Then why on earth am I lookin’ at this lad and admirin’ him in any way!
He refused to think of Billie anymore. Those blue eyes were making him confused, and it was a kind of confusion Erskine did not find welcome. He pulled the steed further ahead of the group, keen to put distance between them so that no one could see the red blush that was taking over his face.
I have nae been so embarrassed before. I am beginnin’ to wonder if I ken meself at all.
* * *
The sun began to set in the sky at the end of their first day of travelling, turning the wisp-like clouds dark red. Laura marveled at the colors and how they dappled the countryside on either side of the road with red and orange hues. She had barely ever left her father’s townhouse in London. The sight before her made her smile, admiring a natural beauty in the world she had not seen before.
As she pondered on the natural word, she watched as two blackbirds flew overhead. She swiveled in the saddle, trying to keep them in sight as they slipped between the canopies of nearby trees. Her movement had turned her legs, making her nudge Erskine’s leg with her own.
“Apologies,” she pulled her leg back instantly, aware of the heat in his thigh. The horse was now trailing behind the others on the chalk track, tiring from having to carry two people.
“Daenae worry, ye were lookin’ at the birds?” he asked, as he glanced over his shoulder at the trees.
“Yes, I have spent my life in London. Seeing all ofthis,” she gestured to the world around them, “it is just all so beautiful.”
“Wait until ye see Scotland. It is even more beautiful in me opinion,” Erskine said with a softness to his voice she had not heard before.
It is easy to hear he loves his homeland.
The thought made her smile grow greater.
“Billie, I have been thinkin’,” Erskine’s now wary voice made her smile drop, nervous of the change in conversation. “Movin’ from London to Scotland is nae a small task. Especially if the only world ye have ever seen is London. I ken ye said yer aunt is the only family ye had left but is there somethin’ else to this? Somethin’ ye are nae tellin’ us?”
The words hung in the air unanswered for a moment. The only sound between them was the chirping of the blackbirds and the crunching of the chalk path beneath the horse’s hooves.
I cannot tell him the truth!
If she did, she was certain they would leave her at the next inn they could find, offended by her ruse.
“What if there were something more to it?” She made a point of keeping her body even further back in the saddle, eliminating any chance of their bodies touching.
“I daenae like deception,” his words made her wince and look out to the open countryside. “In me life, I have seen a lot of it. So many lies between the Jacobites and the English, even between the clans themselves.”
“That is politics!” Laura complained. “It is not personal.”
“Aye, true, but it still has convinced me that the truth is best,” he spoke openly and glanced over his shoulder. The quick look allowed her a brief glimpse of his startling green eyes. “If I were to presume ye were escapin’ somethin’, would I be wrong?”
“No, you would not be wrong,” Laura answered honestly. She did not like the idea of lying to such a man. It made her screw up her hands in the loose folds of her breeches again with her old habit.
“I am takin’ ye out of the country to help ye here. Do I nae deserve to ken a little of what I am helpin’ ye run from?” His abrupt tone made her crumple.
I can tell him something. Not the whole truth—never! But something that is true.
“I told you that my mother passed away.”
“Aye, ye did.”
“She did not have the happiest life,” Laura chose not to tell him that her mother’s passing was actually many years ago. She was happy to let him continue under the illusion it had been a recent thing, leaving her an orphan. “I think the best way to describe my mother’s life would be to say that she was trapped. Not just physically but also in her mind. She was not allowed to express an opinion or lead her life the way she wished to. Perhaps this will sound odd to you, as a son of a Laird, I imagine few people tell you how to live your life —”
“I wouldnae be so sure about that, but pray, continue.”
“When she died, I was as good as told that my life was to be the same as hers. Ever since it has been exactly that. Living as though I am trapped,” she returned her gaze to the trees around them. More birds flapped between the tree branches.
My mother never got this far on her journey. At the very least, I have escaped a little further.
“What about yer father?”
