It wasn’t until the next day when Lucy heard the sound she’d been dreading, hoofbeats approaching from behind.
Lucy’s heart dropped. She hazarded a glance over her shoulder and saw five of Agnes’ men pounding after them, no doubt looking for retribution for their escape.
“They’ve been riding all night.” Callan nodded to her.
“Their horses are tired. We can outrun them.” The forest flew past in a blur as they fled their pursuers.
After several miles, the sound of the men faded into the wind as Lucy and Callan slowed the horses. Now she knew why she’d brought him with her, because it wasn’t safe for a woman to travel alone.
“Do you think we lost them?” Lucy panted, sweat dripping down her neck.
Callan nodded, scanning the empty road behind them. “Aye, we?—”
He broke off as an arrow whizzed past his head, embedding itself into a tree to Callan’s right.
Three of the men were riding hard, closing the distance.
Apparently they hadn’t lost them all.
“Go, go.” Callan yelled.
Lucy clung to her horse’s mane as they rode through the forest, ducking low-hanging branches and jumping over brush.
The forest went quiet as the men crashed through the underbrush after them.
Up ahead, Lucy spotted a clearing, but as she raised a hand to point, the horse stumbled on the uneven ground. As she struggled to keep her seat, her stomach clenched at the sight of a fallen tree blocking the path ahead. Jumping was not something she was very good at, it made her nervous, which in turn made her horse nervous.
“Dinna stop, lass. We must jump,” Callan bellowed, as his horse cleared the tree.
The horse’s muscles rippled under her as Lucy closed her eyes and hoped the horse knew what it was doing. When she felt them leave the ground, she swallowed but didn’t open her eyes until the horse’s hooves hit solid ground.
There was a creak and when she risked a glance over her shoulder, it was in time to see a leaning tree fall the rest of the way over, fully blocking the path.
“Yes!” Lucy shook her fist in the air as the mercenaries halted.
“The fates are smiling upon us.” Callan laughed, his eyes bright with the excitement of the chase, while the best Lucy could manage was a shaky smile.
CHAPTER 17
Over the next few days,they settled into a routine as they traveled, Lucy hoping to intercept William on his way home. It had been long enough that even if the king had kept him longer, he should be headed home by now.
She wondered where Thomas and her guard were? If they’d gone to court to find William or if they’d ridden for Blackford?
If anything had happened to any of them, Lucy would never forgive herself. Now that she’d had plenty of time to think and not just react, she knew the likelihood of one of her sister’s traveling through time was one in a million, but she’d wanted to believe so she’d gone ahead, putting not only herself and her retinue in danger, but her children as well.
During the day, they rode at an easy pace so as not to tire the horses. At night they took turns keeping watch while the other slept. Lucy was initially wary of trusting a stranger, but found Callan to be an easy traveling companion.
One evening when Callan returned from washing at the stream, Lucy blinked.
“You shaved.” Why did he look familiar to her? She knew she’d never met him before. They’d been so worried about their pursuers that they hadn’t talked much during the day, and by the time they stopped at night, both of them were too exhausted to say much.
He touched his face. The skin where his beard had been was lighter than the rest of his face.
“I dinna usually wear a beard. It itches too much.”
While she sat by the fire, letting her hair dry, Lucy decided to find out more about her traveling companion. They were both rested, and it seemed he wanted to talk as much as she did.
“My husband doesn’t even know I went to Beverley Priory.” Lucy confessed, telling him of the note and how she’d lied to her guard, saying she wanted to take the waters.
