Horses.
The clip-clop of their hooves offered her hope. It was as bright as the dawn breaking through the remains of the storm.
But they might not be kindhearted. Doubt managed to insert one dark thought before her logic arrived to rescue her. The simple truth was she had no choice.
Hiding would see her dead from the chill in the air. So she steeled herself, staring at the place where the sound of horses was growing louder. Her heart accelerated, beating hard inside of her chest. A strange little sensation of foreboding rose inside of her.
There was no help for it, though. She kept her back straight and her chin level. She might have been betrayed but she wasn’t a coward.
Mol would not be triumphant!
*
Brom was asimple man.
He didn’t complicate his life by allowing himself to be distracted by irrelevant things. There was duty and honor. Between those lines was where he lived his life.
Today, though, Brom rode his horse to the high ground and discovered that perhaps there was something worth contemplating beyond the simple details of his life.
Fate was, in truth, an active force in the world.
What else could explain the woman standing on the beach?
He’d never placed his faith in it or squandered his time in hoping for the unseen force to deliver what he wanted. Better for a man to work hard for what he wanted in life.
But the woman was standing there on the shoreline.
Her hair was a tangled mess but enough of her skin was visible to confirm she was young.
It seemed thatfate was in a kind mood today. Brom was sincerely grateful. For without Diarmuid, the clan would split into factions.
If that happened, blood would flow. His laird’s plan lacked all logic. Yet there was no way Brom could deny that there was something unnatural about the Maiden’s Tower.
And now he was staring at the very thing his laird had sent him to find.
Perhaps the impossible might not be as unobtainable as he’d thought.
Chapter Four
Fate was verykind.
“I am very grateful,” Ailsa said.
Around her, there was a flurry of activity. Several women came and went into the bathhouse. They were tending to her as though she was some treasured member of the family.
A girl poured more hot water into the tub Ailsa sat in.
Someone was using a comb to work the snarls from her tangled hair.
Another maid brought in a plate with cheese and dried fruits.
“Oh my…thank you!” Ailsa shoved several pieces of cheese into her mouth. Nothing had ever tasted so good! “My father will surely compensate you for tending to me. I was on my way to be married. My chaperone betrayed me. She tossed me over the rail of the ship and paid the captain to turn a blind eye.”
There was a stiffening of the women around her. Some of the younger ones cast uncertain looks toward the older ones. The matron in charge snapped her fingers, sending them all back into their tasks.
“Ye look the age to be married,” the matron said.
Ailsa nodded and chewed.
