Chapter 5

Madden retired to the room that he was to share with Lorcan. He lay down on the bed that had been made up for him and closed his eyes but, try as he might, sleep evaded him. He was not certain how long he had lain there before he finally gave up and left the room to go for a walk. Leaving the room, he met Lorcan in the corridor.

"Are ye well, Kinnaird? Ye barely touched yer food at supper," Lorcan asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Aye, I am tired but restless," Madden answered with as truthful an answer as he could manage. He was not willing to dishonor a lady, even if she deserved it, by telling her business to strangers.

"I am making me rounds. Would ye care tae join me?" Lorcan invited.

"Aye," Madden nodded. "It will give me a chance tae familiarize meself with the place."

Lorcan nodded. They fell into step beside one another. "Keelin did nae seem pleased with ye at supper. Perhaps she was jealous of yer nighttime activities with another lass?" Lorcan's tone said that he was not pleased with the notion that Madden was being disloyal to Keelin in some way.

Madden chuckled. "Nae, Keelin and I are friends, nothing more."

"Does she ken that?" Lorcan asked doubtfully.

"Aye, she shares me feelings on the matter. She is a bonnie lass worthy of all love, but she is nae the lass fer me, and I am nae the lad fer her. It would be as if one had taken their sister or braither tae their bed." He shuddered in disgust at the idea.

Lorcan nodded in understanding. "I see."

Madden studied Lorcan out of the corner of his eye. "Ye care fer her." It was an observation not a question.

"I have kenned Keelin her entire life. I dinnae wish tae see her harmed in anyway."

"There is nae fear of that from me," Madden reassured him.

"Good," Lorcan nodded. "I would hate tae have tae kill ye."

Madden got the sense that he was only half joking. "Aye, that would be unfortunate."

The two men walked out onto the ramparts together as Lorcan inspected the guardsmen on duty. Madden looked out over the landscape taking in the beauty of the night. Starlight rippled reflected in the waters of the nearby loch. When Lorcan returned to his side, he turned with a smile. "I think that I will go fer a ride. The night is bonnie, and the loch is calling tae me."

Lorcan nodded in understanding. "I will inform the men tae allow ye tae come and go as ye please."

Madden inclined his head in gratitude. "I thank ye fer the kind hospitality."

Lorcan smiled. "Any friend of Keelin's is a friend tae me."

The two men parted ways, Lorcan heading to his duties and Madden to the stables. When he entered the stables, he expected to be greeted by one of the stable hands, but instead he was startled when a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. "Madden, we need tae talk."

Isabelle and Bain returned to their room together. Arran had yet to give Bain an answer and he was not pleased about it. He had drunk entirely too much at supper in his frustration. Collapsing onto the bed, he groaned. "Come tae bed," he commanded, thumping the space in the bed beside him.

Isabelle searched her mind for an excuse to leave the room. She needed to speak with Madden in private, but she did not know how she was going to get away from Bain without him being suspicious. She thought back to Keelin's invitation to share a room. She doubted that Bain would agree to that, but he might agree to allow her to spend time with Keelin. "Keelin invited me tae join her in her room fer a cup of tea before bed. She wanted to speak with me about Edith's new bairn. Would ye care tae join me?" Isabelle asked the question knowing what the answer would be.

Bain snorted. "I cannae think of a more miserable way tae spend one's night than drinking dirty water and listening tae women chatter like magpies." His words had begun to slur together and within moments he was snoring.

Isabelle sighed with relief and quietly stepped out into the corridor, closing the door softly behind her. As Bain had entered the chamber with Isabelle, her usual guard was not outside the door. Slipping down the corridor, she prayed that none of the Sutherland men would see her. At the top of the stairs, she ran into one of the castle maids. "Cara!" Isabelle greeted her in surprise.

Cara MacIrving smiled and threw her arms around Isabelle's shoulders. "Isabelle, I heard that ye had returned. I was with Gran when ye arrived and have nae returned until now."

"How is yer gran?" Isabelle asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"She is as stubborn as ever she was," Cara answered with a laugh, "but she cannae move about as well as she once did."

"I will pay her a visit while I am here," Isabelle promised.

"She would like that. It has been too long since we have laid eyes on ye." Cara studied Isabelle's face. "Ye look sad," she observed. "Ye are nae happy. I can see it in yer eyes."

Isabelle sighed. She had never been able to hide anything from Cara. They had grown up together, closer than sisters, but it had been many years since they had spoken a word to one another. Isabelle had not seen Cara since that fateful day when she and her parents had set out to visit the Laird Sutherland. Cara had tried to reach out to Isabelle, asking her if she would like her to come and be her lady's maid, but Isabelle had refused. She had not wished to subject Cara to the likes of Bain Sutherland. She had also feared that given enough time, Cara would have unearthed the truth about what had happened that fateful day.

"Married life is nae always kind," she admitted.

"Shall I slip some poison in his tea?" Cara offered, only half in jest.

"He does nae drink tea, but I appreciate the thought," Isabelle replied with a smile.

Cara shrugged her shoulders. "The offer stands."

"Ye can help me with a rather sensitive matter," Isabelle replied, lowering her voice even further.

"Oh?" Cara leaned forward, interest sparkling in her eyes.

"Ye can show me where Lorcan's room is."

"Lorcan?" Cara looked Isabelle up and down in disbelief. "Ye are having an affair with Lorcan? I did nae see that one coming."

Isabelle shook her head. "I am nae having an affair with Lorcan. I need to speak with the guest who is staying with Lorcan in his room."

"Ah, Madden Kinnaird the renowned warrior that everyone is chattering about. He has all of the lassies of the clan in a fever." Cara studied her face for a brief moment. Isabelle avoided her gaze. "I see," Cara mused.

Isabelle shook her head. "Ye dinnae see anything," she advised with an edge of warning to her voice. "I simply need tae speak with him. Can ye take me tae his room or nae?"

"Aye," Cara nodded in agreement realizing the seriousness of the matter. "Follow me." She took Isabelle's hand and dragged her along behind her as she made her way down the stairs, turned into another corridor off of the great hall, and down towards the unwed warrior's quarters. Most of the men slept in one large room together on pallets, but Lorcan had been granted the honor of his own small room towards the end of the hall. Isabelle was fairly certain that the room had once been used as a storage room when she was younger. "This is Lorcan's room. Dae ye wish fer me tae remain with ye?"

Isabelle shook her head. "Nay, I must speak with Madden in private." She squeezed Cara's hand in gratitude, then let it go.

"As ye wish," Cara nodded, giving Isabelle a sympathetic look. "I will be in the kitchens if ye need me."

"I thank ye, Cara."

Cara smiled and disappeared back down the corridor.

Isabelle squared her shoulders, then raised her hand to knock on the door. There was no answer. Isabelle knocked again, but there was still no answer. She pushed on the door and peered into the room. It was empty. Frowning, Isabelle turned and walked back down the corridor. She thought about where he might have gone.

Lorcan is on duty. Perhaps Madden will be with him.

Adjusting course, she made her way outside, clinging to the shadows as she investigated what men were on the wall.

Madden's voice cut through the night air causing her to pause and listen. "I think that I will go for a ride. The night is bonnie, and the loch is calling tae me."

"I will inform the men tae allow ye tae come and go as ye please," Lorcan's voice answered.

Moving quickly and quietly, Isabelle made her way to the stables. Slipping through the door, she verified that no one had seen her enter, then she waited in the shadows for Madden. As she stood there waiting, she grew chilled. She was not certain if she was actually cold or if it was her fear getting the better of her, but either way she did not care for the sensation. Looking around her, she noticed a cloak hanging on a peg in the corner and she grabbed it wrapping it around herself for warmth. It smelled of hay and horses, but she did not care. She actually found the smell comforting.

When Madden entered, he looked around for a stable hand. Isabelle stepped out of the shadows and into the lantern's light.

"Madden, we need tae talk."

Madden's head jerked around in surprise, and he took a step back, his hand going to the blade at his side. Isabelle lowered the hood of the cloak so that he could see her face.

"Isabelle? What are ye doing in the stables at night? Are ye searching fer yer next conquest?"

Isabelle glared angrily at him. "Other than me husband, ye are the only man that I have ever been with in that way," she seethed. "It was a mistake born of desperation tae feel anything other than pain. Yer behavior thus far has shown me that I chose a most undeserving swine and I deeply regret it."

Madden stood there staring at her with a doubtful look on his face. "Swine?" he asked, nearly laughing at the word.

"Aye, swine," she affirmed.

"I am nae the one of us that is married. Ye are the one who acted in bad faith," he pointed out angrily. "Ye are the one who acted the whore with a man that ye didnae ken."

"Whore?! Whore?!" Isabelle nearly shrieked, feeling as if she might explode from the sheer force of her wrath. Before she realized what she was doing, her hand lashed out and slapped him hard across the face.

"Me husband beats me every single day. He fornicates with any woman that will have him and some that would nae of their own free will but fer sheer terror. Ye were the first man who had been kind tae me in years." In spite of herself, tears began to stream down her cheeks. "I only wished tae feel something other than pain fer once, and if I am honest, I wished tae bring him some small amount of shame as he has shamed me at every opportunity."

"He beats ye?" Madden asked frowning.

"If me husband ever finds out what transpired between us, me life will be forfeited. And yers too. I have come tae ask ye nae tae speak another word about what transpired between us tae anyone as our very lives depend upon it. If he were tae ever learn the truth he would kill us both." Isabelle's eyes pleaded with him to understand.

Madden shook his head. "I would nae let that happen."

"Ye would have nae way tae stop it."

He studied her face for a moment in silence. "Ye are safe. I have told nae one yer name. Keelin kens that I was with a woman at the inn but does nae ken who it was. She had nae way of kenning the truth and neither does yer husband."

"Let us pray that nae one guesses the truth from what ye said at supper. How could ye shame me in that way?"

Madden sighed. "I was angry. I dinnae lay with married women."

"I am sorry that I did nae tell ye the truth. I am sorry that I shared me bed with ye. Had I tae dae it over again, I would choose differently." Tears slid down her cheeks disappearing into her borrowed cloak.

"I am sorry that I called ye a whore. It was nae me place. I dinnae ken the life that ye lead. I will nae tell yer husband anything about what transpired between us. Ye have me word."

Isabelle studied his face to gage whether he was being genuine. The look in his eyes told her that he meant his words. She nodded in acceptance. "Me necklace…" She was about to ask him if he would be so kind as to return her necklace to her when a stable hand emerged on the ladder to the loft.

"Is someone down there?" the stable hand called down.

Isabelle covered her face with the hood of the cloak and fled the stables. As she fled, she heard Madden's voice speaking with the stable hand about going for a ride. "I am in need of a horse."

"Are ye in need of two horses or one? I thought I heard a woman's voice," the stable hand replied.

"Perhaps ye dreamt it," Madden's voice responded. "I am alone."