"Don't be ridiculous. 'Tis your body."
"But I have no say over it. I have no say over who touches or claims my body. So it must not be mine own. In truth, it is my brother's to give to whomever he sees fit."
"I didn't make the laws," Dirk muttered.
"I wish…"
Silence reigned.
Isobel's words gutted Dirk. To hear her hopes and dreams laid bare before him, such intimate thoughts. No one ever spoke to him this way. He knew not how to respond, especially since he wished more than anything that he could be the one to give her everything she wanted.
Though it made him daft, he could not resist asking. "What?"
"I wish I could do what you did… pretend I died, change my name and become someone else. Someone that no one would look for. I could be free to do what I wished."
He shook his head, letting the obvious go unspoken. She couldn't disappear and change her name without wealth of her own… or a man to take care of her.
He muttered a curse under his breath. Aye, he wanted to be the one to take care of her but… Apparently he was begging for an attack from the MacLeods. And they'd be well within their rights since he'd absconded with the chief's bride. Aye, 'twas a rescue but they'd not see it that way.
He couldn't send her back to them, especially with the brutal Nolan still alive. Not only that, he couldn't imagine her marrying the MacLeod chief, or any other man for that matter.
From the first moment he'd seen her, his gut instincts told him that she should belong to him. But he knew not how that could be. If only he'd come back earlier, or gone to her father years ago. But he hadn't, and it was too late now.
Damnation, he still craved the taste of her mouth, so sweet and feminine, like milk and honey, food of the gods. He had never tasted anything so spellbinding and addictive. Dirk squeezed his eyes closed and muttered a curse. He wanted naught more than her silky bare skin brushing against his. He grew harder, imagining how it could be with her. Like heaven on earth.
"I can see what I want matters not to you either," she said.
It mattered to him a hell of a lot, but she need not know that. "You belong to another man." That was the bottom line.
"I belong to no man," she growled, her fervent words inflaming his need even more, awakening his possessive instincts he was fighting so hard against.
"The betrothal. The contract," he said in a firm, harsh tone. Anything to restrain himself, when all he wanted to do was carry her to his bed, toss her smock aside and ravish her lush body.
The door opened and he spun to face it, even as his body instinctively launched into an attack stance. His sword lay by the bed, too far away to grab if he were to remain standing between Isobel and the intruder.
Chapter Fifteen
Dirk glared at the person who dared to enter his bedchamber at midnight without knocking. Any leftover arousal drained away, leaving icy warning in its wake.
Aiden stood just inside the closed door. What the devil was he doing bursting in at this hour?
His young brother's wide-eyed gaze darted between Dirk and Isobel. "Pray pardon," he mumbled. "I knocked but 'haps you didn't hear."
Dirk inhaled deeply, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat and forcing his warrior side back into submission. He was now glad he hadn't obeyed his instincts where Isobel was concerned or Aiden might have seen something truly shocking, considering Dirk had forgotten to bar the door. And now, thankfully, Isobel again had the blanket wrapped around her.
"What is it, Aiden?" Dirk asked.
"'Tis mother. She's sent Haldane to find McMurdo and bring him here."
McMurdo, the murderous highwayman. "Why?"
"She didn't say, but she wants to meet with him behind the church. And it has something to do with you."
"When?"
"Whenever Haldane finds him and brings him back. I know not how long that will take."
"Damnation," Dirk muttered. "What else did she say?"
"That she would not allow the imposter—you—to take my inheritance."
Dirk shook his head, his heart near breaking at Aiden's precarious position. "I thank you for warning me."
"You are my brother. The eldest. I wouldn't wish to take what is rightfully your inheritance."
"You're a good man, Aiden."
His brother gave a brief grin and stood straighter, but then he grew serious again. "I wasn't in the great hall when Ma arrived, but one of the other men told me what you revealed. Was Ma the one who tried to have you killed twelve years ago?"
"Aye. The only proof I have is that the assassin said, 'Lady MacKay sends her regards.' And after what you've just told me about McMurdo, it makes me believe he was the man she hired."
"I was afraid of that." Aiden shook his head. "She's near mad with desperation to stop you. I must talk to her."
"That might not be a good idea," Dirk said. "If you defend me, you'll likely anger her."
Aiden shrugged. "She would never harm me. She's doing all of this for me." He gave a brief bow. "I'll be on my way now."
"Oh and Aiden," Dirk said. "If you please, don't tell anyone you saw Isobel in my bedchamber."
His face flushed, but he grinned. "Of course not." He disappeared out the door.
"Oh heavens," Isobel whispered.
"I knew the witch would start scheming again," Dirk muttered. "She must be planning to have McMurdo try to kill me again."
"What will you do?" Isobel asked.
"Catch him and make him confess everything."
***
Dirk and Keegan slipped along the south wall that surrounded the cemetery and the church. Rebbie and the rest of the men had circled around the north wall to lie in wait. The moonlight glinting off the thin layer of snow made hiding in the night more difficult. Gusts of wind off the sea made hearing at any distance near impossible.
The wall around the church was low enough to climb over. Dirk rose up slowly and peered over the top to see if McMurdo waited behind the church. Or would he meet with Maighread inside? Nay, there was some movement in the shadows of the stone building.
Dirk crouched behind the wall again, out of the wind. "He's there. I'm going inside the church to hide," he whispered to Keegan.
"He might hear you."
"We need to listen in on his conversation with Maighread. 'Tis not possible in this wind."
"No telling if she'll even come out in this cold to meet him. She may make him wait until the morn."
Dirk shook his head. "She's a tough old nag. I wager she'll meet him as soon as possible. She's desperate to be rid of me."
"Once she goes through the gate, we can block her exit and we'll have her captured," Keegan said. "I'll have the rest of the men surround the wall, and they'll capture him if he tries to jump over and escape."
"Aye, but no proof as to what they're doing. I must hear her tell McMurdo that she wants him to kill me. When I hear that, I'll have solid proof. Then mayhap, once we capture him, McMurdo will confess. If you're beside me and hear the same thing, you're also a witness."
"Very well."
They crawled across the frozen ground to the corner. The east side of the wall contained the gate. "I have a better idea," Keegan whispered. "We'll wait here and once Maighread arrives and enters the gate, we'll slip in behind her."
"That might work." Dirk glanced at the sky. "A few clouds are rolling in. They'll help conceal us."