Gifts of Desire (17 page)

             
Ceann
poured out
a mug of ale
for everyone, then
nodded to her. 
“Begin.
  Leave nothing out.  And
you
’d best be sure to tell me the truth.”

             
Ella
looked up at him, challenge
in her eyes.  “And if I
do
tell
you
the truth, will
you
believe me?”
  She tried but couldn
’
t
keep the tremor out of her voice.  A remnant of the shock she had so recently recovered from
, she supposed
.  Ethan heard it, and shooting a chastising look at Ceann, moved to wrap her in a woolen blanket
, giving her a soft hug in the process
.
  She smiled gratefully at him.  Ethan would make some woman a wonderful husband, she thought.
  He had a kind heart.

             
Ceann
waved his hand dismissively
, doing his best to ignore the small exchange
.  “Just start talking.
  I’ll decide as
you
go along whether I believe
you
.
”

             
She
frowned
at him, but
took a deep breath. 
“I didn’t
know who the men were.
  Not at first.
 
I was still in the library after you left, when a man held a knife to my throat and forced me into the tunnel
behind the wall in the corridor
.  There were other men waiting outside the walls. 
I was
frightened and didn’t pay much attention to where we were going.  I was more concerned with trying to loosen the ropes on my wrists in case I had the chance to escape along the way.”

             
Ceann
reached over and picked up one of her hands, examining her wrist.  There were indeed
raw,
red marks there, as if she
had been bound
tightly
with rough rope
.  Anger fired
in his blood so fast and strong that
it was all he could do to keep his face emotionless.  He dropped her hand like a hot coal when he felt the now familiar heat her touch brought. 
His blue-green eyes returned to her face, sparking with intensity
, his mouth a grim line
. 
“Continue”, he barely bit out.

             
She looked at him
strangely
, but went on with her
account
.  “W
e
arrived at the door of a keep.”  She paused, not sure how to say what she knew he would not want to hear.  Then she decided to just say it all quickly and
then
give him time to think it over.  Perhaps he
too
would come to
see the treachery she had seen.
“
They took me inside, and I was handed over to
a man I
learned
is
you
r uncle, Ross.  He had apparently ordered me taken after he had word of my presence at
Tulloch
Castle
.  It seems
he has
his sights on
you
r lands and title, and if
you
were to find a wife and produce an heir, it would make things
that much
more difficult for him.
  So he
had me kidnapped.  I suppose when you brought me back here there may have been speculation
…
”

             
Ceann
narrowed his eyes at her, and hissed in a
n angry
breath.
 
“Lord Ross told
you
all this himself?”

             
“No, of course not
. 
I talked to
one of the
maid
s
, and some I figured out on my own…”

             
Ceann
stood abruptly. 
“
You
’r
e
lying.  I’ll give you one
more chance to tell me where
you
really were,
lass,
before I become truly angry.”
 

             
He l
eaned forward a bit
, and
Ella
saw Ethan’s hand clasp
Ceann
’s arm to keep him from going farther.

Ella
glared
fiercely
back at him. 
It was exactly as she predicted.  She was a stranger, and she would not be believed over
Ceann
’s uncle,
his kin,
whom he had surely known his whole life. 
He
in fact
didn’t believe a word she
had
said.

             
He leaned closer to her. 
“How did
you
escape
, then
?
  Did they leave you unguarded?
”  He expected her to perhaps say
that indeed
they had left her unguarded
for a moment
and she took the opportunity t
o run, or some such
unlikely
explanation.
  The fanciful tale she wove instead was completely unexpected.

             
Ella looked at Ceann earnestly. 
“I
knew
he would kill me, if not right away, then eventually.  I
knew
I had to get away.  I tied all of the linens in the solar together and lowered mysel
f out of the window.  I went through the postern gate and into the woods…  I…”

             
“Where were
you
really?”
Ceann
interrupted
in a low, menacing tone.

             
Ella made a sound of utter frustration. 
“I
just
told
you
where I was
you
bloody
man
!  Why would I make up
such a story
?  Do
you
know
what I
went through to escape? 
You’re
in
da
nger
,
your
uncle wa
nts
you
dead!
”  She had stood up, and clenched her fists at her sides.  She had the urge to hit him again, but thought better of it
with
his present mood.
  “Come to think of it,
I don’t care if he does kill
you
!  Though I bloody well might beat him to it!
”  She
crossed her arms across her chest
and let out an angry breath
,
her eyes shooting daggers
at him
, her lips pressed together in silent rage
.

             
He watched her
dispassionately
until she finished her
angry tirade
, then signaled to Maggie, who hovered nervously just outside the door. 

             
“Take the lass to her room.”
 

             
Ella gaped at him. 
Unbelievable!
Just like that, he
’s
dismissed
me
!
  Seething, she followed Maggie out of the room.  Maybe now she could at least have a bath
and wash the
blood and
grime from her skin
.
  And God, a nice soft bed would be heaven
! 
Ceann
watched her go, then turned back to the other men in the room.  They eyed him
warily
, waiting
for him to say something.
  These were his
most trusted friends and allies, and they were all looking at him as if he’d suddenly gone mad.
  He
cast a
stern look
over all of them, then sat down again
with a weary sigh
.  “She was lying.”

             
The other men exchanged
dubious
glances, but it was Ethan who spoke.
 
“Are
you
certain
,
Ceann
?  What if she is telling the truth? 
Someone
took her.”

             
“Aye, I
know
sh
e was lying.  My uncle wouldn’t
fear that I should marry and produce an heir, even if he did want my lands for his own.  He
knows
about the curse, he was there.  And besides, his own son is my
Tánaiste
.  He has no motive to take her.”

             
Gregor scoffed
at this
.  “Have
you
s
een
that lass? 
Open your eyes lad! 
What man wouldn’t
want her?  Some would give their
entire
kingdom for
a
beauty like that!
”
  Ceann shot him a glare.

             
Ethan tap
ped his chin thoughtfully.  “
You
could be
right;
whoever took her
could have seen her
, or heard she was here,
and wanted her
for his own
.  But why bother to make up a story about being Lord Ross?
”  He paused.  “Unless it
was
Lord Ross who wanted her for himself”.

             
Ceann
was taken by a fierce wave of anger at the thought of his uncle
wanting
Ella
,
of any man
wanting Ella
,
but he fought to keep his face
unyielding
and
expressionless.  “If Lord Ross wanted her for himself, why would he no
t
simply ask for her?  I have no
claim on the lass.”

             
N
o
, Ethan
thought wryly,
but she has a claim on yo
u, my friend.
 
He
let out a breath
.  “Why don’t you just let her go then
, and save yourself the trouble
?”

             
“Until I find out who she is, it i
sn’t safe to let her leave. 
You
know
that, Ethan. 
It would not be the first time in history someone
has used a beautiful woman
to
bring
ruin
to
their enemy.”

             
“Aye, she seems dangerous enough”, taunted Gregor. “All pretty and sweet and kind to everyone.”

             
Ceann
shot him a look of
warning;
he was not in the mood for jes
ts.  “And I suppose
you
’ll tell me she is just clever and lucky enough to have escaped so easily from these
supposed
captors? 
By scaling a wa
l
l, no less? 
If Ross
had
taken her, she surely would have been well guarded.  Yet we found her free as a bird not two days later.  I say it was a ploy to throw us off track.”

             
Ethan
groaned
and looke
d at the ceiling.  “Why must
you
be so suspicious?  Maybe she is just a lass after all.”

             
“Because I am Laird.  I
t
’s my duty to be suspicious.  I can’t
trust just anyone, too many peo
ple depend on me for protection, for their very lives.
”

             
“But she’s just a wee lass…”

             
“A wee lass who may
well
be controlled by our
enemy
.”