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Chapter 10
“Richard’s troops are approachin’ Edinburgh,” Brohain announced as he rode back to camp with Rhodric later that day. They were the scouts that Alastair had sent on ahead to spy on the English troops pillaging the coast.
Alastair jumped up, meeting them halfway. “How close are they?” he asked anxiously. He glanced over his shoulder to see Fia watching them. Something told him not to let her hear them, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. He didn’t want her out of his sight. They were nearing West Lothian where her family lived, and he wouldn’t put it past her to try to escape and go home.
“They’re no’ a half-hour’s ride from here,” said Rhodric. “I say we join the Lowlanders waitin’ in the shadows and run those bastards through with our claymores now and no’ wait for the ambush.”
“Nay,” said Alastair, pacing back and forth. His eyes wandered back to Fia. He had to get her far away from Richard and his troops. They were too close to the fighting, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her. She was his only means of getting his father released. A half-hour’s ride west and she would be home. A half-hour’s ride east, and she’d be with the English. The king being her cousin had him worried. He didn’t know where Fia’s loyalties lie since she had connections with both sides. He decided to head back home to Aberdeenshire as fast as possible because he didn’t want to be around either place right now.
“We will leave for Cluny Castle anon. We’ll make one stop at the Iron Eagle to pass on the information to our contact to take to our king. Then we’re goin’ home.” He raised his hand in the air to get the rest of his clan’s attention. “Move on out. We have no time to waste.”
Fia overheard everything once again.Sitting on a log finishing off a piece of bannock, she studied Alastair’s stance and disposition. He stroked his chin as he talked with his men. He was contemplating a decision. Something had him upset, and it was more than just the fact the English were attacking. She’d noticed the way he’d glanced sideways over his shoulder several times to make sure she was still there. Plus, he paced a lot today and dragged his hand through his hair more than usual. That told her he had a lot on his mind and wasn’t sure of his decision. He was worried. It had something to do with her, she was sure of it.
He came back to his horse and tied the travel bag to the side. The bulge within the bag let her know her crown was still safe and secure.
“We’re leavin’, are we no’?”
“Aye.” He hoisted her up into the saddle, not saying another word. It wasn’t until he mounted behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist that she dared to speak.
“I want to go home. I ken we are close to my family. I demand ye drop me off where I belong.”
His arm stiffened and he held her tighter. Aye, he was afraid she was going to escape.
“I told ye, that is no’ goin’ to happen. Now, I willna hear another word from ye about it.”
All hope seemed lost as the clan headed north. In the distance, the sound of shouting was heard. Billowing tendrils of smoke filled the air. She was so close to freedom but yet so far away. There was no way Alastair was going to give her a chance to escape. Nay, she would have to find another way to get back home. Fia was only one woman but felt the weight of the world upon her shoulders right now. Having overheard the plan about the Highlanders waiting to ambush Richard and his troops in Fife, it worried her. If that happened, the Scots would have the advantage of surprise, and there was going to be a very deadly battle. Her gut twisted. She had to stop it somehow. No matter what happened, people she loved were going to be killed. Somehow, she had to get word to Richard to warn him before a bloody battle ended the lives of many English as well as Scots. Her only hope was that Richard would retreat and take his troops back to England before things went too far.
* * *
Alastair foundit hard to think straight with Fia’s long, soft, red hair blowing in the breeze and brushing against his cheek. Her feminine essence warmed him in ways that made him want to stop and bed her around every curve in the road. But he couldn’t do that. If so, he wouldn’t be any better than the rest of the lust-filled men of his clan.
He needed to concentrate on his mission and keep his mind from going astray. But if he didn’t make a little distance between him and Fia soon, this was never going to work.
“There’s the Iron Eagle,” said Alastair, stopping his horse out front of the two-story tavern that had rooms upstairs and also served as an inn. “We’ll stop here for the night,” he told his men.
“For the night?” asked Niven in confusion. “We still have a few good hours of sunlight left. Shouldna we keep ridin’?”
“Nay,” Alastair answered, slipping out of the saddle and helping Fia to dismount. Damn, her small waist and the curve of her hips under his hands were driving him mad. “I have set it up to meet our contact here who will take the message to the Highlanders waitin’ in Fife. I’ll pass on the information to the courier and first thing in the mornin’ we will head home.”
“I still think we should stay and fight,” complained Brohain, always disagreeing with Alastair, and always wanting a battle.
“If it’s fightin’ ye want, ye’ll get it when we rescue my faither from the Grants.”
“Fight?” asked Fia. “I thought ye said I was to be a trade. Why would there be fightin’ involved?”
“Ye are a means to the release of my faither.” Alastair untied the travel bag from the horse. “However, I highly expect the Grants to stab us in the back.”
“Ye dinna trust anyone, do ye?”
“Should I?” His eyes drilled deeply into big, round, green orbs. He wasn’t sure he could trust her, and she knew it. The lass wasn’t shy about staring him boldly in the eye. He had never met anyone like her. The way she met his perusal in challenge, not looking away, made him feel exposed and naked. It was almost as if she could see into his very soul, knowing all his secrets.
“I’m hungry,” he said, looking the other way, wanting to break the connection. If she continued to look at him like that, it was going to make him vulnerable, and he couldn’t allow that. He had never let a lassie get that close to him before. This one drew him in, as well as rattled his nerves. “We’ll get food inside as well as a room for the night.” Alastair slung the travel bag over his shoulder. With his hand at the small of Fia’s back, he guided her into the tavern. Inside the doorway sat a burly man on a tall wooden stool. He held his open palm out, waiting for the charge required to enter the tavern. Alastair pulled several coins from the small pouch attached to his waist belt and handed them to the man.
“This is for my entire travelin’ party, includin’ the girl,” he said. “And there is an extra coin for a room for the night.” The man nodded, satisfied, and let them pass.
“Oh, guid, I wouldna mind sleepin’ on a pallet tonight instead of the hard ground,” said Niven, following at Alastair’s heels. A broad smile spread across his face.
“The rest of ye will sleep outside,” grumbled Alastair. “I’ll be the only one stayin’ with the lass to make sure she doesna escape.”
