Highland Protector (7 page)

“We need to speak privately,” he said as he set Elen down only to have the child hug his leg.

“After the evening meal and the children are put to bed then,” said Ilsabeth.

“Agreed.”

After gently removing Elen from his leg, Simon left. Ilsabeth suspected he was headed to the little room that held all his papers, the room where he wrote down all he had learned and needed to learn to find the answers he sought. She had sneaked a look into that room. It was small, dark, and eerily tidy. Simon probably thought it was a perfect reflection of the man he was but, in her heart, she knew different. The problem was that she was the one he was seeking the truth about this time, and that fact gave him the strength to keep her at a distance.

As she began to ready the children for the evening meal, she wondered if Simon would soften a little when he found out that she was no more than a pawn in Walter’s game, the innocent fool who had put herself in a position to be used. She hoped so for, the moment she found a chink in Sir Simon Innes’s armor, she was going to chip away at it until she found the heart of the man. If luck was with her, he would then give her the chance to win it for her own.

The soft rap at the door of his ledger room drew Simon from his dark thoughts. He knew it was Ilsabeth and he almost resented the way his heart skipped a beat in anticipation of seeing her. She was inching her way beneath his skin, he thought crossly, and he could not seem to stop it. The best thing he could do was solve the puzzle and get her out of his home as fast as possible. While it was true that he had lately been thinking of having a wife, he did not want one who could so easily unsettle him with just a smile.

“Come in,” he called as he did his best to shore up his defenses against her.

Ilsabeth entered the room and his defenses cracked as he politely stood up. Simon inwardly cursed but did his best to hide his irritation. It was not Ilsabeth’s fault that he was discovering a weakness for big blue eyes and long black hair.

“Ye said we needed to talk privately,” she said as she took the chair facing his worktable and he sat down. “Have ye discovered something that will help me?”

Simon sat down and studied her for a moment. He saw no harm in allowing himself to enjoy how pretty she looked in her dark blue gown, her thick hair tumbling wildly around her shoulders. He was just a man after all. This gown revealed her womanly curves as well. Full, high breasts, a small waist, and hips any man thinking of children would appove of. His palms itched with the need to touch all that softness. Simon struggled to rein in the lust that was getting harder and harder to control.

“I havenae found anything to proclaim your innocence to the world and set ye and your family free. Nay yet.” He fought the need to reassure her when the hope in her eyes abruptly dimmed into grim acceptance. “What I have discovered is that Hepbourn is no innocent fool tricked by a wicked woman.” He nodded when she made a scoffing noise. “Near every word out of his mouth is a lie. Tell me, when he asked for your hand, did he declare an undying love or something of that ilk?”

Ilsabeth thought Simon sounded far too cynical about such declarations of love and devotion. There was nothing to mock in such heartfelt emotions. Some men and women actually meant them. Ilsabeth wondered who had said them to him and then proven her words a lie.

“He did,” she replied. “I wasnae so certain I believed him. I had the thought that he was just saying what he felt was right when asking a woman to be his wife. Fool that I was, I still thought he would make a good husband. But why is what he said then of any importance?”

“I just wondered, for he is already at court and has never once spoken of how ye couldnae have done what they said ye did. He has given ye nary a word of defense. He hasnae e’en acted confused, uncertain, about what is said of ye. That isnae right.”

“What does he say?”

“A great deal about how he was a fool nay to see what ye had planned. He also makes certain to remind anyone who will listen to him that the Armstrongs are traitors and ye are nay only a traitor but a killer. ‘Tis a verra odd thing for a mon who was betrothed to you to do.”

“He is trying to protect himself and his family.”

“That could have been done by staying at home. Instead, he has come to court and makes certain that no one forgets what ye and your clan have been accused of.”

Ilsabeth was so angry she wanted to hit something. Going to the court and punching Walter in his elegant nose was a tempting thought. Only the sure knowledge that she would be immediately taken up by the king’s soldiers kept her from doing so. She would rather her innocence was proven before she was executed.

“ ‘Tis difficult to ken how I didnae see what kind of mon he truly was,” she murmured, and shook her head at her own idiocy.

“He is verra good at hiding his true intentions.”

“Ye saw them.”

“I wasnae looking for a husband,” he drawled. “Most of the ones he is wooing at the court dinnae ken that he is lying to them. Hepbourn uses his fine looks and smile to the best advantage. Your father ne’er liked him, did he?”

“Nay, not verra much.” Ilsabeth smiled. “He said he thought the mon was too good at saying what others wanted to hear, but my father’s greatest worry was the mon’s mother. He didnae think I would be allowed to take my rightful place in Walter’s household. My mother convinced him that I would.”

“Do ye think his mother is part of all this?”

“I am nay sure. She does see herself as being of far more importance than she is and she does rule Walter in many ways. I cannae believe she has no idea of what he is plotting and yet I cannae think she would easily ignore something she didnae agree with. What I can see is that, if power and riches were promised, she would believe she and Walter deserve them.”

Simon nodded, thinking it might be time to have someone speak with Walter’s mother. “I also saw your cousin Tormand.”

“Is he weel?” She frowned. “And shouldnae he be staying away from the king and all his people for a while?”

“He should stay far away but he willnae. I have set him to finding David. Do ye happen to ken what David’s last name is and where he lives?”

“ ‘Tis Hepbourn and he mostly lives with Walter. I had the feeling he has done so for a verra long time.”

“Good.” It would be the first place Tormand looked, Simon thought. “Tormand also said that your family is still safely hidden away. The soldiers hold Aigballa and I fear a few of those who stayed behind were killed when the soldiers came through the gates.”

Ilsabeth fought back an urge to cry. She would save that for when she was private. The ones who had stayed behind at Aigballa had chosen to do so knowing the risks. They had undoubtedly bought her family a little more time to get away and for that they would be forever honored. She just prayed that she would have a chance to make Walter pay dearly for their lives.

“I want him dead,” she whispered, shocked at her own words.

“Of course ye do. He is doing his best to destroy your entire family whilst seeking to enrich his own.”

She stood up and began to pace the room. It was difficult to do so, but she finally stopped before a heavy tapestry that depicted the Garden of Eden complete with a particularly horrific-looking snake. That was Walter, she thought. The man had promised her a home and a family, things she had craved, and yet he had delivered only destruction. She tensed when she felt Simon step up behind her.

The fact that he could not abide Ilsabeth’s sorrow, that he had actually stepped up to try and soothe her, told Simon that he no longer thought her guilty of anything more than choosing the wrong man while attempting to find herself a good husband and have her own family. “We will find the truth,” he said, and inwardly grimaced, wishing he had a more gifted tongue.

Ilsabeth turned to face him and found herself nearly in his arms. It was tempting to hurl herself against his chest, using his strength to calm her fears and ease her grief. Tentatively, she placed a hand on his arm, needing to touch him, and felt his muscles tense beneath her palm.

“I am afraid,” she said, and even she could hear the truth of that in her voice.

“I willnae tell ye not to be,” he said, and gave in to the temptation to touch her hair by brushing back a thick lock that had slipped forward over her slim shoulder. “There is reason to be afraid and the fear will make ye take care. But ye were right when ye said Walter was a vain mon. He is verra vain and that can be a weakness. He also believes himself safe. Another weakness. Dinnae think that we willnae solve this puzzle, for we will. ‘Tis just that sometimes it takes more work and time than one would like.”

She rested her forehead against his chest, idly wondering if he realized he was still toying with her hair. “There is only one thing that truly puzzles me about all this. I would have ne’er thought Walter was brave enough or clever enough to plot against the king. The mon can barely plan weel for a journey to the next village. He expects it to just be done. He says he is going and then waits for the horse, and all else that is needed, to be brought to him. So how could such a mon plot out a way to bring down a king?” She felt Simon tense against her, his fingers tightening in her hair, and she leaned back a little to look up at his face. “What is it? Have ye thought of something?”

“Nay, ye have. There is someone behind Walter.”

“Someone who is the true chess player in this game?”

“Exactly.”

“Weel, he did speak of his compatriots but he also spoke of the new king and didnae imply it would be him. Oh, and how he needed to complete his plans and make sure they would be acceptable to his compatriots. That must have been his vanity speaking because I truly dinnae believe the mon can plan anything.”

Simon had suspected that Walter might not be the leader, but Ilsabeth’s insight into how the man behaved made him certain of it. That meant that Walter was also a follower and, from what Simon had seen of the man, he would be one who would be easy to break. The only problem was that, by appearing at court, Walter had made it difficult to just grab him and take him somewhere to be thoroughly questioned.

His mind still busy trying to figure out how he might yet accomplish capturing Walter, Simon looked down into Ilsabeth’s upturned face. He suddenly realized that she was almost in his arms. Everything within him ached to pull her close and he tried to fight the temptation. Then she smiled at him.

Ilsabeth had a quick look at how Simon’s eyes darkened nearly to black and then his mouth was on hers. She was not sure what had prompted the sudden kiss but she was determined not to do anything to make him stop. His mouth was soft and warm as it moved over hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself and allowed the heat and desire stirred to life by his kiss to sweep over her. When he nudged at her lips with his tongue, she readily parted them. The kiss deepened and Ilsabeth shivered with delight. He tasted so good. With each stroke of his tongue within her mouth she pressed even closer to his hard body. And then, so abruptly she nearly fell, she was released and pushed away from him.

“Nay,” said Simon, shaking his head to clear away the haze of passion. “Nay.”

Before she could say a word, he fled the room. Ilsabeth placed her hand on her bosom, not surprised to find that she was panting softly and her heart was racing. Walter’s kisses had never made her feel this way.

Frowning at the door for a moment, she then looked around. Simon had fled his little dark room.

She smiled. Her brief fear that she had kissed so badly or tasted so vile he had been repulsed melted away. Simon had run away from her as if she were a demon about to tempt him into selling his soul. He did not hate kissing her; he liked it far too much.

Straightening herself, she smoothed down her skirts and headed out of the room. A man did not run away like that unless he liked the kiss so much, he feared it. Ilsabeth was determined to make sure that Simon kissed her again. And again. Until his fear of it faded.

Simon watched Ilsabeth leave his ledger room and then slipped back inside. He could still taste her on his mouth, still feel her lithe soft body pressed against his. His body was as hard as a rock and aching in protest of his pushing Ilsabeth away. Never had a kiss affected him so.

Ilsabeth was a dangerous woman, he thought as he filled a goblet with wine. A hearty drink did little to ease the taste of her from his tongue but it did help to ease the desire knotting his body. He was going to have to be more careful, he thought. If nothing else, Ilsabeth had been put under his protection by her own family and all of her family was looking to him to save her. It would be dishonorable, and a breach of that trust, to seduce her. Simon just prayed that she did not try to seduce him. He did not think he had the strength of will to resist that.

Ilsabeth tried to keep her gaze fixed upon her sewing, fighting the urge to look at Simon as they sat together in his hall. It was late, the children were asleep, and she could not help but wonder if Simon would take advantage of their solitude to kiss her again. She had quickly recovered from her sense of insult over how hastily he had fled from her yestereve, but that did not mean she would accept him ignoring her as he was attempting to do. She was still sure that a man only fled a woman’s kiss because he was afraid of where it would lead, to far more than a playful romp in the bed. It was also a comfort to know that at least a few of the overwhelming emotions he stirred within her were shared.

Daring a glance at him from beneath her lashes, she caught him staring into the fire with his still unnamed cat sprawled in his lap. Ilsabeth decided that he did not name the cat because he was pretending that he did not want it. It was similar to how he acted with her. She could understand some of Simon’s reluctance to go beyond one stolen kiss for she was still accused of murder and treason. Even if he now believed in her innocence, he was a king’s man and could not entangle himself with such a woman. If nothing else, it could cause others to question his honesty and she knew Simon would suffer greatly if that happened.