was no threat. Her legs could hardly hold her upright, knees shaking uncontrollably, but she couldn't collapse just yet; not in his presence. She would have to wait until she was back in her chambers and could allow the fear to overtake her in peace.

"Ye were right," he said. "It must have been a squirrel."

Behind him, far enough that he wouldn't be seen or heard by Ruthven, Evan slipped through the trees and the shadows, heading back to the castle.

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