Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“ C an I go fer a walk?” Ciara asked.

“We were told tae keep an eye on ye,” said the guard on the left side of the door.

“Then ye can keep an eye on me as I walk.”

The two men looked at each other uneasily, each of them obviously hoping the other would speak up first. Ciara sighed.

“Did Kai tell ye tae keep me locked in this bedchamber?” she asked.

“Well… nay. Nae specifically,” the man on the right of the door said.

“Well, I believe if he’d wanted ye tae keep me locked in here, he would have told ye tae keep me locked in here,” she argued.

The men looked at each other again and shrugged, seeing her logic.

“Fine,” said the man on the right. “But we’re goin’ tae be right behind ye.”

“Of course, ye will,” she replied.

Ciara walked out of the bedchamber and strolled down the wide stone corridor. After taking a bath and filling her belly, she’d been restless. Plus, she wanted to get the lay of the land and tour the castle. She was a woman who made plans. She enjoyed making plans. More than that, she enjoyed when her plans came to fruition. And right now, her plan was to find the quickest route out of the bedchamber she was being kept in to the nearest exit. She was going to escape and needed to know the routes that would be most efficient to accomplish that.

Although she’d been made to feel welcome, strangely enough, Ciara did not know these people. She did not know the MacLeod clan and had no idea whether she could trust them. Her default setting told her she couldn’t. She wasn’t sure if they were enemies, but she knew for certain they were not friends. She didn’t get the sense they were going to hurt her, but she also knew they had not decided whether she was a spy or not. And once they did, they may well decide her head would look best on a spike up on the ramparts. She knew that one’s fortunes could change with the wind. Her own life had taught her that lesson all too well.

Ciara paused and watched a pair of servants hanging a thick strand of garland festooned with big red bows around a doorway and smiled. They chattered together as they worked, their excitement palpable. The sheer joy she heard in their voices over the excitement of the coming celebration made Ciara’s heart swell. She had always loved celebrations of any kind, but Yule most of all..

The joy she recalled from her childhood though, brought with it a sharp and stinging pain. Watching these people deck out the castle in preparation for the coming Yule Day feast reminded her of all she’d lost. It made the absence of her mother all the starker. Ciara missed her mother every single day of her life, but it seemed that pain was more pronounced during the Yuletide season..

Ciara’s eyes welled with tears, and she bit the inside of her cheek as she fought to keep them from falling. Now was not the time to show weakness. She could not afford it, not in a place where she was surrounded by people who might want to chop her head off. She needed to project the strength she had inside of her—a strength forged and tempered largely by her mother.

With her two shadows trailing close behind, Ciara strolled through the corridors of the castle, silently observing and noting where the different doors they passed led. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought they’d passed at least four doors that led outside. One of them would be the door that helped her escape to freedom. She just needed a solid plan.

Ciara stopped in front of a large looking glass and gazed at her reflection, smoothing down her skirt and smiling. The cut of the dress flattered her figure, and the color seemed to complement her complexion. It was a beautiful dress that seemed like it had been made just for her. It made her feel pretty and Ciara liked feeling pretty.

Turning away from the looking glass, she continued on her impromptu tour. But when she rounded a corner, she let out a sharp squeal as she ran face first into Magnus’ broad, hard chest. He put his hands on her upper arms to steady her and Ciara felt her cheeks flush as her heart beat a staccato rhythm as she was reminded of the moment they’d shared when she clung to him in the river. She quickly stepped back, breaking the physical contact. But their gazes remained locked for a long moment, and she felt like fire ran through her veins.

“What dae ye think ye’re doin’?” he asked.

She cleared her throat and took a beat to compose herself. “I was bored so I wanted tae walk around a bit.”

His face was etched with exasperation as his gaze shifted from her to the men behind her. Ciara cut a glance over her shoulder and saw them looking uncomfortable beneath his dark gaze.

“And ye let her just walk around freely like that, eh?” he asked them.

“Well… she said she wanted tae stretch her legs,” said the man on the left.

“And Master Kai didnae say she had tae stay locked in her bedchamber,” said the other man, using her own rationale to defend himself. “We’ve been watchin’ her closely the whole time, Master Magnus. She ain’t been out of our sight. I swear.”

“’Tis true,” Ciara smiled. “They’ve been watchin’ me like hawks.”

Magnus muttered darkly and ran a hand over his face. “Fine. But yer little tour of the castle is over. Time tae go back tae yer chambers.”

Ciara frowned, frustrated and feeling more like a prisoner than she had been when her hands were bound. Yes, it was a nicely appointed cell they were keeping her in, but without the freedom to move about, it was a cell all the same.

“Fine,” she huffed.

Spinning on her heel, Ciara walked back the way they’d come. Magnus walked right behind her and the pair of guards walked behind him like some grim procession. She silently counted footsteps though, mentally making note of the doors that led outside. She made it back to the chamber door without making one false turn and silently congratulated herself. Ciara was certain she had enough information about the castle’s layout to make a proper escape plan and had to keep from giving herself away with a smile.

She went inside but before she could close the door, Magnus ordered the two men to stand guard outside then walked into the room after her. Ciara turned and gave him a withering look as he closed the door behind him.

“And what dae ye think ye’re doin’ then?” she asked.

“I’m goin’ tae get ready fer bed,” he replied.

“Nae in here, ye’re nae.”

“’Tis me bedchambers,” he replied. “I’ll be sleepin’ in here.”

“Then put me in another chamber.”

He shook his head. “Ye’ll be stayin’ in here with me.”

“I most certainly will nae. I’m a proper lady and willnae share me chambers with a man I’m nae intimately involved with.”

Magnus scoffed. “Except fer the fact that we’ve already shared a bedchamber.”

She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing rebuke, but her words fell away. There was nothing she could really say to that. She had shared a chamber with him already. Not that she had had a choice since she was his prisoner. She might not have been a proper lady, as she’d just insisted, but she was still a lady and did not think this was proper.

“The bed is big enough for the both of us tae sleep in without havin’ tae touch each other,” he said. “It’ll be fine.”

“It most certainly will nae be,” she hissed. “I’m nae sharin’ a bed with ye.”

“Ye already have, so ye can drop the proper lady act,” he said. “After all, I dinnae seem tae recall ye complainin’ all that much when I was helpin’ keep ye warm.”

“Those were extraordinary circumstances.”

“As are these,” he said. “Me braither’s tasked me tae keep a close eye on ye. This is how I’m goin’ tae dae that.”

“Well, ye can tell yer braither this isnae proper.”

“Proper, improper—he just cares that I keep an eye on ye. So, that’s what I’m goin’ tae dae.”

“Magnus—”

“Dae ye think I’m a complete bleedin’ idiot?”

She stared at him, flummoxed for a moment. “What dae ye mean?”

“Yer little stroll around the castle. I ken what ye were doin’,” he said.

“I was stretching me legs.”

“Aye. Sure ye were,” he replied. “So, ye werenae out there countin’ steps tae the doors that lead out? You werenae secretly plannin’ yer escape? Just waitin’ fer everybody in the castle tae go tae sleep so ye could slip out in the middle of the night?”

Ciara once again had nothing she could say to that. She hadn’t realized he was watching her that closely or had such a keen mind. She had clearly underestimated him for a change, much to her own detriment. And it seemed clear he was determined to sleep in the same chamber to keep a close eye on her as his brother had ordered him to do. Ciara gritted her teeth and grumbled to herself, all her plans, in their infancy though they might have been, now completely useless. She would have to be patient and wait for another opportunity to present itself.

“Fine. So be it,” she said. “But ye’re nae sharin’ a bed with me.”

“Then where am I supposed tae sleep?”

“Over in that chair would be fine,” she said, pointing to the large chair in the corner of the room. “Or sleep on the floor for all I care.”

“This is me chamber. Me bed.”

“And as long as I am a prisoner here, I will sleep in this bed and nae have me reputation sullied by sharin’ it with an oaf like ye.”

Magnus rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Fine. So be it.”

“Good.”

As Magnus gathered his things and took them to the chair then dropped heavily into it, Ciara’s pulse raced. Her body was warm from the inside out and no matter how she tried, she could not banish the memory of their moment in the river and all the feelings it had invoked. Part of her wanted to feel Magnus’ large, strong arms around her again. Thankfully though, the bigger part of her wanted to slap herself for even having such thoughts.

She disappeared behind the privacy screen and got into the sleeping clothes that had been left for her. And as she tucked herself under the covers, she cast a glance at Magnus, who seemed to be struggling to find a comfortable position in the chair and had to fight the urge to tell him to just come lay down on the bed.

It was going to be a very long night.