Chapter 10

After the bathtub incident with Bain, when he nearly drowned her, Isabelle did her best to stay out of his way. She hid away in their room while Bain and Athol trained and drank with the MacKay men not on duty. She was in no mental state to act as if everything was well when it was not. When Bain returned to their room for the night, Isabelle pretended to be asleep. Her stomach was growling so loud from not having eaten all day that she feared it might awaken him.

Unable to take it anymore, Isabelle waited until he was snoring soundly, then slipped out of bed. She wrapped herself in her arisaid and quietly left the room. Making her way down the back stairs, she entered the kitchen. Cook was sleeping beside the hearth, guarding her domain. Isabelle smiled at the older woman's sweet face and silently took a piece of bread and cheese, then stepped out of the back door into the adjoining vegetable garden.

Coming around the side of the castle, she walked down towards the loch. Weaving around the trees, she continued walking until she neared the edge of the small woods that separated the castle from it. As she approached, she heard the sound of splashing in the water in front of her. She moved forward expecting to find an animal jumping about but found Madden instead. His back was to her as he bathed, his naked body glistening in the moon's light. Isabelle stumbled in surprise.

"It is nae polite tae watch a man bathe without returning the favor," Madden called out to her.

"I didnae…" she could not get her words to come out properly, startled as she was.

Madden turned towards her with a broad smile. "If ye wished tae see me naked, all ye needed tae dae was ask."

Isabelle frowned at him, blushing in spite of herself. "I thought that ye did nae share yer bed with married women," she retorted, her anger giving her courage.

Madden walked up out of the loch in all of his naked glory to stand in front of her as if he had not a care in the world. "I believe that particular ship has sailed, would ye nae say," he murmured. "Ye would nae be a woman I could trust enough tae wed, but I have already bed ye, and would dae it again. As I have already had ye, I see nae reason tae deny us both the pleasure of takin' ye tae me bed again."

The flames of Isabelle's anger flared higher. His words stung and she did not like that any man had that kind of power over her emotions. "Ye didnae take me tae yer bed. I took ye tae mine. I am nae a meek maid unaware of the ways of men. If we were tae ever lie together again it would be I who decides tae. I wanted ye, so I took ye, then sent ye on yer way. That should have been the beginning and the end of it. Ye have nae claim tae me or me person."

"Dae ye want me now?" Madden asked, moving closer still, his hardened member clearly declaring his own desire.

Isabelle shook her head. "I dinnae."

"Oh?" Madden raised his eyebrows in question, telling her with his tone and facial expression that he believed her to be lying.

"I could nae want a thief," she declared as firmly as she could manage, grasping for anything that might put some emotional distance between them.

"A thief?" He stopped his forward motion, uncertain as to her meaning.

"Aye, a thief. Ye took me necklace," Isabelle reminded him, taking a step backwards to put more space between them. Not watching where she was going, she nearly stumbled again.

Madden moved swiftly, catching her before she fell to the ground. His arm wrapped around her waist bringing his wet naked body against hers. The loch water soaked into her shift, where the arisaid had fallen away. Her nipples hardened at the contact. "Careful," he murmured in warning.

"Unhand me," Isabelle demanded. "I wish tae return tae the castle. Me husband has already asked if we kenned one another from before. I cannae allow further speculation about us."

Madden released her stepping back into the loch. "Ye are missing out on a bonnie night," he informed her, diving back into the water, then reemerging a few feet further out in the loch. "The water feels good."

"It matters nae," Isabelle retorted.

Madden shrugged. "I kenned that ye would nae have the courage tae join me."

Fury coursed through Isabelle's entire body causing her skin to flush with the heat of it. Letting her anger think for her, she shucked the arisaid, letting it fall to the ground. Grabbing her night dress with both hands, she lifted it up over her head and dropped it onto her arisaid. Her pale white skin showed in the full moon's light shadowed only by the bruises that dotted her body's landscape.

Madden's eyes watched her every move mesmerized by her. Isabelle blushed, moving into the water to hide her bruises.

Madden reached out his hand to her and she took it. He pulled her to him, kissing the inside of her bruised wrists, then laid both of her hands on his bare chest. She could feel his heart beating steadily beneath his skin. Madden reached out and caressed the bruise on her shoulder, bringing his lips down to kiss it. "Why dae ye remain with him when he does this tae ye?" he murmured, his face coming up to meet her eyes.

Isabelle shook her head. "I dinnae have a choice."

Madden brought his palm up to caress her cheek. "Keelin told me that the women in yer family are allowed tae choose whom they wed."

"That is true fer most, but I didnae have a choice."

"Dae ye love yer husband?"

"I dae," Isabelle lied.

"I dinnae believe ye. If ye loved him, ye would nae have shared yer bed with me."

"I wanted revenge, that is the beginning and the end of it. It had nothing tae dae with ye."

"I dinane believe ye," he repeated once more.

"Believe it. It was the first time that I had ever done something like that, and I have been made tae regret it. I have nae intention of ever being so foolish again."

"Be foolish with me," he breathed against her skin. "Be foolish with me again."

Unable to resist him for another moment, Isabelle melted into him, their lips joining in a passionate kiss that threatened to put them both on fire. A shout from the woods beyond caused them to break apart. Isabelle looked all around them and saw torches moving through the woods towards the loch. "I cannae be seen with ye like this," she breathed frantically.

Madden nodded and without a word slipped beneath the surface of the water not a moment too soon as the light from the torches reached them. "Lady Sutherland?" a guard's voice called out over the water.

"Aye," Isabelle answered. "Turn away! I am nae decent fer the eyes of men! How dare ye tae disturb me bathing!"

Madden touched her leg under the water startling Isabelle. Without thinking, Isabelle kicked him in response. Ripples emanated from the action and air bubbles popped up on the surface. Madden's head started to emerge. Panicking, she pushed his head back down under the water. Realizing that they could see everything that she was doing, she hid her reaction by splashing her hands as if motioning for the men to leave her alone. She was sure she looked like a daft woman, but she did not care as long as no one ever discovered the truth of her current circumstances.

"Our apologies, me lady," the guard called back.

"Go, and dinnae return," Isabelle commanded with an authority she was not actually feeling. In that moment, her voice sounded strangely like her mother's. It was an odd sensation. "Go!" The guards, not certain what to make of her behavior, nearly ran back to the castle just to get away from her.

Once the guards were out of sight, she let Madden back up out of the water. He sputtered, coughing. "Are ye trying tae drown me, lass?"

"Drowning will be the least of yer worries if Bain discovers what we have done. I should never have joined ye in the water. This has been a mistake from the beginning. If we are discovered, we are dead." Unwilling to risk being seen for another moment longer, Isabelle struck out for the shore as fast as she could swim. When she reached the embankment, she donned her clothes as quickly as possible, then returned to the castle, leaving Madden alone and naked in the darkness.