“Go now,” he insisted. “I will try to negotiate.”
The men had almost reached them, and she worried that they might know Raine’s commander. “What if they demand that you return with them?”
She didn’t understand the searching look in his eyes. Raine studied her as if he were holding something back. “I will not go with them. You have my word.”
“And if they give you no choice?”
He held her gaze for a moment. “Then keep to the woods until they have gone. There is another ringfort not far from here.”
She reached out to touch his forearm. “Be safe.”
In answer, he leaned down and kissed her swiftly. “I will come for you.”
The gesture startled her, and color flooded her cheeks with confusion. Carice raised the hood of her cloak and rode away, just as the men arrived. Raine moved his horse to face them, putting himself in the path of the soldiers.
She didn’t look back as she rode, uncertain of whether this would work. Raine was facing the worst sort of danger, with so many Norman soldiers. But to her surprise, they didn’t seem to be attacking him. Instead, he gathered them near and spoke to their commander. She could not hear what was said, but it didn’t matter. The distraction was enough.
Carice dismounted from her horse and approached the pregnant woman. “Did they hurt you?”
The woman was weeping, holding her swollen stomach as if to protect her unborn child. She wore a long cloak and her reddish-brown hair held loose braids, barely covered by a veil. From the fine weave of her gown, Carice suspected she was an Irish noblewoman. “N-no,” the woman stammered. “You came before they could harm me.”
Thank goodness. “Can you ride, if I help you onto my horse?” Carice asked.
The woman shook her head. “I can hardly move right now. I tried to run from them, but I couldn’t get away.”
Given the woman’s advanced pregnancy, Carice wasn’t surprised. “Can you reach the safety of the trees? We can hide from the soldiers until Raine returns.”
“I’ll try.” But the woman was struggling with every step. Carice put an arm around her and helped her as best she could. Glancing behind, she saw that Raine was still talking with the men.
“What is your name?” she asked the woman. “And are you alone?”
“I am Aoife,” she answered. She did not offer her tribe’s name, which only made Carice more convinced that this was a lady of importance who did not wish to reveal too much. “I was traveling home when I was taken from my escorts. I tried to run, but with the baby, I cannot get very far.”
Carice could understand that. Although the woman was hurrying as fast as she was able, her girth made it impossible to move quickly. Even now, each step was an effort. She wondered if they would reach the grove of trees. Although Raine hadmanaged to keep the soldiers away, it would be all too easy for them to catch up.
“Where do you live?” she asked the woman. “Perhaps Raine and I can take you home.”
There was a sudden uneasiness that passed over the woman’s face, as if she had no wish to reveal her destination. “If you help me get back to my husband’s men, they will escort me home.”
“We will try,” Carice promised. “Is your husband with them?”
Aoife shook her head. “He is in Leinster.”
Then the woman had a long journey ahead of her. Carice wasn’t at all certain that Aoife could make it that far east, particularly if she could not ride. It made her wonder how she had been separated from her escorts and why the Normans had attacked. Surely her men had to be nearby.
She continued guiding the woman toward the woods, though her own strength was beginning to diminish. The moment they reached the trees, she searched for a place to hide. The slender trees offered no means of concealing them, but there was a large stone monolith near the clearing. It was an obvious place, but their only choice.
Carice helped the woman continue through the trees, and when they reached the monolith, she bade Aoife to sit down. “Are you all right?” she asked.
Aoife was out of breath, but she managed to nod. “I need to rest.” She closed her eyes, pressing her hands against her swollen belly.
“How long before your child is born?” Carice asked. She worried that the woman might have already begun her labor.
“A few weeks, perhaps.” Aoife shrugged. “It’s difficult to tell.” She sat upon another stone and leaned back against the monolith. For several moments, she calmed herself, and then she added, “I was taken from my escorts about a mile east of here. If you could help me return to them, then that will be enough.”
“Shouldn’t they be searching for you?”
The woman closed her eyes and shrugged. “I was traveling with eight of my father’s men. Some of them provoked a fight with the Normans. Four were killed.”
