"Niall took her in that small galley," Lachlan said.
Two could sail the galley they had stolen from Shaggy Maclean. "How do ye know this?" Connor demanded.
"Cook was the only one Ilysa told, and it wasn't easy getting it from him," Lachlan said, looking uncomfortable.
"What do ye mean, it wasn't easy?" Connor said, narrowing his eyes at Lachlan. He did not approve of his warriors being rough with the servants.
"Ach, the man is a blubbering mess, weeping like a babe," Lachlan said, making a face. "I told him that's no way for a MacDonald to behave, but it did no good. I expect supper will be no better than breakfast and dinner were."
Connor went to the window to look out at the sea. Niall was a fine sailor, but they would be passing lands held by the MacLeods, which was dangerous with just the two of them.
Why did they go? Connor did not realize he had spoken the question aloud until Lachlan answered it.
"Ilysa told Cook that ye ordered her to leave."
Chapter 16
Ilysa rested her head on her chin and stared at a crack in the wall. Since returning to Dunscaith, she had barely left her mother's cottage, which was really just two rooms built against the castle wall.
She was aware that she needed to make a plan, but she felt too weighed down to even lift her head. Ever since she was a young girl, she had been accustomed to being busy from morning until night. Yet, for a week now, she had done nothing at all. Not that it mattered. She had no responsibilities.
When she heard a knock on the door, she ignored it. The knocking turned into a loud banging, and then two faces appeared in her window. Moira and S矛leas, the wives of her brother and Ian, were both persistent women who would continue banging until she let them in, so she made herself get up and unbar the door.
Moira and S矛leas dragged her from her cottage and into the keep. The next thing Ilysa knew, she was standing in the middle of Duncan and Moira's bedchamber while the two women looked her up and down with narrowed eyes.
"Ach, that gown must go," Moira said, shaking her head.
"I suppose we can cut it up for rags," S矛leas said.
"What's wrong with my gown?" Ilysa asked. "'Tis a bit worn, but I've kept it mended."
Neither woman bothered answering, but their expressions were grim.
"The kerchief as well," S矛leas said, lifting her gorgeous emerald eyes to the top of Ilysa's head.
"For certain," Moira agreed.
The two women converged on Ilysa. Before she could say a word to stop them, S矛leas was pulling out the pins that held her kerchief, and Moira was unfastening the hooks at the back of her gown.
"Wait!"
When Ilysa ducked to the side to get out of their reach, her kerchief came off in S矛leas's hands. All three of them gasped as her hair came tumbling down and cascaded over her shoulders. Ilysa felt naked without her head covering. At least S矛leas and Moira had stopped grabbing at her clothes, but now they stood stock-still staring at her, which was even more disconcerting.
"What is it?" Ilysa asked, stepping back. Her face was scalding hot.
"Your hair is...lovely," S矛leas said in a soft voice that sounded like a sigh.
"You're being kind," Ilysa said, fixing her gaze on the floor. Her strawberry-blond hair was a poor, washed-out version of S矛leas's vibrant color.
S矛leas was a rare beauty, with red hair and emerald eyes, while Moira had black hair like Connor's, striking violet eyes, and the kind of voluptuous curves that left men with their tongues hanging out - unless Duncan was nearby.
"Why did ye cover this?" Moira said, running a long strand of Ilysa's hair through her fingers. "'Tis gorgeous!"
"I was married," Ilysa murmured, feeling uncomfortable with the attention.
"Ach, ye were barely married long enough to count," Moira said, dismissing long-standing custom with a wave of her hand. "And as I recall, ye always wore your hair covered, even as a wee bairn."
"My mother insisted."
Her mother had been perpetually frightened for her only daughter. Ye mustn't draw attention to yourself. Cover your hair. Speak softly. Keep your gaze down.
Until she was eleven, Ilysa sometimes rebelled against her mother's restrictions. She stopped the day Duncan was caught with Moira. After Duncan was sent away, their mother, who had never been a strong woman, was so fragile that Ilysa complied with her mother's wishes without argument.