They burst from the room into the hallway as voices erupted on the ground floor. Shouts in Welsh, running footsteps, the sound of furniture overturning. Oliver pulled Megan toward the servant’s staircase at the back of the house, the narrow stairs used by maids carrying water and linens.
Behind them, he heard boots on the grand staircase. “Upstairs! Check her room!”
Down the narrow stairs, stumbling in the darkness. Megan’s hand was small in his, but her grip was strong, determined. At the bottom, they encountered a maid emerging from her quarters, her eyes wide with terror. Oliver pushed past her without a word, dragging Megan through the servant’s hall toward the eastern exit.
Another shot, this one from outside. Webb, providing cover.
They exploded into the night air to find chaos. Webb was mounted, holding the reins of two other horses, exchanging fire with guards who’d taken position near the stable. In the darkness, muzzle flashes lit the scene in staccato bursts of light.
“Go!” Webb shouted, firing again.
Oliver lifted Megan bodily onto one of the horses, then swung up behind her. He felt her stiffen at his proximity but couldn’t spare the time to reassure her. Gathering the reins, he kicked the horse into motion as another shot whined past his head.
They thundered into the forest, branches whipping at them in the darkness. Behind them, more shots, more shouts. Oliver bent low over Megan, shielding her with his body, trusting his horse to find its footing in the treacherous terrain.
Webb appeared beside them moments later, his mount’s breath coming in white clouds. “They’re organizing pursuit. Can’t be all of them as I shot one.”
“One’s tied up in the guard room.”
“It will be the male staff as well. This puts all of them in danger. Penharrow will punish them all.” Megan added.
“The northern pass,” Oliver said, veering his horse toward the route they’d scouted. “We can lose them in the high country.”
But even as he said it, he knew the plan had already fallen apart. They’d meant to have a clean escape, hours before anyone knew Megan was missing. Instead, they had armed pursuit inthe darkness, difficult terrain, and a woman who’d couldn’t ride depending on him to keep her safe.
A branch caught Oliver across the face, drawing blood. He didn’t slow. Behind them, he could hear horses now, multiple riders crashing through the forest.
“My lord!” Webb’s warning came just as Oliver saw the problem. The stream they’d planned to cross had swollen with recent rain, the current moving fast and dangerous.
“We have to cross,” Oliver said. “It’s our only chance to lose them.”
He felt Megan tense against him. “I can’t swim.”
“I won’t let you drown. Trust me.”
It was an insane thing to ask—trust from a woman who’d been betrayed by every man she’d known, who had every reason to fear rather than trust. But there was no time for anything else.
Oliver urged his horse forward into the swollen stream. The current caught them immediately, stronger than he’d anticipated, pulling the horses sideways. Megan gasped, her hands gripping his arm with desperate strength.
The horse stumbled, went under. Suddenly they were in the water, the cold shocking, the current dragging them downstream. Oliver kept one arm locked around Megan, fighting to keep both their heads above water while his other hand searched for purchase on rocks, branches, anything.
His boot struck something solid. Oliver leveraged it, pushing toward the far bank. Beside him, Webb had made it across, was reaching down from his horse. Oliver grabbed the offered hand, felt himself being pulled, Megan’s weight a burden he refused to release.
They collapsed on the far bank, coughing up water, shaking from cold and exertion. Behind them, on the other side of the swollen stream, he could hear their pursuers arriving, could see torches through the trees.
“They can’t cross,” Webb said. “Not in the dark. Not with the water this high.”
Oliver got to his feet, pulling Megan up with him. In the torchlight from across the stream, he could see her face, pale, terrified, but alive.
“You risked your life for me,” she said, her voice barely audible over the rushing water.
“Of course, I promised to keep you safe.” Oliver replied, as if there was never any question. As if he hadn’t thrown away his carefully constructed plan, hadn’t committed himself to protecting this woman at any cost.
“I managed to catch the spare horse. Yours took off.” Webb said as they stood shivering. “But this one has our provisions so that was lucky.”
They remounted, Oliver once again taking Megan on his horse. They rode hard into the darkness, putting distance between themselves and the hunting lodge, between Megan and her captivity.
CHAPTER 5
