When Caitlyn had returned to her chamber to change into a gown better suited for riding, she sent her maid to fetch a picnic lunch for the party. They rode well beyond where Caitlyn and her guards usually stopped when they went north of Stirling. In silent agreement they ventured away from Scotland’s borderland rather than toward the Scotts’ territory. They rode past the midday hour and stopped to eat midafternoon. Their journey back to Stirling would be easier since much of the ride would be a descent. Neither Alex nor Caitlyn worried about returning at a reasonable hour.
Caitlyn spread out a blanket and unpacked the basket while the guards scouted the area. Alert but more at ease, the men joined Alex and Caitlyn and shared the repast. It surprised Caitlyn how much food the kitchen staff fit into the basket without it overflowing. There was ample food for four men and Caitlyn. As the group jested and bantered, it was the most normal Caitlyn and Alex felt while together since Alex arrived at court. They teased one another with stories from their childhood that the guards had never heard. They trod more carefully when Grant asked what happened between Alex and Cairren. He recalled the two had once appeared in love and likely to marry.
“It was puppy love,” Alex explained. “We’re the same age, and so after a while, it just seemed like that was the natural progression. I suppose no one really expected us to, but we thought so. Fortunately, we realized it wasn’t more than a lifelong friendship.”
Caitlyn listened in silence, but she caught Alex’s eye as he spoke. What he didn’t include was how Caitlyn suffered her own case of puppy love for Alex as the starry-eyed girl who wished she were her sister. He didn’t mention that after Cairren left for court, and Alex still came to visit when his fostering ended, it was he and Caitlyn who went for long walks and paired for nearly every evening dance. While others still thought of them as childhood friends, it had ceased feeling that way for them years ago. But Caitlyn had been too young, and Alex had struggled with guilt for lusting after a woman barely out of girlhood.
While they’d never shared a kiss before that day in the undercroft, they’d held hands on their walks and pressed shoulders together when they whispered at meals. It had been a slow progression over a handful of years, but they seemed to have made headway and silently agreed to a future during Cairren’s trip to court not long after she married. Caitlyn was aware her sister noticed there was a difference in how Alex and Caitlyn acted together. After that, it had seemed like Alex was courting Caitlyn whenever he came to court, which was more frequent than it had been when Cairren was a lady-in-waiting.
Caitlyn half-listened to the conversation around her as she watched the breeze make the meadow flowers sway. She closed her eyes for a long blink before gazing at the lazy clouds shuffling by overhead. She was more content than she ever was within the castle’s walls. Things were still tense with Alex, but it was the first time in weeks that she’d relaxed. It finally felt like they were friends again instead of enemies. She inhaled, filling her lungs nearly to bursting with the fresh air as the sun warmed her cheeks.
“You shall get more freckles.” Alex’s voice was so close to Caitlyn’s ear that she jumped. Its softness sent a shiver along her spine. “Do you think there are too many to count?”
Alex reminded her of the childhood game they’d played after passing hours outside. He spent much of his day in the lists, while Caitlyn helped in the gardens and visited clan members in the village with her mother. Alex used to tease Caitlyn and Cairren, who were both prone to freckles despite their olive skin.
Caitlyn grimaced, which surprised Alex. At his frown, Caitlyn shook her head. “I wasn’t thinking. All this sunshine will have darkened my skin. I should have worn a hat.”
“One of those straw peasant hats Cairren insisted upon?”
“Aye. I never wore one at home, but I do when I’m outside without the other ladies and can’t hide in the shade. They’ll have plenty to say.”
“Like they did to Cairren?” Alex felt his jaw clench as he recalled the vicious and dangerous things he’d overheard the Munros say about Cairren when she first arrived at her husband’s clan. He’d heard similar things while he’d visited court when she was in residence.
“Not as bad as that. I’m still lighter than Cairren, even when I’m out in the sun. They’ll be unkind, but not as hateful as they were to Cairrie. I feel guilty that I have an easier time than she did. It was by chance that she has darker skin than I do. I used to ask God when I was younger to give me the same rich color asMamanand Cairrie. Now I admit I’ve thanked Him for not. Being lighter makes me more acceptable.” Caitlyn shrugged. Thinking about it only made her feel worse than the comments.
“Are you safe?” Alex asked every time he visited. He couldn’t remember if he already had during this visit.
“Aye. I’ve had untoward offers, and people assume what they did with Cairren. One of these days, I’ll become some mon’s mistress and live up to their low expectations.” Caitlyn’s rueful smile hid the pain the ethnocentric comments caused, but there was little she could do. It was the queen who invited Cairren, then Caitlyn, to serve as ladies-in-waiting. When she first arrived, Caitlyn wondered if Queen Elizabeth took perverse pleasure in having the sisters, with their Saracen heritage showing in their complexions, in her entourage. While she never got that sense during her stay at Stirling, she also knew she would find no champion in the queen.
“How much longer must you remain?” Alex stared to the south as though he might view the malicious royal court from where they lounged.
“I don’t know. Until Papa arranges a marriage or the king decrees who I’ll wed. It could be years or only sennights. I’m not part of that decision.”
Alex loathed the resignation he heard in Caitlyn’s voice. He almost wished there were anger or bitterness. It told him during their ride she’d accepted that he would never offer for her. She’d given up, and he was the only one to blame.
The sun passed behind a cloud, casting a dark shadow over them. Alex realized it was later than he thought. He knew they should have started back sooner, but he estimated their arrival at the keep before sundown. But it would be close.
“We need to ride back, Caity.”
“I know.” Caitlyn’s mouth twisted as she accepted that her brief taste of freedom was over. And so was the brief time she had with the Alex she’d known since she was five. The man he was now planned to leave the next day, and she didn’t expect him to return. She expected his argument to be that he had no business back at court after being attacked, and she suspected his father relenting—likely after his mother insisted. “Thank you for bringing me out here.”
“I think we both needed it.” Alex watched as Grant helped Caitlyn once more, but he felt at ease once he mounted, not having struggled now that he had a better method. He found confidence he didn’t think he still possessed.
Twelve
“Alex.” Caitlyn tried not to look back.
“I know. I saw them as we rounded the last bend. We need to outrun them. Can you manage?”
Caitlyn glanced at Alex, and he wondered if she questioned whether he was the one who would slow them. She nodded as she pressed her thighs firmer against her horse’s flanks. The men already rode in a circle around her, like they always did. But the circle tightened as all their mounts increased their paces.
“No matter what, stay inside the circle.”
“Yes, Alex. I know. Who are they?” Caitlyn chanced a glance back and wished she hadn’t. Their unknown pursuers were gaining ground and creeping closer.
“I don’t know. But we must push forward. We’re too far away to reach Stirling and use the castle for protection. We can try to lose them in the woods coming up, but I don’t like the idea of leading our horses through there while they’re running.”
“I’ll go wherever you tell me.” Caitlyn’s voice rang with trust and confidence. Alex prayed he proved worthy of it. He suspected the men following them weren’t merely highwaymen hoping to rob them. The glances he’d gotten made him think trained warriors followed them. The horseflesh was too fine, and the men appeared too well-fed. If that was the case, they were after no one but him.
