Page 65 of Edge of Yesterday

“If all goes well, I plan to walk out the gate with you.” He glanced back at her. “You did say only the guards saw you?”

“There were people in the courtyard, but I doubt they paid me any heed.”

They came to a T and Julianna pointed right. “This way.”

They started forward, then stopped at the sound of footfalls up ahead. Cailean grasped his sword hilt, but Julianna covered his hand with hers and nodded to a large tapestry up ahead. She hurried to the tapestry and pulled one edge aside to reveal an alcove.

Cailean looked at her. He didn’t know how she knew about the alcove, but he could have kissed her. He pressed a hand to the small of her back and urged her into the shadows. He drew Triumph, then stepped in after her and let the tapestry fall back into place. Cailean stood in front of Julianna, but she pressed so close that he was certain he felt her hair tickle the back of his neck. He wanted to edge forward, but his chest almost brushed the tapestry as it was.

As a boy in Cumbernauld, when he visited nearby Stirling Castle, he’d kept an eye out for alcoves like this in which to hide. He’d discovered one in a long hallway and slipped inside, giving his parents quite a scare when they turned to find him gone. He’d listened to them call for him up and down the corridor for ten minutes before finally coming out. It had been great fun, and well worth the week’s grounding he received for his mischief. He only hoped he and Julianna stayed hidden as well as he had then.

The footsteps drew closer and he caught voices.

“I dinnae like it,” a man said.

“Never mind what ye like,” another male replied. “Hugh has been good to ye. Without him you would have been hanged five years ago. You owe him your life.”

“But why do this?” the first man asked.

“I do not know.”

“If Ravenstone discovers the truth—”

“He will no’,” the second man interrupted. “How could he?”

How could he, indeed? Cailean thought. He wanted to burst from the alcove and cut down both men. His heart, he realized, was racing. He had always considered himself an enlightened man, but in a few short hours he’d gone from enlightened to barbarian. How was that possible?

Both men fell silent. Their footsteps receded. Cailean counted to five, then drew back the edge of the tapestry and peeked left, then right. No one.

Cailean grasped Julianna’s hand and whispered, “Hurry.”

He knew she had to almost run to keep up with his long strides, but the bodies at the base of the stairs would alert the men to her escape. A general alarm would stop them before they reached the gate.

A moment later, he spotted the door up ahead. When they reached it, he motioned her behind him. Cailean inched the door open and peered at a neatly tended kitchen garden, complete with the tower house’s well. Blessedly, the yard was empty.

“Come on.” He tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her outside, then started forward at a stroll.

They made it through the little walled garden without mishap and quickly reached the courtyard. Cailean leaned close to Julianna and said, “Relax and walk with me as if we are lovers.” Her head snapped up and he bit back a laugh. Her wide-eyed gaze would give them away, if they weren’t careful. “You look as though I’m about to eat you,” he whispered. His damned cock twitched and he could’ve bitten his tongue.

Her eyes narrowed as if she’d heard his thoughts, then her expression softened and she giggled. Cailean blinked before realizing she was playing at being coy. Her flirting needed a little work. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. She molded nicely to his side. Too nicely, in fact.

She slipped an arm about him and Cailean startled at the wish they were somewhere private where he could find out what her naked skin felt like against his. He groaned inwardly. Thoughts like that would get him killed, whether it be by the guards they faced or her brother Lennox.

They neared the gate and he hugged her tight as if they truly were lovers and he couldn’t wait to get her alone. It wasn’t far from the truth. They passed through the gate and he resisted an impulse to pick up the pace. All they had to do was get a hundred feet away, near the trees where Lennox hid with his men.

“Stop them!” a man shouted behind them.

Cailean twisted and looked back. Two men raced across the courtyard toward them.

He looked down at Julianna. “Run for the trees. Lennox is there.”

She yanked up her skirts and shot forward.

Cailean whirled to see two guards near the gates racing toward them. As the first guard neared, he swung his sword toward Cailean’s neck. Cailean blocked the blow as the second man chased after Julianna. Cailean’s attacker parried, almost catching Cailean’s arm.

Julianna cried out. Cailean conceded two paces as the guard swung his sword. The man was good. But not good enough. Cailean jabbed and sliced his neck open. Blood spurted and he dropped to the ground. Two more men burst through the gates. Cailean cursed. Where the hell was Lennox? As if in answer to his thoughts, horses’ hooves pounded the hard ground behind him. About bloody well time. Cailean started for the two men, but they skidded to a halt, froze for several heartbeats, then whirled and raced for the courtyard.

Cailean spun. The other guard ran toward the keep with Julianna slung over his shoulder. Lennox and Gregory charged from the trees away, their men behind them. Cailean prepared to block the man’s path. If he reached the gate with Julianna, they could hold up inside for God only knew how long. He didn’t want to consider what could happen to her in that time.