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“Sì.”
“You travelled alone? From the abbey?”
“Sì,”Naomi said.
“Are you daft? Tis dangerous on the roads for a lone woman.” He frowned.
Naomi just shrugged and said, “Not when I am dressed like a man.”
Kieran clenched his jaw and raked her body from head to toe, then said, “Believe me, I have a good eye, and it would not take long before someone saw past your disguise to the feminine curves beneath.”
“You’re only saying that because you know I am a woman now. But if I walked past you in a village with my hood up, you would not even recognize me.”
“Trust me, lass, I ken a woman when I see one, and it has nothing to do with your hood.”
Naomi blushed.
Then Kieran said, “I will escort you back to the abbey myself.”
Yesenda raised her eyebrow at that suggestion.
Naomi said, “You will do no such thing. You’ll only slow me down, you behemoth.”
“We’ll see about that,” Kieran said.
***
That afternoon, Yesenda made plans to leave Henderson land. She needed to get to Edmund because it seemed their enemies were closing in. She did not know how she was going to break the news to Iain, but she had to trust her instincts. As a member of theOrder,her vow came first above all things. Even the longings of her own heart.
Naomi spent the rest of the day with Yesenda, which gave them time to plan a means for Yesenda to slip away quietly.
Yesenda was packing her belongings at the longhouse when the Henderson children dropped by to visit. They asked her to play a game of‘Hoodman’s Blind’with them in the field behind the cottages. Yesenda was about to refuse, then she realized she would probably never see Mysie, Domhnall, or Michael again once she left. They sat with her every night when she and Iain partook of the evening meal at the Keep. She cared for them.
“All right,” she said. “Just one game, then we best get ready for supper.”
Their faces lit up as Mysie ran to find a piece of cloth for the game.
Thirty minutes and three games later, Michael wore the blindfold, and they were all running around him laughing as he tried to tag the next ‘It’.
Some passersby from the village also stopped to join in the fun.
Iain was returning to the longhouse on horseback when he saw the game in play. He could not help but grin at the merriment of the participants, especially Yesenda. Her cheeks were flushed, and her facial expression joyful. The children were running and screaming, and she looked perfectly content amidst the frivolity. Iain thought she was the most beautiful woman on earth.
He was watching her closely when her smile suddenly vanished, and her eyes darted toward the trees. Her entire body went rigid, and so did Iain’s. Then he saw what caught Yesenda’s attention. Arrows let loose and aimed at the children. His heart lodged in his throat when he saw Yesenda running straight into the line of fire, and he roared.
***
Chapter 14
Lies by Omission
Iain spurred his horse into motion when he saw arrows hurtling through the air towards the children. He roared, “Get down!”
The onlookers turned their attention to Iain, so they missed something far more incredible. But Iain did not miss a beat because he kept his eyes focused on Yesenda.
Mysie, Michal and Domhnall were within reach of each other and directly in the line of fire.
Yesenda ran at Mysie, grabbed the back of her dress, and pulled her away from one arrow. She then sprinted towards a blindfolded Michael and shoved him onto the ground. Then, in a move that seemed almost unworldly, she pivoted, lunged forward and caught the arrow shaft with her hand, preventing it from hitting Domhnall. The motion propelled her forward, and she hit the ground, then rolled into a crouch position.
