Errol’s eyes jumped from his cousin and back to his sister. With a defeated sigh, he kicked his horse into a trot.
Robbie threw an irritated look back to them afore hurrying to catch up to Errol.
An hour later, they had to stop for Anna to vomit again. This time it wasn’t only Anna. Fina dropped to her knees as well. Both of them emptying their stomachs.
Robbie was right. Moira was irritated that she agreed with the man, but he was right. Clearly, there was something amiss with Anna and Fina. They needed to be home so they could see the healer and get a tisane to stop the roiling of their stomachs.
“We should go back,” Moira said to Errol. “Traveling willnae help them.”
“I agree,” Errol said, his brows drawn down in concern as he assessed his sister’s pale skin and the way she clenched her stomach.
Fina was experiencing the same symptoms.
“Nay,” Anna called out, her voice still surprisingly strong. “Fina and I will return. Ye and Errol must go forward,” she insisted. “’Tis yer only chance to solve the riddle.”
“I cannae possibly leave ye,” Moira said.
Anna shook her head. “’Tis I that is leaving ye. As ye said afore, ye doonae have a lot of time to spend searching for yer treasure. Ye must go on. Robbie will escort us home.”
Errol stiffened. “I cannae take Moira alone. Her father and her brothers will have my head. Hell, our father will have my head.”
“Dinnae be silly,” Anna answered, waving her hand weakly in dismissal. “Ye will have Seema with ye and besides, time is of theessence. I will take care of father, and the Hart’s will be none the wiser when she returns with the treasure.”
Errol squeezed the bridge of his nose and Moira held her breath as she waited for his response.
She approached Anna and clasped her hand. “I shouldnae leave ye when ye arenae well. What kind of friend would that make me?”
“One with a mission. Ye are so close, dinnae let me be the one to stop ye. I will be cheering ye on from MacLeod Keep and will be the first one to greet ye upon yer return.” She squeezed Moira’s hand in encouragement. “Truly, ’tis naught but an unsettled stomach. Fina and I had the same food when we broke our fast, mayhap it was spoilt.”
Moira had a hard time believing that she and Fina both ate spoiled food, or that it was even a probability.
“Go. Ye are wasting the day. Robbie will take good care of us on our journey back.”
In answer, Robbie harrumphed but nodded.
Errol opened his mouth to say something, but Anna held up a hand and stopped him.
“Go,” she demanded. “I shallnae say it again. Ye both have my blessing. We will be fine.”
Finally, after more discussions back and forth, the two parties split and went their separate ways—Anna, Robbie, and Fina back to MacLeod Keep, and Moira, Errol, and Seema headed deeper into the trees.
Errol’s mouth was a thin line as Moira urged her horse forward to catch up to him and settled into a rhythm beside him.
“I dinnae ken if ye have thought about how to get to the first location on the map, but there seemed to be a path through a copse of trees. It should lead us right to it.”
Errol’s gaze slid to hers. “Why would it be so straightforward? For certs if it were that easy, then the treasure has already been uncovered.”
Moira rolled her eyes and chewed on her fingernail as she thought about what he said. “Dinnae ye think it would be well-kenned if it had been found? ’Tis promising treasure untold and a Hart family legacy.”
Errol scoffed. “No’ if it was someone other than a Hart that found it. Would ye go around yelling to the world that ye found a MacLeod treasure?”
She blew out an exasperated breath. He had a point, though she would never admit it and give him the satisfaction.
Retrieving the map from the bag she’d looped over her shoulder, she studied its contents. “We should be arriving soon, aye?” They’d been riding for what seemed like hours. Her bum was sore. She needed to relieve herself and stretch her legs.
“Can we stop for a few minutes?”
“Why?”
