Page 14 of Bound to a Highland Beast
Isabeau breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was willing to give them one, even if he seemed to recognize Tiernan.
“An’ some food an’ clothes,” Tiernan said. “If ye have them.”
“We have the food,” said the man. “I’ll see what I can dae fer the clothes.”
Tiernan reached for the key, but the innkeeper quickly snatched it back, holding out his other hand. With a roll of his eyes, Tiernan reached for the pouch of coins instead, handing a few to the man, who then proceeded to hand him the key.
“Ye ken I pay me debts,” Tiernan told him, and the man scoffed, shrugging a shoulder.
“An honest thief!” he said. “That’s a surprise.”
A few of the men who sat in nearby tables and had heard him, laughed. Isabeau narrowed her eyes at them, disturbed by the way they were all treating Tiernan, but then again, she remembered that she hadn’t treated him much better. She had been suspicious of him from the start, reluctant to approach him, always on guard. How was she different than any of them?
“I’m nae a thief anymore,” Tiernan said through gritted teeth.
“Is that so?” the man asked, leaning over the counter and resting his elbows on the wooden surface. “An’ what is it that ye dae now? Work with lasses?”
Tiernan slammed his fist on the counter, making everyone around him, including Isabeau, jump. When she dared to look at him, he seemed murderous, as though he was on the verge of jumping over the counter and attacking the innkeeper.
The man seemed to notice it, too, his teasing attitude dissipating. Only fear remained in his gaze and he pulled back, knowing to put distance between him and Tiernan.
“Say that once more,” Tiernan hissed. “I dare ye.”
The man said nothing. He only stared at Tiernan, slowly inching farther and farther back until his shoulders hit the wall. For a while, the two of them only stared at each other in silence, the man trying to make himself smaller and Tiernan seemingly barely able to control his wrath.
The tension in the room was palpable. For a moment, Isabeau feared that Tiernan would truly kill him, but then he dragged the key over the counter and turned to leave. Not wanting to cause another incident, Isabeau followed close behind, the two of them heading inside the room the innkeeper had given them. Only when the door was closed did she dare to ask what was on her mind.
“Why are ye so angry? What happened?”
Tiernan’s fury quickly shifted into confusion as he turned to look at her. “What dae ye mean? Ye were there. Ye heard him.”
Isabeau had, indeed, heard the man, but she didn’t know what he had said that had set Tiernan off like this. He had called him a thief, that much was true, but it was also true that Tiernan had been a thief. It wasn’t that which had upset him so. It was something else, and she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Tiernan stared at her in silence for a few more moments before he said “I am angry because o’ what he implied about ye.”
Isabeau thought back to the conversation Tiernan had with the innkeeper. It took her several moments, but in the end, she understood.
He thought me a harlot!
Now it was her turn to be furious, her anger rising up inside her like bile. She had half a mind to march right back to the innkeeper and give him a piece of her mind, but that would only draw more attention to Tiernan, and she didn’t think that would be a good thing.
But then, just as she was stewing in her own anger, Tiernan laughed, the tension in the room melting away.
“Why are ye laughin’?” Isabeau demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Because if he saw ye like this, I think he might fear ye more than he fears me.”
Despite herself, Isabeau chuckled, shaking her head. Some of her anger drained out of her, but she still couldn’t believe that man would dare imply such a thing about her. She was a lady! And even if she hadn’t been, even if she had been nothing more than a peasant, his attitude had still been unacceptable.
“Ye should bathe first,” Tiernan said, making his way to the door once more. “But dinnae take too long. This isnae Castle MacGregor. I’ll wait outside.”
“Wait!” Isabeau said, but then she didn’t know how to continue her protest. She feared that if she got in the tub, then Tiernan would take the opportunity to come back inside, but she couldn’t say that to him. It didn’t matter whether it was an irrational fear or not. What mattered was that even suggesting it would be utterly rude and Tiernan would have every right to be upset over it—unless he was planning on doing just that.
Tiernan paused by the door, glancing at her over his shoulder. “What is it?”
Isabeau couldn’t think of a single thing to say. No excuse popped into her mind. Besides, even if she refused to bathe first, she would have to bathe at some point, so her concern would not go away.
All she could do was try to trust in Tiernan’s decency and convince herself that he would not take a peek.
