“Ah thought I told you to stay hidden.”
“I tried but this horse of yours has a mind of her own. She was coming back to you with or without me. Who were they? Are we in danger?”
“From Billy, Jock, and Matthew? They were the three smallest bairns I ever taught war tae.”
“They didn’t look that small to me.”
“A decade older than when ah last saw them. I remember them crashing through the woods when ah was trying tae teach them tae track silently.”
“Looks like it finally paid off.”
“What makes ye say that?”
“I saw them sneaking up on you. They were like ghosts. I didn’t even hear the leaves rustle under their feet.”
“You saw them and they didnae see you? You’ve got hidden talents, lass. Come on, we better get moving. We have a way to go yet.”
He climbed up behind her and brought the horse back onto the road. Glancing both ways before setting off he vowed not to lose concentration again. He spoke little until they stopped for the night.
“Where are we?” she asked as he headed off the road, following a stream downhill into a glen. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“Aye, this is the land o’ my childhood. The village I grew up in is over the next hill and glen.”
“Does that mean your old house is near here somewhere?”
“Aye. About a mile that way.”
“Can we see it? I mean if we keep going, please.”
“We will be spending the night there.”
He took the familiar trail, the one he’d never forgotten. The path was overgrown, little wonder since the house had been empty so long. Through the glen and out the other side and then along a cut between two hills, a winding valley that came out in a wide opening.
There at the far end was the looming bulk of Garra Fell.
They rode on as the last of the light died. It didn’t matter anymore. He could have traveled this stretch blindfolded, the memory of this land had never faded, not in all the years he’d been away.
As they rode, his hand went to the pocket in his hose. He felt for the locket and a thought occurred to him.
She looked back at him, her eyes glittering in the moonlight, looking like tiny stars.
He liked it when she looked at him. There was no denying she was a pretty enough lass, even if her face spent most of its time hidden under the hood of her cloak.
He noticed his breathing had loosened as if the air grew thinner. It was just the fell.
So why was his heart pounding? It was because he was nearly home, that was all.
They crested the fell and there it was, he was home. She turned and looked where he was pointing. “Ma hoose.”
He had no idea what he expected her to say but the last thing he expected was for her to burst into tears.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, putting an arm around her shoulder, drawing her back toward him. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” she said quietly. “I’m fine.”
