The older woman tried to ply her with the sugary confection, but Anna shook her head, the wan attempt at a smile tearing another shred in his heart. "Nay, thank you. I'm not hungry."
The servant huffed, pursed her mouth, and chomped down on the almond treat with little enthusiasm. She had barely finished chewing before she tried again. Drawing what looked to be a small meat pie from her bag, she said, "How about a bit of mutton and barley." She sniffed dramatically. "It smells delicious, and it's still warm."
Anna shook her head again. "You go ahead. I'll have something when we stop."
The maid murmured something under her breath. "You must eat something, my lady," she whispered urgently, shooting Arthur an angry glare.
His jaw clenched, guessing who the maid blamed for her mistress's lack of appetite.
"I will," Anna said placatingly. She called out to her brother, who'd ridden slightly ahead. "When will we stop for the night, brother?"
"Soon, I hope." Alan looked around, and seeing Arthur had returned, he motioned him forward.
Steeling himself, Arthur did as the other man bid, lifting the visor of his helm as he swung around the handful of riders between them.
"Anything suspicious?" Alan said.
He shook his head. "Not so far. When Richard and Alex return we can make sure, but if nothing looks out of the ordinary we can stop at the falls as planned."
"We aren't returning to the loch where we made camp last time?"
She was talking to him. Unable to avoid it any longer, he turned his gaze to hers--slowly. He wasn't prepared for the searing heat that cut through him when their eyes met. He--who had barely moved when an arrow had sunk deep into his shoulder, when a sword blade had sliced open his gut, or the numerous times he hadn't been fast enough to catch his brother's dagger--flinched, seeing the sadness and unspoken question in her eyes.
She looked tired and unbearably fragile. Tiny lines were etched around her eyes, and her skin seemed paler than usual.
He gritted his teeth, fighting the desperate urge that rose inside him to give her what she wanted.
Offer for her.
Damn it, he couldn't. It would only make it worse.
"Nay, my lady," he answered evenly. "It's safer if we don't retrace our steps too closely. We'll camp at different places each night. There's a waterfall in the forest near Dhivach, at the head of the glen, southeast of the castle. We'll stop there tonight."
She nodded, looking as if she wanted to say more, but conscious that they were not alone. "Is it much farther?"
"Three or four miles. We should be there before dark."
"I--" She stopped herself, but the way she was looking at him tore at his insides. "Thank you."
When he finally dragged his eyes away, he was surprised to see that one of Alan's men had come up behind him.
He frowned, but was too caught up in his own turmoil to heed the warning.
Apparently, one of Anna's trunks had not been well secured and had fallen out of the cart. When Anna and her maidservant went back to check to make sure nothing had been lost, Arthur was grateful for the interruption. But he knew he could not put off the inevitable discussion for much longer.
Indeed, Alan's parting words before he rode ahead to check on Richard and Alex ensured it. "I don't know what the hell happened at Auldearn, Campbell, but my sister is unhappy." The older knight's gaze leveled on him, his blue eyes wintry and utterly ruthless. His father's son after all. "Fix it. Or I will."
Arthur's mouth fell in a grim line. He didn't pretend to misunderstand his meaning. The threat didn't bother him. What bothered him was that he couldn't do as her brother asked. Nothing could fix it.
* * *
"Why are you avoiding me?"
Startled, Arthur jumped to his feet, causing the snare he'd been setting to snap.
She'd surprised him. Something Anna would wager didn't happen very often. Perhaps she hadn't imagined the turmoil in his eyes earlier. He'd looked at her with barely repressed longing. But something was holding him back.
The disappointment she'd felt that first morning had only worsened with each day that passed, and he still hadn't sought her out--let alone offered for her. She'd tried to convince herself that he was simply waiting to speak to her father, but it didn't explain why he was avoiding her.
