Time slowed within the next set of events. The doors flew open and everyone turned to look in shock. It was clear that neither of them had been expecting anyone. She could see the shock as clear as day on William Dodd's face as his stoic expression disappeared and was replaced with surprise. She had thought him incapable of emotions until that moment. She looked back at the open door and saw Owen walking in with his family and a bunch of soldiers.
Relief burst through Charlotte, but she was also worried. The last time she had seen Owen, but a few hours ago, he had been beaten unconscious and had woken up in such crippling pain. She knew that was the only reason he had not run after her to explain everything to her. She knew he would never let go of her so easily because he loved her, which was why he was here. She hoped he was good enough to be standing and that they would not bruise him any more than he already was. Her eyes rakedover his body, as she tried to make sure that he was not bleeding from anywhere and would not be keeling over in pain anytime soon.
Owen!She called out to him in her heart as he looked up at her. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the relief in his eyes. And she hoped he could see in hers that she was happy to see him and that she forgave him. She wished to tell him so many things, and she hoped she would have the opportunity to do so. She saw William's men immediately leap into action, blocking off the Elliotts. It was not long before a fight ensued, as the Elliotts fought to defend themselves and get to Charlotte.
"How dare you intrude upon a sacred ceremony as this?" William's low voice interrupted her thoughts. Charlotte hoped the Elliotts could combat him and his men. She may not have known them for long, but she had seen how they were with each other, and they had treated her in the same manner. She had come to care for them in the short time that she'd known them. She felt like she had people on her side for the first time in a long time. It felt like love and family.
"There is nothing sacred about trying tae defile a young woman, only tae take her again in adulthood. Ye should hide yerself in shame, but men like ye dae nae have that," Owen replied in anger. She watched in horror as William unsheathed his sword and ran toward Owen, striking at him in the matter of a second, if not less. Although Owen was quick to block the blow with his sword, Charlotte was still afraid. From the first blow, she could tell he was not at his full capacity, and she did not know how long he could hold out for before his body could no longer take it. She watched as Rory ran to join in on the fight, fighting offWilliam, and she was suddenly so grateful. This was her real family.
But Charlotte's relief did not last long. She screamed as her hands flew to her mouth in fear. She saw her uncle, who had been standing off to the side watching the fight, run to block off Owen before he could begin making his way to her. He pulled out his sword and attacked in a plunging motion, but Owen was quick to block the attack. He swirled and plunged his sword into her uncle's heart before the man could recover from his attack. He pulled his blade out as quickly as it had gone in and looked up at Charlotte, who had been watching the whole thing.
Charlotte looked as her uncle fell, coughing up crimson tears and bleeding from the gash in his chest. He turned to look at her, but she turned away. He did not deserve to see her feeling sorry for him, not after what her family had suffered at his hands. Yet Charlotte did feel pity for him. He was just one miserable man, ruining others' lives because of his own desperation. If he wasn't so cruel, it all would be just sad. She heard his body hit the floor and closed her eyes to count to ten before turning back around, knowing that he would be dead.
The battle continued as though someone had not just taken his last breath. Charlotte took a quick sweep of the building. So far, none of the Elliott men had been injured. She saw the priest slink away to hide in a corner, his eyes wide in fear and his hands shaking as he tried to pray with quivering lips. She turned away from him, choosing to pay him no mind, and looked back at Owen.
"Kill them all! Make sure there is not one left of these miscreants before the day is over," William shouted. He staggered off, wiping off the blood on his busted lip. Charlotte wondered if she should go after him herself. She knew he would not stop chasing after them until he was dead. He was like a child who threw a tantrum when he did not get what he wanted, and that was a terrible quality for a pure evil man with enough resources at his disposal. Before she could decide what to do, she saw Owen fall to his knees. He was tired and his wounds were opening up again, since he had not had the time to rest and let them heal up completely. As she ran towards him, she could see the strain all of this was causing him, and Charlotte felt guilty. She was the reason he kept getting hurt. From the men trying to kill him to get her to her distracting him on the battlefield and now this, him charging to her rescue when she had only just run out on him merely hours ago.
Charlotte skidded to a stop when she saw William advancing toward Owen.
"Watch out!" Charlotte screamed when he raised his sword to strike Owen, again breaking into a run. Her eyes watered; hand outstretched to reach him as the sword descended toward Owen. Just like before, he tried to move out of the way, but it appeared to be too late. He could not get away from the sword fast enough.
"Owen!" she screamed in pain, shutting her eyes to avoid seeing the blow when the sword landed. She opened her eyes in time to see William getting yanked away from him right before his sword reached him. She watched, entranced, as Hamish's sword sliced his throat. William clawed at his neck and wrapped his hand around it in shock. Charlotte could not tell how she knew,but he seemed more shocked that he was dying than trying to stop the blood spurts. They watched in silence as he collapsed before his eyes and stopped moving.
"I am glad that ye are all right," Rory smiled at Charlotte, as he was the one standing closest to her. "We will leave ye tae talk." He clapped his brother on the back and motioned for the rest of the family and his men to follow him.
Charlotte looked around at the bodies littering the floor, suddenly feeling awkward. There were so many things to say, but she did not know where to begin. She wanted to tell him what her uncle had revealed to her, but she also wanted to scold him for risking his life to save her when he should be resting. She wanted to hug him and smack him at the same time. Her heart burst full of love for him and his family. Her family.
"Charlotte," Owen mumbled in a low voice that had her worried. She took his hand in hers and led him to a chair so that he could rest.
"Charlotte, I am sorry," he began, but she shook her head at him.
"It's all right. I have—"
"Nay, please," he cut her off. "Please let me speak. I dae nae want this tae be between us. I am sorry that I did nae tell ye the truth after ye told me who ye were. It was nae because I did nae care for ye or wanted tae lie tae ye. I just did nae ken how tae tell ye that I was responsible for yer faither's death." He paused and took in a deep breath before he continued.
"I did nae mean tae kill yer faither or any of those men. I was only doing it tae save ye. I was there that night because I was angry, but when I saw these men around ye trying tae take advantage of ye, I kenned I could nae leave ye like that, but I did nae ken what tae dae. They were too many for me tae fight off all alone and I did nae want tae leave ye tae go find someone tae help because I was nae sure of what would happen while I was away. When I saw the torch, I thought tae start a small fire tae scare them off, but then it got out of hand and there was nothing I could dae tae contain it." Owen looked down.
Charlotte did not need a soothsayer to know that he was telling the truth. He really had been trying to save her. All this time she had waited for the day she would seek revenge on the man who killed her father, only to find out that he had not meant to do it. She had blamed him and herself all this time.
Charlotte had blamed herself for not staying with her father the entire night, as was her intention. The party and celebration that night had been too much for her to bear. She had taken a walk for a little while when the men accosted her. All her pleas and escape plans had been foiled until they completely cornered her. She knew she could not fight them off and had prayed for a way out, but the solution had cost lives, including the life of the most important person in her life. She had spent the next few years blaming herself and the man who had set the fire for what happened. If she had not been out there, her father would not have had to save her from the fire.
Charlotte knew the truth now. The men who were truly responsible for everything are all gone now. She had received her revenge after all, just in the way she had thought.
"It is all right. I believe you. Thank you for risking yourself to save me, then and now." Owen had always been her guardian, shielding her from everyone who wished to hurt her, and she was happy to have him in her life. She leaned into him and kissed him, content to be in his arms.
And finally, for the first time in years, she felt safe,
EPILOGUE
Charlotte was amused as Owen paced outside the door of the monastery nervously. She could understand what he was going through. She had accused him on many occasions of not being a true monk. But he really was a monk in his heart, when he needed to be, and she knew it pained him to go in there and explain why he could no longer be one.
"How can I just go there and tell I am nae interested in being a monk anymore? Do you think it is even allowed?" he asked her again. Owen had been so plagued by guilt since they began their journey here that Charlotte, who had been thoroughly amused with how nervous he was, had now felt bad for him. Although she knew that the only reason he had become a monk in the first place was to hide away from William Dodd and keep his identity a secret so that he protect his family, she had also contributed to his decision.
"We will not know until we go in, Owen," she said, wanting to get it over with so that he would not be nervous anymore. Charlotte was certain that they would understand when he explained tothem, and she had tried to reassure him of that on the way here, but she knew that he would not be reassured until he had spoken to them.
"I am sure that it has become so obvious tae them that I just used the monastery as a sanctuary to hide away from me problems. What I did was awful."
Charlotte sighed. She hated that he was beating himself up like this. He was a young man who had made powerful enemies and needed a place to stay. Surely, a young man needing help would have been welcomed in the monastery.