“Ye dinnae think her enemies somehow reached her here, do ye?”
“Nay,” Nigel replied without hesitation. “Gisele would ne’er have gone with them peacefully, and I have seen no sign that there has been any sort of struggle anywhere within the keep. And someone would have seen something, assuming that any stranger could have gotten inside these walls unseen, anyway, which I greatly doubt.”
Balfour nodded. “Nor could they have then left here with an unwilling lass. Do ye go after her?”
“Oh, aye, but it must wait until the dawn. I cannae track her in the dark.”
“Nigel, this makes no sense to me,” Maldie said. “She was safe here. Why would she ride away alone? Surely she has not forgotten that she has enemies who wish to kill her?”
“Nay.” Nigel shook his head. “In truth, I would wager that those enemies are exactly why she has left. The lass has e’er wavered between accepting help and feeling it was wrong or cowardly to pull others into the danger surrounding her.”
“Oh, aye, I understand.” When both men stared at her as if she had lost her wits, Maldie just shrugged. “In her place, I believe my mind would have traveled the same path. This is her trouble, nay ours. If that trouble then puts ones ye care about into danger then ye leave and take that danger as far away from them as ye can.”
“Mayhap,” Nigel reluctantly agreed. “But if the foolish lass had waited a day longer, or spoken to me of her fears, I could have stopped this.” He held up a paper he had clutched in his hands. “There is no danger now. She is pardoned. The real killers of her husband have been found and, sadly, punished. ’Tis all over.”
“Then ye had best hurry and find her. She may be safe from the DeVeaux now, but it isnae safe for a lass to be riding about all alone.”
“I ken it. I will find her, and I may well chain her to a wall here until I can talk some sense into her bonny little head.”
The hours until dawn crawled by for Nigel. He tried to sleep but found it impossible. Instead he paced his room and cursed the sun for being too slow to rise. Despite his efforts not to, he thought of every danger that could befall Gisele out there alone in a country she did not know. He even recalled her tendency to get lost, and feared he could lose a lot of time trailing her all over the countryside.
Dawn’s light had barely begun to grace the sky when he was striding to the stables, a sleepy-eyed Eric trailing behind him, asking, “Are ye sure ye dinnae want me to come along?”
“Aye, laddie,” Nigel answered as he saddled his horse. “Go back to bed.”
“It may help to have two pairs of eyes looking for the lass’s trail.”
“Nay, for her horse leaves a distinctive marking upon the ground. I had meant to get the beast reshod for fear others would recognize her trail as easily as I could, but I ne’er got the chance. I am heartily glad of that now.”
“And, ye wish to be alone with her when ye find her,” Eric said carefully, watching his brother closely as the man led his horse out of the stable.
“Aye.” He mounted and smiled down at Eric. “There is a lot I must tell that foolish lass, and I think I would rather do that alone.”
“Will ye go to the port where ye came in and wait for her there?”
“I would if I could trust the lass to find her way back there, but she has an inclination to get lost. Dinnae fret o’er me, lad. I will find her and I will bring her back, if I dinnae throttle her for worrying me half to death.”
He waved farewell to his laughing brother as he rode out of Donncoill’s gates, but his confidence quickly wavered. Gisele had already been gone for hours, tempting danger. Even if he found her safe and alive, he might find that he was wrong about why she left Donncoill. She might have run away from him. It was not a thought he found very comforting as he began to follow her clear trail.
Gisele grimaced as she dismounted and looked at her horse’s hoof. She was barely an hour’s ride from the village where she had spent a restless night when the horse had begun to favor its right front hoof. To her relief it was merely a pebble caught in his shoe, but she decided to walk for a while to see if the animal had suffered any bruising or serious injury. It was clear, however, that she would not cover very many miles today, and that both disappointed and worried her.
Now that she had decided what must be done she was eager to get it over with, despite her fears. She also did not want to linger in Scotland for any longer than it took to get to a port. That would give Nigel a better chance of finding her and trying to stop her. She had to be free of the DeVeaux before she could even consider a life with the man, but she was sure he would not understand that.
A soft noise behind her drew her out of her thoughts, and she looked around. Although she saw nothing, her insides tightened with fear. Something was out there, lurking in the shadows of the trees. She glanced at her horse, saw that it still limped slightly, and cursed. Even if she mounted quickly and spurred the animal to a gallop, she would not get very far before she had to stop again. She could also harm the animal beyond repair.
The sharp sound of a twig snapping sent a shiver of fear down her spine. She put her hand on her sword, thanking God that, she had retained the wit to bring the weapon despite her upset and confusion as she had left Donncoill. Since there was no hope of escaping whatever danger trailed her, Gisele quickly tethered her horse. If she survived whatever or whomever crept her way, she did not want to look around afterward and find that her horse had been frightened away.
Out of the shadows emerged two filthy, poorly dressed men, and Gisele swiftly drew her sword. They grinned widely, and she felt anger begin to push its way through her fear. Men were so arrogant. She might not equal them in size and strength, but she was suddenly eager to show them that their derision of her skill was seriously misplaced.
“If you have followed me from the village thinking to enrich your paltry selves, I should turn back now,” she said, pleased with the hard, cold tone of her voice. “I have naught of any worth.”
“Ye arenae a Scot,” muttered the shorter of the two men.
“A clever thief,” she drawled. “I am all atremble.”
The way both men narrowed their eyes beneath the shaggy tendrils of their filthy hair told Gisele that insulting them might not be wise, but she shrugged aside that doubt. They had come here to rob her, perhaps even to rape and kill her. She did not think sweetness and flattery would change their minds. Deriding them helped her to remain calm, and gave her some small sense of satisfaction.
“Ye may not have the coin we seek, although I am thinking your purse isnae empty, but there be one or two other wee things we can help ourselves to,” said the shorter man.
