And Megan, against every instinct she possessed, found that her body believed him even if her mind was not yet ready to.
Sleep took her before she could decide how she felt about that.
CHAPTER 6
The men waited until Megan was fast asleep before shedding their still-damp clothes and wrapping themselves in blankets. They’d had worse accommodation in Spain. Here they were at least dry and warm.
“Will she be strong enough to keep up, or is she going to slow us down?”
Webb’s question was expected, and Oliver answered honestly. “I’m not sure.”
He glanced at Megan’s sleeping form by the fire. Even in exhausted sleep, she looked fragile, her face pale in the firelight, dark circles carved beneath her eyes. But he’d watched her cross that river. He’d seen her tend Webb’s wound with steady hands despite her own terror.
“She’s stronger than she looks,” Oliver said. “But we can’t push her the way we’d push ourselves.”
Webb shifted his wounded shoulder with a grimace. “How many days to Shrewsbury?”
“Five. Maybe six or seven if the weather turns.” Oliver fed another log to the fire. “Normally three days of hard riding, butwe’ll need to avoid the main roads. Penharrow’s men will be watching those.”
“They’ll be watching the border crossings too.”
“Which is why we’re going north, not east.” Oliver had been planning this since they’d fled the hunting lodge. “We head into the mountains. Rough country, but Penharrow’s men won’t expect it. They’ll assume we’re making for England by the quickest route.”
Webb was quiet for a moment, thinking it through. “The Shropshire mountains in November could be a problem. We might freeze if it snows early.”
“We’ll hunt. There’s game in those mountains, red deer, rabbit, and the odd stolen sheep if we’re fortunate. Better to be cold and fed than warm and caught.”
“Can she ride that far? She said she’d never learned.”
Oliver’s jaw tightened. Of course, Penharrow had kept her ignorant of horses. One more way to ensure she couldn’t escape. “She’ll ride with me. It’ll slow us down, but there’s no alternative.”
“We’ll need to rest your horse more if it’s carrying two. Thank God the horse that ran off at the river wasn’t hurt and followed us. We have three again. And if she falls ill? The river crossing was freezing water, my lord. She could develop lung fever.”
“Then we will deal with it.” Oliver’s voice came out harder than he intended. “Webb, I’m not leaving her behind. I’m not sending her off alone. We keep her with us, and we all reach Shrewsbury together, or we all fail together.”
Webb held up a hand. “I’m not suggesting we abandon her. Just trying to understand the plan, my lord.”
Oliver forced himself to breathe slowly. Webb deserved better than his commander’s frayed temper. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”
“It’s been a long week.” Webb’s expression softened. “Butwe’ve been in worse situations. Remember Salamanca? When we were cut off behind French lines for six days?”
“With no food and half the company wounded.” Oliver almost smiled. “This is practically a holiday by comparison.”
“Except at Salamanca, we weren’t responsible for a woman who’d been held captive for fourteen years and doesn’t know how to ride a horse.”
The blunt assessment stung because it was true. Oliver looked at Megan again. What the hell was he doing? He’d gone into Wales with a simple plan: rescue the woman, use her testimony to destroy Penharrow, achieve justice for James. Clean. Military. Achievable.
Instead, he’d found her. This complicated, brave, careful woman who had somehow gotten under his skin in the space of a single day.
“Your uncle will provide protection?” Webb asked, pulling Oliver back to practical matters.
“The Duke has a garrison at the estate near Shrewsbury. Twenty men, all veterans. Once we’re inside those walls, Penharrow can bring an army and we’ll still be safe.” Oliver paused. “The difficult part is getting there alive.”
“Five days through rough country. We’ll need to be smart about it.” Webb pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. “First thing tomorrow, we scout for game trails. See if we can bag a rabbit or two before we move out. Can’t travel on empty stomachs.”
“Agreed. There’s a stream nearby, we passed it coming in. I’ll check it for fish at first light.”
“And the horses? They’re nearly done in.”
