“Yekenned this would happen.”
“Isuspected it. I fear Sir Simon Treacher feels somewhat lustful toward me.” Thelook of surprise on Dougal’s face irritated her. “Ye need not take my word onit. Ye can ask any of the others here.”
“Nay,nay, I believe you. It grows dark. ‘Twill not be easy to run away from thesemen.”
“Thedarkness will hinder them as weel.”
“Andsoon we will be on lands we ken better than they do,” added Robert.
“Whatdo ye think, Aunt?” Dougal asked Neil.
“Ithink ye are an idiot.” She ignored his glare and the snickers of the men. “Ibelieve we had best start on our dash to safety. I dinnae believe that mon willtrail us too deeply into Scotland. He probably only has a small part of hisforce of men.”
“Iwill trail the fool and let ye ken the moment he turns back,” said Ronald,riding away before anyone could thank him.
BeforeDougal could further argue the course of action the rest of them had decidedupon, Sorcha edged up next to Neil, and they both kneed their mounts into aneasy gallop. She heard Dougal curse softly and follow them and the other threeDunweare men. It was undoubtedly going to be a long night, and, after two fulldays in the saddle, Sorcha was dreading it.
Itwas dark when Ronald appeared to tell them that Simon and his men had madecamp. Dougal did not protest when the rest of them decided to keep moving, evenif it meant walking their weary horses most of the way. When dawn began tolighten the sky, they finally stopped to rest for a while. Sorcha echoed thegroans of exhaustion the others released as they gathered around a small,sheltered campfire.
“Thismon seems most determined to get you,” said Dougal as he sat beside Sorcha,took a long drink from the wineskin being passed around, and handed it to her.
“Heis,” replied Neil, seated on the other side of Sorcha. “Ye would be certain ofit if ye had seen him ogle her whilst we negotiated your ransom.”
“Thiscannae be approved of by Lord Selkirk. That mon is one to honor the traditionsof ransoming,” Dougal said, scowling into the surrounding wood. “Weel, once yeare back in Dunweare, Sorcha, ye will be safe.”
“Ishould like to think so,” she murmured.
“Butye dinnae believe it?”
“Thischase has made me uneasy. The mon breaks all the rules to pursue me. Aye, hewill probably turn back this time, but that doesnae mean he has given up.”
“Nay,”agreed Neil. “This was an unthinking leap at the prey he seeks. We slipped freeof his grasp, and now he will sit back and carefully plot his next move.Another thing we have in our favor is that winter creeps ever closer. Mayhap along, cold stay in whatever keep he haunts will cool the snake’s ardor.”
“Dinnaeye think ye make too much of this?” asked Dougal. “Treacher would risk a lot tocome into Scotland after Sorcha. It makesno sense.There must be womenin England he can seek out to cool his ardor.”
“Yehave ne’er been stricken with a great passion, lad. That is why ye cannaeunderstand.”
“Iam no innocent bairn, Aunt.”
“Ididnae say ye were untried, fool. I just said ye havenae kenned the sort ofblinding lust that makes ye act unwisely. ‘Tis for the best. Ye act quiteunwisely enough without it.”
Sorchainwardly sighed as Neil and Dougal proceeded to argue, Neil insulting Dougaland he angrily defending himself. It was an old game. They loved each otherdearly, but Neil wanted Dougal to be the responsible laird of Dunweare he wasnot ready to be, and Dougal felt the need to violently defend his ideas andactions.
Shefound her thoughts drifting to Ruari and inwardly sighed. It was just her luckthat the slinking Simon Treacher was the one who lusted after her so much hewould chase her down into enemy territory while the man she wanted raced backto Gartmhor as fast as his horse could carry him, never to return. She hadbarely looked at Treacher, and certainly not in an inviting way, and he wasrunning after her like a stag scenting a doe in season, while she had madepassionate love to Ruari for three long nights, and he set her aside without athought. Fate had a very cruel sense of humor, she decided.
Asshe helped herself to some of the bread and cheese being passed around, sherealized that a goodly part of her sadness came from the fact that she andRuari had parted in anger with her delivering insults and him hurling outthreats. She had wanted his memories of her to be sweet ones, maybe even sweetenough to pull him back to her. It was doubtful he would remember her verysweetly now.
“Stopit,” whispered Neil, nudging her hard enough to nearly cause her to lose herbalance.
Sorchaquickly looked for Dougal, only to see that he had gotten so angry he hadwalked away. “Stop what?” she asked her aunt and could tell by Neil’s disgustedlook that her act of confused innocence was not working.
“Ceasebrooding o’er that mon. I ken ‘tis hard for he hasnae even been gone a weekyet, but the quicker ye fight the urge to brood, the quicker the pain eases.”
“Aye,it probably does. I wasnae really brooding. I was but wondering why a mon Iwant no part of chases me, and the one I do want runs away. It doesnae seemquite fair.”
“Nay,it doesnae, but if one expected things always to be fair, one would beconstantly disappointed.” She smiled when Sorcha laughed. “Ye need not fearthat Dougal will learn of what passed between ye and Sir Ruari.”
“Alot of people ken what happened—most all of Dunweare, I suspect.”
