"Aye,” replied Sigimor. “Fingal says the lads have Harold and his men weel occupied."
"It seems unfair to put them at risk,” murmured Jolene. “Tis my trouble, not theirs."
"They arenae at risk,” said Ewan as he stood behind Fiona and wrapped his arms around her. “They but taunt and tease, turning that Sassenach about until he is dizzy. Aye, and they will do so until the dawn. Ye ought to have a fine lead on the fool by then."
"Aye,” agreed Sigimor, “and then he will have to find himself some new horses."
The fact that the men heartily enjoyed that circumstance caused Jolene to roll her eyes in disgust. She saw Fiona do the same, revealing yet again, how in harmony they were. Then Ewan surprised her by moving away from Fiona and giving her a brief, but not very brotherly, kiss. The moment he stepped back, Jolene found herself hurried over to her horse and tossed up into her saddle by a fiercely scowling Sigimor. Ewan and Fiona stood arm in arm, grinning widely at what Jolene could only see as Sigimor's jealous reaction to that farewell kiss from Ewan. And, Jolene thought, she would not be at all surprised if Fiona and Ewan had planned it just to see how their cousin would react.
As they started to ride out of Scarglas, Jolene looked back and saw Fiona hold up one finger. Jolene could only smile as she waved, then quickly turned her full attention to keeping up with the Camerons. She supposed she did now have the answer to one of the ten questions Fiona had insisted she ask herself. That had been one of the easy ones for Sigimor had revealed such possessiveness before. However, Jolene suddenly realized that the answers to the ten questions would draw her a very adequate picture of what her husband felt for her. She had promised Fiona she would consider all ten questions simply because the woman was a friend, but Jolene knew that she would do so for her own sake now.
The stealth used to leave Scarglas reminded Jolene very strongly of the threat to her life and Reynard's, however, so she put such puzzles aside. Sigimor had set Reynard with Liam just in case something went terribly wrong and they had to ride hard to shake Harold off their trail. Another strong sign of the uncertainty that surrounded them, and would continue to do so as long as Harold lived.
"Stay close, lass,” Sigimor said as he slowed a little to ride by her side. “The sun willnae rise for a few hours yet and ye dinnae want to lose us in the dark."
"Nay, I will be sure to stay close,” she assured him. “If I think I am falling behind, I will tie my reins to your horse's tail."
"And if ye do lose sight of us?"
"I will stop and not move another step,” she replied, reciting the lesson he had repeated to her over and over again since she had fallen into Harold's hands that one time. “Mayhap sing a little."
"Ah, and ye do have some sense of tune and tone, do ye?"
"Some.” She grinned at him. “More than you, leastwise."
"A toad has more than me.” He winked at her when she laughed, pleased to see her sadness easing away. “Ye liked Fiona, aye?"
"Oh, aye. Have you ever met someone and just known that you were a perfect match?"
It was on the tip of his tongue to say that he had indeed and that it was her, but it was the wrong place and the wrong time. “Aye. Ye mean someone ye ken is a friend from the moment ye meet him?"
Jolene nodded. “Exactly. The sort of person who makes ye realize that most of the people you know and refer to as friends are really not much more than pleasant acquaintances. That is what I felt with Fiona, a true bonding. I realized that I had never truly had a friend before.” She grimaced. “That sounds rather pitiful. After all, I did have Peter."
"Peter was your brother and the earl. Aye, I dinnae doubt ye were close, but ‘tisnae the same. My brother Somerled is my twin, my womb brother, and I dinnae think any two siblings can be closer than that. I also have a verra big family and we are close. Yet, I ken what ye mean by that occasional one ye meet whom ye immediately feel a bond with."
"And you have met someone like that?"
"Twice. Liam, though he is a cousin, and Nanty. Actually, I must include Ewan as weel. I felt it, but with the breach between the families and the way he got his hands on Fiona, I had to be wary. It did mean, however, that, e'en though he had taken Fiona hostage and had married her without e'en meeting her kin, I didnae just kill him."
"Very good of you, m'lord. I suspect Fiona was pleased."
"Aye, although her brother Connor was a wee bit disappointed that I didnae at least bruise the fool a wee bit."
"Oh, dear. He did not do so, did he?"
"Nay, for Fiona had already written to him about the mon, that she had chosen him."
"Ah, and, of course, the possibility that Fiona would hurt you if you hurt Ewan had no part in your restraint."
Sigimor laughed. “Och, aye, she would have, too. Nay doubt about it.” He saw her glance behind them, narrowing her eyes as she tried to peer through the pre-dawn gloom. “Nay, lass, he isnae following. S'truth, I suspect we will be safe at Dubheidland ere he can e'en take up the hunt again. If naught else, he and his men will be on foot until they leave MacFingal lands."
Jolene smiled faintly and shook her head. “It feels as if he has been holding a knife to my throat for months instead of but days. He has proven far better at this than I would ever have thought him to be."
"At first he just wanted to catch ye both because of all his grand plans. Now, I think he has grown desperate, needs ye and the lad to protect himself. He must ken that, as each day passes, there grows a greater chance that your kinsmen have discovered his game and might already be hunting him."
"Oh, I do hope so."
"Heed me, wife, if Harold discovers he is being sought by your kinsmen, your life may be in even greater danger."
