“You tempt me to folly, lass,” he whispered as he eased her down to stand. “Clouds gather.” He nodded above to where the thickening clouds began to shroud the full moon...and its light. “If you can still ride, we should cover whatever distance we can before the weather breaks.”
“I can,” Elizabeth said. At first she glanced away but then she met his gaze once more. “You tempt me as well, James.”
For a man who’d planned to live his life by making practical choices and decisions, he’d given himself over to passion and desire’s control very quickly. Filled with anticipation of their future together, James reluctantly released her.
“See to your needs, Elizabeth. And then we’ll be on our way.”
“Where are we going?” she asked. “This looks like the road we took back from Perth.”
“It is. We’ll follow this until we reach the road that heads south to Glasgow. There is a small village near there...and a priest who will marry us.”
“How did you find it?” she asked, smiling at him in a way that warmed his heart.
“I noticed the village as we passed through it. When I decided I...we must elope, I asked about it.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous?”
“Lady MacLerie seemed very forthcoming in her suggestions.”
“The lady knows about us?” Elizabeth gasped. “About this?”
“Although I did not tell her specifically, but aye, I believe she knows what I planned to do. She spoke about a cousin of the earl’s who was married by a priest of the Old Church.” He smiled, now realizing how detailed the lady’s directions were to him. “No one knows anything about our plans—yet. I left a note behind to explain, but it will not be found until morning. So, we are safe for now.”
She nodded and turned from him then and he watched as her long legs, encased in and outlined by the trews she wore, carried her away from him. He might have even taken a step after her before he realized she needed some privacy. Laughing, he turned back and checked the saddle and bags tied in place, looking for some of the food he’d packed.
Elizabeth finished her task and found Jamie waiting for her where she’d left him. He held out a chunk of bread to her and she nodded her thanks as she took it. Her stomach had churned through most of the day, including the midday meal at the keep and the dinner that her mother had made, so it did not surprise her when it now grumbled with hunger.
“I did not eat much today,” she admitted to him. “I was too nervous after speaking to you.”
“Here, have this, too, then,” he said, holding out a small piece of yellow cheese and another chunk of bread. “You will need your strength.” Their gazes met as she thought about what was ahead of them. The guilty expression that filled his blue eyes told her they thought on different matters.
She accepted the proffered food without comment and ate it all. By the time she’d swallowed the last bite, he held out a skin of ale to her and she drank some. Then, he stored everything in their bags and mounted first. She grasped his hand and pulled herself up behind him, easing her body into position so as to not startle the horse. Elizabeth gathered her cloak around her and slid her arms around his waist to steady herself as they rode.
In truth, she liked riding like this.
She could embrace him, feeling the strength of his muscles beneath her hands and arms as they rode. With her legs pressed against his came a new awareness of heat between them. She’d shamelessly pilfered a pair of her brother’s trews, believing that it would be easier to travel unnoticed in them. She never considered the pleasure of holding Jamie between them.
As they crossed the miles through the night, she fell asleep against his back, clutching his cloak to hold on and enjoying the heat of his body against her. He even held onto her hands to keep her secure as they rode. They interrupted their journey for a few, brief stops—always seeing to their comfort and traveling on. Then, not long after the first light of dawn began to brighten the skies above, thunder echoed above them, warning of approaching storms.
The first drops of rain did not bother them, but as it turned into torrents, Jamie guided the horse to a slower and safer pace and finally brought them to a halt under a thick copse of trees. Even the meager shelter offered there was better than nothing and they waited a short time, hoping the rains would cease or at least ease up. Jamie helped her down and she shook the rain from her cloak as he did.
Gazing into the rain, she realized they were still on MacLerie lands, out in the western grazing lands used for their cattle. That meant...
“There,” she said, pointing up on the side of the mountain to the west of them. “A shieling.”
It was a crude hut, turf-roofed with a low foundation of stones, but it would keep them out of the worst of it. Because of the way it was built into the side of the mountain, it was not easily seen from where they stood. Jamie turned and sought out what she saw. He smiled and nodded.
“Just what we need for shelter from this storm.”
They decided it would be quicker to walk and guide the horse along the narrow path on the mountainside than to ride, so Elizabeth pulled her cloak over her head and around her to keep as much rain off as possible. By the time they reached the hut, she was drenched. Jamie led the horse to the side where the trees formed a shelter while she opened the door to the shieling. Elizabeth had to lean into it, for it was stuck from the elements and the age of it. She’d just pushed it open when Jamie joined her, bringing their bags and supplies with him.
Elizabeth ducked her head to enter through the low opening. The hut was small but clean. Though the drovers had long since taken the cattle to the markets in the south, the shieling was left stocked with some meager supplies—a jar of oats, another of flour and one of honey, a griddle pan, some battered metal cups, and some woolen blankets folded on a shelf. The MacLerie steward kept these shelters stocked and clean, and many times these places had saved lives when surprise winter storms moved through the mountains and caught his people outside.
A good thing for them right at this moment.
A quick glance showed the inside was dry, too, with only a small leak in one, easily avoidable corner of the shieling. Other than two low stools, it was empty of furnishings. She moved out of the way so Jamie could enter.
“Not our usual accommodations, but it will keep us dry for now,” he said, putting the bags down. “Here, let me have your cloak.”
