I just don’t know how far south to go before needing to head west again. Do I point myself between what I believe is due south and due west and take that path? What will I encounter if I do that? I figure I have a full day’s walk, but I’ve brought no food or provisions. I haven’t eaten since the feast. I should have thought this through more and nabbed bread and cheese while I was in the kitchens, but I can’t very well go back, so I can only go forward.
Allyson shuffled her way down the ledge to the shore of the loch. She noticed it was tidal, so she walked under the partial overhang, realizing no one on the battlements could see her. But after a few steps, she noted her footprints being left behind in the wet ground. Allyson had no way of knowing when the tide would come in and wash away the evidence. She couldn’t assume it would be before sunrise. She retraced her steps and wiped them away until none remained, and she scrambled back onto the ledge. She’d lost precious time she didn’t have, so she lifted her skirts and ran.
She turned south when she rounded the portion of the loch that obstructed her direct flight from the keep. She wouldn’t be even a speck in the distance to the guards on the battlements, but she didn’t slow until there was no trace of the castle. Winded with a stitch in her side, Allyson paused to catch her breath. Her shoes and clothes weren’t designed for such vigorous activity. It wasn’t long before she arrived at a village she’d heard was called Fintry. She hesitated to pass through in case someone questioned her–or worse, in case Edward questioned the villagers–but she needed food at the very least, and preferably a mount. She kept her hood up, with her shawl and scarf obscuring her face, as she entered the village. No one was stirring yet except for a few homes where the smell of baking bread wafted to her. She feared knocking on a door and asking for food, even if she paid, but she wasn’t ready to steal.
“Lass?” An older woman’s voice called out as Allyson drew close to the village’s well. Allyson froze before turning toward the hunched over figure. “You aren’t from here, and you shouldn’t be skulking about in the dark.”
“I became separated from my party when highwaymen attacked. I lost my horse and my guards.” Allyson observed the woman’s reaction before she continued her lies. “I hoped I might find food and a mount. I can offer some coin.”
The old woman cast a speculative gaze at Allyson before responding. “Culcreuch Castle isn’t far from here. The laird and lady aren’t in residence, but there is another noble couple there. You look and sound like a lady. They’d offer you shelter.”
“I don’t doubt that they would, but that’s the opposite direction from where I’m headed. I need to travel southeast to return to my clan’s territory. I’m a Buchanan.” It was the only clan she thought of nearby, and they were a large one. The likelihood of anyone knowing all the members, even the noble ones, was slim. She wasn’t wearing her Elliot plaid, so she didn’t fear her ruse being discovered.
“In that case, you aren’t far from home but just far enough that you’ll need some sustenance, and a horse would ease your troubles.”
“Do you know of anyone who might offer me either or both?”
“Aye. I can offer you the food, lass, and my son can sell you a horse.”
“Thank you, kind lady.” Allyson flashed a genuine smile that earned her a toothless one in return. It was a short time later that Allyson’s belly was full, she had food in her satchel, and she mounted on a horse more suited to a plow but would plod along. She’d fished out a few coins from the pouch while the old woman led Allyson to her home. Allyson wasn’t wearing any jewelry, so when she proffered the coins from the hidden pocket in her skirt, it didn’t appear as though she hid more money. She rode southeast until she was out of sight, then adjusted to head further west. Allyson prayed she was pointed in the right direction.
Chapter Seven
Cairren pushed past people as she dashed toward Laird Elliot, who broke his fast alongside the Gordons. She skidded to a halt when she reached their table and covered her chest with her hand as she attempted to catch her breath.
“She’s gone,” Cairren blurted out. “Allyson never returned to her chamber last eve and wasn’t there when I went to meet her before Mass. She wasn’t in the chapel either, and she’s not arrived to go for our morning walk with the queen. No one’s seen her since the feast.”
“Perhaps she’s run away,” Ewan jested around a chunk of bread, but when Cairren turned a cold gaze on him, he realized it was most probable he’d guessed correct. “She followed a man out of the Great Hall last night. I found him with another woman, but maybe she decided to break our betrothal by breaking her— Oof.”
Eoin’s sharp elbow bashed into Ewan’s side before he could finish his insulting remark. Kenneth was on his feet and pushing the bench away from the table. He placed his meaty fists on the table and leaned over until his nose nearly touched Ewan’s.
“If the king hadn’t ordered my daughter to marry you, there would be no way in hell I’d ever allow you near her, you puffed-up popinjay. This is your fault, with your crude comments and taunts. She ran to escape the hell you’ll put her in. I swear by all that’s holy, if she comes to harm, I will skewer your cods then lop off your head.” Kenneth stormed away from the table and approached the dais. The Gordons and Cairren observed Laird Elliot’s animated conversation with the king before Cairren returned her gaze to Ewan.
“He’s right. You did this, and you’d best fix it before someone defiles her or kills her.” Cairren glared at Ewan. “You embarrassed us both the day before yesterday, then you frightened Allyson with whatever you whispered, and now she’s run away after finding out she’ll be shackled to you. It’s not mere disappointment that’s driven her away or even pride. You’ve made marriage sound like a terror. She may be a flirt, but the attention she gets at court is theonlyattention she gets. You’ve sentenced her to a life even worse than the one she left behind to come to this godforsaken hellhole of iniquity. You may look like a man, but it’s time you grew up and acted like one.”
Cairren spun on her heels and fled the Great Hall while Ewan sat stunned alongside his father and brother. He resented first Allyson, then Cairren for referring to marrying him as the same as being shackled, but then he’d felt that way about Allyson. He never imagined she would run away to avoid the marriage; he assumed she’d come around and then go quietly to Huntly, where he could leave her.
“What do you think she meant that the attention she gets here is the only attention she gets?” Eoin’s question broke through Ewan’s thoughts.
“I don’t know. I don’t care right now. I will have to help Elliot find his wayward daughter. Father, she should be committed to a nunnery, not to our clan.” Ewan grumbled as he left the table to approach the dais.
“She’s been gone all night, Your Grace,” Kenneth said as Ewan approached. “I need to determine where she’s gone and bring her back.”
“Bring her back?” The queen interjected. “Aren’t you the least concerned that she was so overset by this betrothal that she ran away? Don’t you care what might have befallen her along the way?”
“I am, Your Majesty, but she serves at your leisure. I assume you expect her to return to her duties.”
Queen Elizabeth rose from her carved chair and peered down at Ewan and Laird Elliot. Her lip curled in disgust before she raised an eyebrow. “You’d better explain to your future son-by-marriage why Lady Allyson didn’t find his jests humorous. If you don’t, I will.” Queen Elizabeth swept from the table and left the dais before entering the royal antechamber.
“What was the queen talking about?” Ewan demanded. He glanced at the king before returning his glare to the Elliot.
Kenneth Elliot closed his eyes and swallowed several times before looking at Ewan. It stunned the younger man to see sadness and a hollowness to the older man’s eyes. “I arranged a marriage for Allyson’s oldest sister when Allyson was still very young. The ceremony took place at our keep, and the couple remained there for their wedding night. Allyson awoke to the sound of her sister’s screams while her husband forced her to consummate their marriage. A few years later, her sister returned to our home after her husband’s heart gave out while he was still trying to sire a son. He left Mary destitute with no money to travel back to Elliot territory. She had to beg guardsmen to bring her home and pay for her expenses while they traveled. I reimbursed them, but it wasn’t until after the men left that we discovered they demanded a different payment before they arrived at our keep.”
Ewan tasted bile in the back of his throat as he listened to the tale, which explained why the suggestion that he and his brother might share Allyson had spurred such a terrified response. His words that equated her to chattel only exacerbated a problem he didn’t realize existed.
“Thank you for confiding in me,” Ewan whispered. “I wish I’d known this before I spoke to Allyson either time. But I know I shouldn’t have said what I did regardless of your family’s past. Let me gather my sword and my bedroll, and I’ll be ready to ride out in a quarter hour.”
“I’m not taking you. One look at you, and she’ll bolt again. You’ve done enough.” Kenneth barked and turned back to the king.
