Someone was yelling at him. Ewen’s head lolled to the left and right.Stop shaking me.
“Ewen! Wake up, lad!”
He opened his eyes. It took him a moment to recognize the man before him. Big. Gray haired. Weather-beaten and battle-scarred face. Robert Wallace.
His mind felt like a bog, his thoughts sluggish.
And God, he was hot.
He groaned and would have gone back to sleep if Robert hadn’t shaken him again. “The lass, where is she?”
That brought him up quick. Some of the haze cleared from his mind.Janet. His gaze shot to the pallet. Theemptypallet.
He swore, realizing what had happened. He’d fallen asleep, and she’d fled.
How the hell could this have happened? He’d been on duty, damn it! He didn’t make mistakes like this.
He tried to get to his feet, but something wasn’t right. He couldn’t seem to get his limbs to coordinate. Bloody hell, he was as weak as a newborn foal.
“What is the matter with you, lad?” Robert said, giving him a hand. “You’re burning as hot as hellfire, and it’s cold in here.”
“I don’t know—”
Ewen’s words died in a stab of pain as he tried to put weight on his injured leg.
“It’s the leg. Must be worse than you let on.” Robert paused to shout for his wife. “Sit,” he ordered. “Margaret will take a look at it.”
Ewen shook him off, looking around for his things like a man without sight. “I can’t. I have to go after her.”
“Why would she leave?” Robert asked.
Because he was a blind fool. “To get away from me.”
If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
He reached for his sword and nearly fell. God, he felt horrible! He didn’t need Helen to tell him that something was very wrong with his leg. How could things get so bad so quickly? He’d thought it was looking better, but it was worse. Much worse.
He bit through the pain and the fog of fever to ready himself. He managed to get most of his armor on before Margaret appeared.
Her soft cry told him that he must look worse than he felt. “You’re ill!” she said.
He didn’t argue. But a quick glance through the remaining bag told him he was going to need a few things. “I will need some food and drink, and whatever coin you can spare.”
Janet had taken it all. He swore again. How could he have been so derelict? He knew she would run. He should have taken better precautions. He should have tied her up, damn it. He should have done whatever was necessary to keep her safe.
He should have done whatever was necessary to keep her with him.
Ah hell!He swore again. Not even the fever could prevent him from seeing the truth.
“You can’t go anywhere like this,” Margaret said.
“I have to,” Ewen said through clenched teeth, fighting the powerful force that seemed to be trying to slow him down. It was up to him. The morning sun was already in full force. “She could have been gone a few hours already.” He couldn’t lose the tracks while they were fresh.
He picked up the bag and started toward the back of the barn. His leg buckled, and he would have fallen to the ground had Robert not caught him under one arm. “Steady, lad.”
“The horse,” Ewen said, biting back the wave of nausea that rose inside him. “Just help me to the horse.”
“It’s gone,” Robert said.
