Rain pattered against her skin.
Marie brushed several wet strands of hair from her face as she composed herself, drawing on the diplomacy she’d honed over the years. She needed to focus on reaching her father and telling him the truth of her abduction, not yearn for a man in love with another.
“We must find shelter,” she said, thankful for the calmness of her voice.
“Nae, we must continue on.”
She frowned. “We?”
“I will be taking you to the coast. There I shall speak with a friend who will offer you protection and arrange passage for you to France.”
He didn’t add more; she didn’t need him to. His solemn tone said everything. Once she was in safe hands, they’d part ways forever.
Hours later, Colyne studied the turbulent skies. Since they’d started out that morning, it had continued to rain, at times so hard they were forced to seek temporary shelter beneath trees or rocks.
Guilt knifed him as he glanced toward Alesia, walking at his side. How could he have spoken Elizabet’s name? In the few kisses he and Elizabet had shared, never had she inspired a fragment of the feelings Alesia evoked.
The full impact of his musings left him stunned. For the first time since Elizabet had wed, the woman he’d loved since his youth hadna been on his mind. Nay, she’d been there, buried beneath conscious thought, where memories of her lingered and would continue to haunt him. Exhaustion had allowed Elizabet’s name to escape from the recesses of his mind.
Nae desire.
The reasoning should have left him satisfied, but if he loved Elizabet, how could he be so drawn to this elusive enchantress? Or were his longings those of a man desperate to find relief from the pain of losing the woman he loved?
His steps faltered. Mayhap with the secret Alesia kept, he found her safe in that he could never trust her enough to fall in love with her?
Colyne glanced toward her. Though she masked her hurt with a noble front, he saw the confusion she fought to disguise.
The pain he had caused.
Damn him, he’d taken liberties where he’d had nay right. From this moment on, he’d nae touch her again, would keep his focus on delivering the writ to King Philip—where it should have remained from the start.
To make amends for hurting her, he would escort her to Glasgow and procure arrangements for her continued travel, and then secure his own passage to France.
Thunder echoed through the darkened skies. The warm rain of this morning had grown cool. Now, it pounded the earth, creating a layer of mist swirling inches above the ground in a blur of white.
He silently cursed the weather as they walked, their steps muted by the damp earth. They were both soaked to the bone. Though clumps of rock jutted out from shallow cliffs around them, he’d yet to find shelter large enough to offer adequate protection.
Colyne stepped over a log, and the writ secured within its hidden compartment rubbed against his side. He frowned. King Philip’s bastard daughter was still hidden somewhere in the Highlands.
Or had the other Scots searching for the lass found her?Please, let her be safe.God help them if they found her dead.
In the misty silence, Alesia’s stomach growled.
Colyne took in her cool expression as she stared straight ahead. They walked beneath an old oak, its leaves sheltering them from most of the rain. He halted. “We will stop here and eat.”
The lass kept walking.
“Alesia—”
She whirled. “I have changed my mind, monsieur.” Each icy word issued emphasized her regal control. “It is best if we separate. I will find my own way to France.” With her head held high and the rain pelting her body, she strode off in a different direction.
Colyne stared, amazed at her defiance. The stubborn fool. Did she think she could travel through the Highlands without a care? Had she forgotten men intent on killing her prowled the woods? Or did she despise him so much that she preferred risking her life rather than enduring his company? “Alesia!”
She didna look back.
A crushing weight settled over his chest.Let her go.’Twas best to be rid of the lass, of the complications she brought, the unwanted emotions she aroused. As her outline blurred in the downpour, Colyne cursed, then broke into a run. He’d vowed to protect her, and by God, he would keep his word whether she liked it or nae. “Alesia, stop!”
She broke into a run.
