Page 26 of Highland Storm

“Here ye go,” said Hawke, giving it to him and patting the boy on the head. He chuckled to himself and headed to the stable. The wench was sneaky, but she’d have a big surprise when he showed up with her horse instead.

Chapter 9

Phoebe waited in the shadow of a large wych elm tree just outside the castle gate. It was taking the boy too long and she started to think he wasn’t going to show. But then she heard the clip clop of hooves over the drawbridge and saw a flash of tan of her horse through the trees. She smiled, thinking how easy this had been. All she had to do now was to collect her horse and ride west. She’d be halfway to Glasgow before anyone even knew she was missing.

Stepping out from behind the tree, she clutched the shilling in her hand. “It’s about time ye got here,” she said, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Hawke staring down at her from atop her horse instead of the boy.

“Goin’ somewhere, my lass?” he asked, making her heart sink. She’d been caught and now he’d probably throw her in the dungeon for sure.

“Hawke,” she said, flashing a smile. She accidentally dropped the shilling and it thudded against the hard ground.

“Next time ye plan an escape, ye’d better ask someone who’s tall enough to mount a horse by himself. And by all means, offer them a little more than a shillin’.”

“I wasna tryin’ to escape. I was just . . . goin’ out ridin’ and lookin’ for herbs.”

“Please dinna insult me with that lie. We both ken ye were tryin’ to run away. Now get on the horse and let’s get back inside the castle walls.” He held out his hand and waited.

Phoebe sighed, knowing it was senseless to try to run. He’d catch her before she even made it to the woods. With no other choice, she picked up her coin and reached up and took his proffered hand. Hawke easily hoisted her into the saddle in front of him.

“The old sorcerer and I tended to yer wound last night, but ye didna waken,” she said, trying to take the attention off the fact she truly was trying to escape.

“Aye, and I thank ye,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist as he turned and headed back to the castle.

“So, ye are feelin’ better then?” she asked.

“I am.”

“And yer wound is healin’?”

“It is.”

The cry of his hawk from above told her that she was being watched by both Hawke and Apollo now. “Ye canna blame me,” she said with a sigh. “After all, if ye were bein’ held prisoner by my clan, ye would try to escape, too.”

“The MacNabs would never be able to catch me,” he told her, sounding so arrogant that it made her roll her eyes.

“Well, they were able to abduct yer laird,” she pointed out.

“That’s only because my grandda is no’ the man he used to be. He’s been slowin’ down a lot in the past few years. If it were my da with me yesterday instead, yer men wouldna have taken a prisoner at all. Neither would a one of them have walked away alive.”

“Ye think ye are untouchable, but if I must remind ye, ye almost died. And if ye would have died like ye were supposed to, then I wouldna be a prisoner right now at all.”

“What kind of talk is that?” he spat. “It almost sounds as if ye wanted me to die.”

“Ye deserve to die for killin’ my men.”

“Yer men attacked me first, or have ye forgotten? Plus, it was four against one. I was fightin’ for my life.”

“Well, then ye deserve to die for killin’ Osla.”

His body stiffened at her words and his arm tightened around her waist. “What do ye ken about that?” he asked, not sounding happy at all.

“Osla was no’ only my cousin, but she was also my best friend,” she told him. “I was only a child when ye married her, but I cried every day when ye took her away.”

“Osla,” he said, seeming to get choked up at hearing her name. “I didna kill her, lass,” he said under his breath. “That’s no’ what happened at all.”

“That’s no’ what the MacNabs say.”

“Well, they’re lyin’.” Now he seemed to be getting very angry.