Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

T ime seemed to stall as Abigail watched Hugo and the courtesan talk. She wanted nothing more than for those moments to pass, for her to be released from this torment, but no matter how much she wished it, Hugo stayed by the courtesan’s side, smiling and talking and touching her while she fawned over him, the two of them seemingly lost in their own world.

It doesnae bother me. It doesnae.

Only it did. It bothered her more than she could ever have imagined, to the point where, had she known she would have this reaction to seeing them together, she would have never suggested this plan in the first place. There were other ways, she told herself. She could have gone to speak with her, pretending to be a lonely woman in search of a friend.

But no; Abigail simply had to insist that Hugo was the one who should approach the courtesan. It had all been her plan from the start—a plan which Hugo hadn’t even liked in the first place—and now she had to suffer the consequences.

Abigail’s stomach churned with jealousy the more she watched them. A part of her thought that perhaps she should interrupt or create a distraction, but that would only harm their chances of finding out anything about Niall and his clan.

Why am I even jealous? He is naething tae me.

They had only shared a few moments together and then decided that they would never speak of it again. Perhaps it was simply the fact that Hugo had been the first man to offer her such pleasure, the first one her body had known like this. It didn’t mean that she had any feelings for him, though. It was only temporary, a side-effect of that pleasure that would soon fade.

He can dae as he pleases. This doesnae matter tae me.

It was a lie, of course, one that she couldn’t even convince herself to believe. Deep down, she knew that it mattered or else she wouldn’t be gripped by nausea at the mere sight of the two of them together.

The more time passed, the more Abigail lost herself in her thoughts, hardly paying any real attention to Hugo and the woman. She didn’t know how long he had been waving at her behind his back when she noticed, but his gesture was sharp and impatient, and when she caught him glancing at her, his gaze was full of irritation.

Once he saw that he had Abigail’s attention, he subtly gestured towards the door. Abigail let a few moments pass before she stood and made her way outside, rounding the building to wait for him by the corner where no one would see them.

Morning had yet to come, and the darkness that surrounded Abigail surprised her. She could have sworn that she had been in that tavern for hours, but it must have only been a short while. Now, out in the street, the chill of the night seeped into her skin and she had to rub some warmth back to her limbs as she waited for Hugo.

It took him a while to come out of the tavern, but when he did, he found her immediately. His cheeks were flushed and Abigail couldn’t help but scowl at him, a wave of irritation crashing over her at seeing him like this, but before she could say anything—not that she knew what to say—Hugo began to speak.

“She told me everything,” he said. “She visits Niall. He’s the one who brings her to the castle and she says that they always meet in a room right next to his study because he doesn’t wish to bring any courtesans to his private quarters. He has a room dedicated just to this. She goes there on specific days and he only meets with her once he is done with his tasks, so sometimes she waits for hours for him. She seems rather bitter about it.”

Hugo hardly drew in a breath as he spoke, the words tumbling right out of his mouth. Abigail had to pay close attention to him to understand what he was saying, his excitement getting the better of him.

“She leaves right after they are done,” he continued before Abigail could utter a single word. “Do you think I can persuade her to work for us? Maybe I can try to convince her or offer her some gold. She would do it for gold, don’t you think? It’s not as if we can enter the castle. We hardly look like courtesans.”

Abigail remained silent for a few moments, wondering if perhaps it was more than excitement for the information that had Hugo so eager to tell her everything. Perhaps he was in a rush, thinking that he could go back to the woman once he had given Abigail his report. Perhaps he was eager to spend whatever was left of the night with her while Abigail waited for him to finish, the entire time knowing precisely what it was they were doing up in her room.

When she didn’t respond, Hugo blinked in surprise. “What is it?”

“Dinnae ye think it is terribly rude o’ ye tae kiss women in front o’ me eyes?” Abigail asked, the words forcing themselves past her lips before she could stop them. The question came out as petulant, a complaint she regretted making now that she saw the way Hugo looked at her, his disbelief etched clearly on his features.

“Surely, you jest,” he said, his tone flat and emotionless, to the point where Abigail didn’t know what it was he was thinking at all. “I watched you kiss that guard in MacAuley Castle when you visited day after day!”

Abigail wanted to point out that was very different from what Hugo had done now, but then how would she excuse it? She had agreed to never speak of the night they had shared and to pretend it had never happened, so to claim that Hugo kissing the courtesan was much different from her kissing the guard would be hypocritical of her. As far as Hugo was concerned, there was nothing between them, no feelings to be spared. After all, Hugo must have been with many women in his life and spending one night with Abigail meant little to him, if anything at all. She was the fool for being jealous of a man who felt nothing for her.

And yet, the mere thought of him near the courtesan filled Abigail with a roiling anger that threatened to bubble over the longer they talked. She had to put an end to this conversation before it spun out of her control.

“Ask her when she will visit Niall next,” she said. “Find out an’ I will go in her stead.”

For a few moments, Hugo looked at her in silence, eyes wide with disbelief. “Have you lost your mind? What do you mean you will go in her stead?”

“Precisely what I said.” It was the only thing Abigail could think of that could possibly help them. She didn’t trust the courtesan to steal the information they needed, not when she could so easily be bought. The woman would be motivated by gold and for all Abigail knew, she could sell them out to Niall for more of it, but Abigail herself was motivated by a desire to save her loved ones. As dangerous as it was, it was also the best plan they could have.

“You most certainly have lost your mind,” said Hugo, running a hand through his hair to tug sharply at the strands as he began to pace in front of her, walking back and forth with seemingly no end to it. When he finally came to a stop, he stood in front of her, pointing a finger at her face. “You will do no such thing, do you hear? It’s far too dangerous. Besides, Niall knows who you are. How are you going to trick him?”

“I willnae even meet him,” Abigail said with a small shrug, as though it was obvious. “I will leave ‘afore he comes tae find me.”

“How?” Hugo demanded. “All the information we need is in his study, which in case you didn’t hear, is right next to the room!”

“I heard,” Abigail assured him, keeping her voice low, even as Hugo’s own slowly increased in volume. “Keep yer voice down. We’ll find a way. Perhaps ye can provide a distraction.”

“A distraction,” said Hugo. He shook his head and all but collapsed against the tavern’s outside wall, leaning on it with the defeated air of someone who was dealing with an impossible situation. “Do you not see how dangerous this is? First, I agreed to come with you and to help you with this madness and now you expect me to help you sneak into Castle Chattan? You could die, Abigail. We both could!”

“Niall willnae kill me,” Abigail said. “He needs me.”

“Well, he certainly doesn’t need me.”

That much was true and Abigail couldn’t argue with it. Even though Niall needed her to marry his brother if he wanted his plan to succeed, he didn’t need Hugo at all. He could have him killed and declare it an accident or claim he had done something to deserve it, and no one could stop him. Still, the one who would be in real danger would be Abigail herself, since she would be the one infiltrating the castle. Hugo hardly needed to be inside to create a commotion.

He was smart enough, Abigail thought. He could find a way to distract Niall and his men.

“It will be fine,” she assured him. “I only need tae be inside the castle fer a short time an’ then we can leave with clear evidence. There is nae way they dinnae have any papers for plans so big. We can go back tae me faither an’ prove what I ken tae everyone.”

Hugo stood and walked up to Abigail, stopping only inches away from her face. His gaze was strict as he pinned her with it, his mouth drawn in a thin, sharp line.

“I won’t allow this,” he said. “I have already allowed too much, but not this. It’s too dangerous. I don’t know how you cannot see that it could go terribly wrong, but even so, I won’t let you do it.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Abigail scoffed, slipping away from Hugo to put some space between them. The last thing she needed was a lecture from him. He seemed to find everything too dangerous, though he didn’t offer any alternatives. What was Abigail even supposed to do if not infiltrate the castle? What were they even doing there if they were not going to take action?

“I will dae it whether ye like it or nae,” she said firmly, standing her ground. “Ye cannae stop me. An’ I dinnae care if ye help me either. If ye’re nae on me side, then ye can leave. I will handle this on me own, like I had always planned.”

She didn’t need his help. In fact, she didn’t need him at all, and a part of her thought that perhaps it would be better if Hugo had never come with her. If he had only stayed back at the castle, then Abigail wouldn’t have to deal with all these unfamiliar feelings, this jealousy that threatened to drown her in its depths. She wouldn’t have to watch him flirt with another woman. She wouldn’t have spent that night with him, which had seemingly resulted in her losing her mind, judging by the sudden storm of emotions it had caused.

“Has anyone ever told you that you are insufferable?” Hugo asked. “What do you expect me to do? I can’t simply leave you here.”

“Ye could,” Abigail countered with a shrug. “I wouldnae blame ye. Ye may leave whenever ye wish.”

“I won’t leave you alone.”

In the end, it all came down to this. No matter how much they argued, no matter what words they exchanged, Hugo still refused to leave Abigail. He claimed that her plans were crazy, but he never once refused to help her, too fearful of something happening to her to leave her alone.

“Ye’re either with me or against me,” Abigail said. “So choose.”

“Do you truly think I’m against you when all I’ve done is help?”

“Ye are if ye get in me way,” Abigail pointed out. “This is a matter o’ life an’ death, Hugo. I willnae stand back an’ watch as me loved ones are threatened.”

Hugo pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes firmly for a few moments. At first, Abigail thought he was going to put up more of a fight and try to convince her to change her mind, which would only lead them to repeat the same argument over and over, but in the end, he simply nodded.

“Fine,” he said. “But I am not happy about it.”

“I dinnae expect ye tae be,” said Abigail. “I’m nae happy about it, either. I would much rather be home now but I have nae other choice. I will dae anythin’ tae stop Niall and Finnian, Hugo. Anythin’.”

Abigail had come too far already to stop, and she truly thought she could expose Finnian and Niall for the cruel, terrible men they were. She had a chance to save the people she loved. She had the chance to make everything right.

Hugo nodded silently, seemingly at a loss for words. Abigail supposed there wasn’t much he could say to that, not when he surely wanted the same thing she did. He understood the importance of what they were doing. He understood why it needed to be done, even though he didn’t like her methods.

“Fine,” he said with a deep sigh. “Fine. I’ll help you. Of course, I will.”

“Thank ye,” Abigail said, reaching for his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. She let go of him almost immediately, not allowing her touch to linger for too long. “Truly.”

“I wouldn’t let you do all this alone,” Hugo said simply before turning on his heel to head back inside. “Come, let us see if we can do this properly.”

Abigail frowned in confusion but said nothing as she followed Hugo inside. Once there, she slid back into the same seat she had been occupying ever since they had arrived, while Hugo walked up to the courtesan , who seemed to have been waiting eagerly for him. Abigail watched them with a scowl as they spoke, but soon her mouth fell open in shock as she watched Hugo place a hand on the small of the woman’s back, leading her up the stairs to one of the rooms that were surely reserved for women like her.

That bastard! What does he think he is doin’?