“She’s gone to pay the villagers a visit, Me Lady,” Ewan quickly explained. “She goes down every so often to ensure that people who cannae come up to her cottage dinnae need her help.”
“Very well,” she said with a shake of her head, accepting his explanation. It made sense that Beitris would do something like that. “I guess I will go and ask for a carriage to take me to Lady Ramsay’s castle then, after all.” She turned around and began to walk back to the castle.
“Me Lady!” Ewan called after her as he once again ran to keep up with her hurried strides.
“What is it now?” she snapped at the man in the same manner that Daniel had done.
Ewan looked slightly sheepish as he stopped at her side, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Me Laird has taken the carriage with Laird Ramsay.”
“Surely there is more than one carriage available at the castle?” she asked with a frown.
“I beg yer pardon, Me Lady,” he began again. “What I meant to say was that Me Laird took the only working carriage at present, the other is currently having one of the wheels replaced. I was told that this will take several days.”
“Fine,” she huffed as shut her eyes and shook her head. “I guess I’ll go and find something to do inside the castle.” The day was shaping up to be far more tiring than she’d hoped it would be.
“If ye would allow me to give ye another suggestion, Me Lady,” Ewan said in a kinder voice. “It is possible for me to take ye there with one of the wagons instead of a carriage. It willnae be as comfortable as what yer used to, but ye will at least be able to see yer sister.”
Feeling slightly guilty at the way she was treating the man when it seemed as if he wanted nothing more than to help her, she decided to put her aversion aside and accept his help. “Thank you,” she said with a forced smile. “I would be very grateful if you escorted me to Lady Ramsay’s castle.”
“At once, Me Lady.” He seemed to perk up as he trotted away toward the castle, but not before calling over his shoulder, “I will meet ye in front of the castle in just a few minutes with the wagon.”
Melissa watched Ewan go, happily running away as he went to fetch the cart. It suddenly occurred to her that she’d have to spend a few hours with him chattering in her ear, but she realized that it was far too late to back out now. She’d be spending the afternoon with Ewan McCollin.
The cart rattled over some rocks in the road as Melissa held on for dear life. They had been traveling for a few hours, and she hadn’t recognized any of the scenery that they had passed. She was beginning to wonder if they were headed to Darragh’s castle, at all.
“Are you sure we are headed in the right direction?” she asked as her fingers gripped the wooden bench beneath her bottom.
“Aye,” Ewan said happily as he urged the horses between a few trees. “This is a shorter way to the castle. I never use the usual way meself. There are fewer travelers in these parts.”
“It doesn’t look that safe to me,” she complained as she glanced around at the passing trees and hidden caves that naturally formed from the rockeries in the forest.
“That’s the trick, Me Lady.” He gave her his signature wink, which set her nerves on edge and made her sick. “The less safe that an area seems, the more likely ye willnae encounter any problems.”
“I highly doubt that is the case,” she muttered under her breath as they passed a particularly dense piece of forest where the trees were so dense that they barely let any light filter through the canopy.
“Darn it,” Ewan said as the cart gingerly slowed and rolled to a stop in the middle of the path.
“What’s the matter?” she asked with concern as she eyed her eerie surroundings. “Why have we stopped?”
“I’m afraid it’s one of the horses, Me Lady, she’s gone an’ thrown a shoe,” he explained as he began to climb down from the cart.
“How do you know that? I didn’t feel anything,” she asked in panic and followed suit, not wanting to be left behind.
“It takes a trained rider to ken when his horse is in distress,” he said with his head held high. “Old Oaky here often throws a shoe when she’s out,” he said and patted the horse’s flanks as he bent down to check her hoof. “Aye, exactly as I feared,” he confirmed with a triumphant nod. “The old girl has run afoul of a stone.”
“I don’t see anything,” Melissa said as she frowned and craned her neck to get a better look at the horse’s hoof.
“That’s because yer nae trained to notice these things, Me Lady.” He quickly stepped in front of her as she was about to reach for the hoof.
“Fine,” she said with a heavy sigh and placed her hands on her hips, wanting to be done with the day and the strange man. “What do we do now?” she asked as she looked around. “Walk back?”
“That would be far too tiring for ye, Me Lady.” Ewan chewed on his bottom lip in thought. “If I remember correctly, there is an old spinster that lives somewhere around here.” He frowned as he looked around. “She’s a lovely old woman that always helps those in need. I think I can leave ye with her an’ go and get help. There’s a blacksmith nae too far from here.”
Melissa’s stomach churned with nerves as she fought against the idea of having to stay with a stranger.
“Or ye could stay here and look after the horses until I return.” He shrugged as he began to walk away from her.
Looking around, she decided that staying with a strange old spinster was better than being robbed and murdered in the middle of the forest. “How far is this cottage?” She jogged to keep up with his lengthy strides.
