She gave him a grateful smile that made the lad turn as red as his hair, before turning back to Sir Alex. “We will reach camp soon?”
“Not for a few hours. Maybe longer in the dark.”
She couldn’t stop the groan. Roger, too, looked like a pup who’d just been kicked.
“Sir Alex, if you have a moment there is something I should like to talk to you about—in private.”
He nodded and sent Malcolm and Roger off to tend the horses. He motioned for her to take seat on a rock nearby, but she shook her head. As tired as she was, the prospect of sitting on hard rock was not appealing. “Do you mind if we walk a little? I should like to stretch my legs.”
They headed toward the stream, but instead of joining the other men, he led her in the opposite direction. When they reached the water’s edge they stopped. In addition to forests and hills, there were streams or burns, as the Scots called them, everywhere. They were pretty, she realized. Even in the barren bowels of winter, the dark waters cutting through the small valleys of russet moorland, flanked by tree-covered hillsides, evoked a peacefulness at odds with the wild, war-torn countryside.
“I did not want to say anything in front of Malcolm, but you must see how tired my nephew is—though he’d die before admitting it. He’s not used to riding for this long over this kind of terrain. I don’t know how much longer he can take it.” She glanced up at him pleadingly. “I don’t know how much longerIcan take it. Is there not a place nearby where we might stay for the night? An inn, perhaps?”
His mouth thinned. “I’m sorry, my lady. I would not have you forced to endure any of this. These are no conditions for a lady—or a lad.” He smiled, but it was without humor. “But you’ve seen how little sway my opinion holds around here.”
The bitterness in his tone was undeniable. She hadn’t been mistaken in identifying Sir Alex as a potential ally. She had, however, underestimated the level of his disaffection. Whatever disagreement there was between him and Boyd, it ran deeper than she’d realized.
She didn’t understand it. By all appearances the men were close companions who’d fought together for years. Half the time they didn’t even use words to communicate—just glances. So why the animosity and resentment?
She hated taking advantage of Sir Alex’s gallantry like this, but she had to do something to slow them down. Something to give Cliff a chance to catch up to them or for them to escape. The village and the castle she’d seen weren’t all that far away. If they could stop…
“Please, Sir Alex?” The shimmer in her eyes wasn’t completely feigned. She truly was exhausted. “Is there nothing you can do?”
“Seton!”
The deep voice from behind startled her. She dropped her hand from Alex’s arm, not realizing she’d put it there, and turned to find Boyd standing right behind them.
“How do you do that?” she snapped guiltily. Which was ridiculous, as she had nothing to feel guilty about. He’d refused her appeals, so she’d brought them to a more sympathetic source.
“Do what?”
“Sneak up behind people.”
“Practice,” he said, his eyes dark with something she didn’t recognize. “Return to your nephew. I need to speak toSirAlex.”
The way he emphasizedsirsounded like a slur.
She was tempted to argue, but something about his expression gave her second thoughts. She looked at Sir Alex questioningly, and he nodded. For some reason, her appeal seemed only to make Boyd more irate. From the way his eyes darkened and his nostrils flared at Sir Alex, he looked like a bull ready to charge. She wouldn’t want to be standing in the young knight’s shoes right now.
She hoped whatever had provoked his anger toward the other man didn’t have anything to do with her.
She gave Alex an apologetic look and started to walk off, but Boyd stopped her. “Lady Rosalin.”
She turned.
“You dropped something.”
Instinctively, she looked to the ground, but he reached out, took her hand, and turned it palm side up. A moment later it was filled with blue bows and threads of pink satin.
She gasped, her eyes flying to his. But his expression was as hard as granite and utterly unreadable.
“Be more careful where you leave things,” he said icily. “We wouldn’t want anyone to follow us.”
She swallowed slowly, her mouth dry, and nodded.
Robbie barely managed to wait long enough for her to be out of earshot before rounding on his partner. He leaned toward him, his muscles flaring for battle. “Stay the hell away from her, Dragon.”
He knew he was overreacting, but the black emotion that was surging through his blood right now wasn’t rational or controllable. It seemed to come over him every time he saw Lady Rosalin conversing with his partner. In other words, about every time he turned around. But it had really gone wild, nearly blinding him with rage, when he’d returned from picking up more of her damned ribbon to see their two golden heads bowed together and her hand on Seton’s arm.
