“Share it wi’.”
Temple smiled over his shoulder. “I believe they’re saying that Connor is in love with you, my lady.”
The same warmth that filled her when Connor confessed as much to her earlier flooded her anew. He loved her. As she loved him. If he found joy in another’s happiness, it was the same for her.
The deep shadows of a copse of beech trees hanging over the road cast them in full darkness once again. Birdsong whistled through the trees to herald the rising sun. He’d better catch up with them fast. She’d wed no other.
Piper faced Temple in time to see his buoyant mood fade away. His posture went rigid, his eyes focused over her shoulder. She swiveled around to scan the road, but saw nothing.
“What is it? Is it Connor?”
“I believe we’re being followed.”
“Are ye certain?” Ian twisted in his saddle. “I dinnae see anyone.”
How could they in the near dark?
“Let’s pick up the pace.” Temple spurred his horse into a canter. “Aylesbury is only a few miles more.”
Piper did the same and drew up next to the agent while the twins came up behind them. “Connor won’t be able to catch up with us if we go too fast.”
“He won’t catch up ever if you get caught,” Temple countered, his expression somber.
Hoof beats began to thunder, growing in volume. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the outline of an indeterminable number of riders gaining on them from the rear. She crouched low over her horse’s neck, her thoughts racing in tandem.
“Any chance they’re out for nothing more than a predawn perambulation into the village?” Ian echoed her inner query.
“At such a pace?”
A sharp crack split the crisp autumn morning and Tam uttered a vile oath. “I guess that answers that question.”
“They wouldnae dare risk harming her, would they?” Ian yelled as another shot sounded accompanied by a shout for them to halt.
“They’re firing into the air,” Temple assured her. “They want to frighten us into surrendering.”
Shewas most assuredly frightened, but she had no intention of giving in to their demand. She’d come too far to give up now. Contrary to that assuredness, she wasn’t certain how they were to make it to safety given their current circumstances.
“They’re shooting atus, ye numpty. I doubt they’d mistake either of us for a lady,” Tam muttered, loud enough for Piper to hear.
Even on horseback, the twins’ evident size made an easy target. The comparison between Piper and Temple would be harder to discern from a distance with her height and the structured shoulders of Connor’s jacket to give her breadth. Surely, they wouldn’t randomly shoot and hope for the best?
Contrary to her opinion, another shotgun blast rang out. The sky brightened exponentially with each passing second. A glance over her shoulder showed six men behind them, but they weren’t the sole issue. Passing through the brief woodland back into open fields, she saw another four riders approaching on an adjacent road that crossed their path not far ahead.
“We go straight to the constable when we reach the village,” Temple instructed. “They wouldn’t dare try to get her there. I don’t care who employs them.”
The roar of hoof beats, even the rough heave of her horse’s breath couldn’t override the pounding of Piper’s heart in her ears. In all the time she’d been in hiding, she’d never been this terrified. Not for herself, rather for the trio of men crowding around her, sheltering her from every side. They would do anything to protect her.
Because Connor requested it of them.
She couldn’t have anyone hurt because of her.
“We should give up,” she shouted. “Find another way.”
Their denials tumbled one over the other. Another shot rang out. Ian’s horse reared, but it was Tam on the other side of his twin who shouted out in pain.
“Tam!” Ian reached for his brother’s reins as Tam flattened a hand to the small of his back.
“Buggering sons of bitches,” Tam swore. “That bloody well hurts.”
