"Not a word," Cormac said.
"I said nothing," Seumas replied.
***
THE KING'S ENFORCERand several plain-clothed guards arrived within the hour.To Una they simply looked like more of the Shadow's men, and Cormac ensured she remained in the dark about their real identity.They took charge of Drunstan and his men without ceremony and headed back the way they had come.Bearnas and Talorc were already in their custody, picked up from the road the previous day.
None of Drunstan's men would know until they arrived where they were being taken, or who had arranged it.That was how the Shadow worked.That was how it had always worked.
With the camp cleared and the prisoners gone, Cormac's men stood easy for the first time in days.Several sat around the fire enjoying the provisions and taking the opportunity to rest.Another mission completed, and they would all be rewarded handsomely by the king.
Cormac took the time to thank each man for his service and check that none were injured.
Two were nursing cuts from the brief fighting – one on his forearm deep enough to need attention, another across the ribs bleeding through his shirt.
Una saw them, and before Cormac could speak she had already crossed to the man with the arm wound and crouched down to examine it.
"Have ye a needle and thread?"she asked Cormac.
He blinked."Ye can stitch a wound?"
"I can stitch anything," she replied.
Seumas produced a kit from his pack and Una took it and set to work.She cleaned the needles with boiling water and cleaned the wound before beginning.
The man with the arm wound – a broad, quiet fellow called Tam – went pale when he saw the needle.Una gently assured him she would be careful, and he took a large swig of whiskey to fortify himself regardless.He went paler still when she was halfway through and bore it in complete silence, which she respected.
"Try not to use this arm for two days," she told him as she finished binding the wound."And keep it clean."
Tam looked at the neat, even stitches and then at her."Thank ye, my lady."
She cleaned the needles again and moved on to the man with the rib wound.He was less stoic than Tam, and she talked steadily while she worked, which seemed to help.When she finished, he thanked her with genuine warmth.
Cormac watched from a few paces away and said nothing.He was struck again by how different she was from other noblewomen.The lass had a kind heart, and that appealed to him even more.
***
THEY MOVED OUT BY MID-morning, heading south.Cormac rode with Una in front of him and she went without complaint.She was quiet but watchful, and he had learned enough about her in two days to know that quiet and watchful meant she was thinking.
He kept one arm always around her as they rode and told himself it was practical.The terrain was uneven and he did not want her falling.But the truth was he could not quite keep his hands off her.He needed to feel her close.
Una was aware of every point where his body met hers.His arm at her waist.His chest at her back.The warmth of him through the fabric of her cloak.She tried to concentrate on forming an escape plan and found it extremely difficult.
She asked what his plans were for her.His responses were vague at first, until he mentioned returning her to her father.Una stiffened immediately.Now she had an even bigger problem.Fenella's entire family were currently spending the summer in Edinburgh.
She had no choice but to mention it before they wound up at her uncle's estate to find it empty.
"Cormac?"
"Aye, love?"
"My family are in Edinburgh for the summer."
"Oh?"
"Aye.But if ye leave me at the estate, I'm sure the thane – I mean my da – will forward ye a reward when they return."Una was hoping that would buy her some time to work out how to produce coin for these men without revealing her true identity.
"Dinnae fash, Fenella.We shall return ye to Edinburgh directly.'Twould be more convenient as we are headed that way regardless."
