Her eyes widened,and she nodded.
Through the branches, thick fog clung to the land. Streams of dawn slipped through the sheen of white, crafting faint outlines of trees and rocks.
Ahorse whinnied.
He glanced toward the sound.
Hooves clattered upon rock, echoed in the eerie silence. Within the murky swirl, the vague outline of several knightsrode into view.
His hand clasping his dagger, Aiden watched as the warriors searched their surroundings with slow efficiency.
“Do you think they have traveled this far?” one of the riders asked, his accent markinghim as English.
“Aye,” the knight in the lead replied. “His grace believes they are headed to warn Lord Comyn.”
“We still do not know if they are traveling by horseback. If so, they could beleagues away.”
The leader halted his mount, his body shifting as he took in the landscape. “We will travel farther east. I had hoped to pick up their trail by now, but if they are on foot, last night’s storm has washed away any tracks.” He kicked his mount forward. “Nor will we give up. If the men ahead of us have seen no sign of their traveling through, I will have them circle back and retrace our steps while we continue on. Whatever it takes, Lord Balfour and his wife willna reach Lord Comyn.”
One by one, the Englishman disappeared intothe thick fog.
Aiden turned back in time to see Gwendolyn shudder as she stared at the fog-tainted woods. He sheathed his knife. “We are safe.” For now. He glanced up. Clear skies hung above the thick shroud of white. “Once the sun begins to rise, the fog will clear.”
She scraped her teeth across her bottom lip. “We must reach Lord Comyn posthaste.”
“Aye, but ’tis safest to take a more southerly direction, one the Englishwillna expect.”
“But that will place us closer to where the Bruce’s men are believed to be camped. Do you think ’tis wise to take such a risk?”
“I believe ’twill serve us best. While the duke’s men search for us, the Bruce willna be aware we are nearby.” At least not until Aiden led her into his camp. “Let us continue to the falls. They will provide adequate shelter this night.”
Gwendolyn’s eyes, filled with trust, held his; she nodded. “Then we can head northeastto Lord Comyn.”
“For now, ’tis crucial to put distance between us and the duke’s men.” Impatient to tell the Bruce of the English duke’s arrival and treacherous plan, he pushed aside the thick boughs that hadkept them safe.
Her soft hand touched hisarm. “Bróccín…”
Aiden turned.
* * * *
The fierce expression on her husband’s face had Gwendolyn lacing her fingers with his. “I wanted to thank you for last night,” she said, off balance at how this man made her feel, his gentleness hours before meaning more to her than he could imagine. “Foryour kindness.”
His mouth flattened into a frown. “I did naught but offer protection.”
A warrior, he’d view his actions as such. Yet he’d gone beyond the role of protector and had offered her comfort. Why was it that at every turn he wasn’t the man she believed him to be? The man she was coming to know cared and had a kind heart.
Before, she’d cursed Lord Comyn’s directive to wed the Earl of Balfour. Now, incredibly, for the first time in her life, she was deeply attracted to a man.
Shaken by the way he made her feel, by the desires he evoked, she stared up at her husband, unsure at which moment he had torn down her defenses.
When he offered his hand to help her up, she stood, deliberately pressed her body against his. Embraced by the thick fog, she lifted her gaze.
Green eyes heldhers, darkened.
Fingers trembling, she raised her hand to his face, but he caught her wrist.
Bróccín slowly lowered her arm, but he did not let go. “Nay,” he whispered.
