As they worked to get the older woman into the carriage, Katherine felt a strong, prying hand on her shoulder. She spun around, her heart hammering. She didn’t know if it was better or worse that her father was standing there rather than Laird McDougal.
“Ye willnae do a thing that makes him send ye back to me, do ye understand?” he hissed, his voice low enough that he couldn’t be heard over the chaos of the courtyard.
“I willnae,” she replied, resisting the urge to shrink away from him.
“Good. Because this man has demanded a trial period. Ye ken how badly I need the money,” he said. Then, his eyes darted to the side, and he straightened up. His tone changed, taking on the inflection of a loving father though she knew that she would never see him again after today. “I ken ye will make me proud.”
“What’s delayin’ our departure?” Liam asked, stepping around the horses that were to pull the carriage. His eyes locked with Katherine’s father’s. Then, with a subtle jerk of his head, he dismissed the other man. As her father slinked away, Liam demanded, “There’s nay a problem, is there?”
“It seems Lady Agnes needs to lie down for the journey,” the maid answered, hovering at the edge of the gathering. She worried with the skirt of her gown, her fingers clenching and unclenching as if she afraid the news my be ill-received. “But we are attemptin’ to make the seat more comfortable, so Miss Katherine may ride inside as well.”
With a grunt, he turned and fixed Katherine with an intense stare. Gruffly, he said, “I assume ye were taught how to ride.”
“Aye,” she said, furrowing her brow. “I’ve been ridin’ since I was a wee lass.”
“Then it’s fortunate that we brought an extra horse to carry grain,” he observed, catching the eye of another man in the group. He made a sharp motion with his hand, and the man nodded, understanding the silent request. “There is nay reason to force Lady Agnes to sit upright. And there’s nay reason for us to remain here any longer. It’s best for her health if we leave immediately.”
“There’s an extra horse?” she asked, her entire demeanor brightening. The animals had always been a great source of comfort for her, even after her father had sold her favorite mare. She stood on her toes, looking around the caravan. “Do ye have a side saddle or will I need to ride astride? And what is the creature’s name?”
“I do believe our groom should have an extra. I will be back shortly,” the maid said, rushing off without another word.
The guards and the rest of the staff were moving now, rearranging their formation to accommodate another rider. One of them stepped forward, leading a tall, chestnut stallion. He was handsome, snorting at the man leading him, shaking his head in a way that seemed to threaten mischief but ultimately behaving.
“Is this the beast?” Katherine asked, stepping forward slowly, her palm open in greeting. She kept her breathing even, projecting calm at the animal, hoping that he would welcome her friendship. It would be nice to have an ally, even if it was a horse.
“Aye,” Liam replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He made no attempt to hide his impatience. “He’s stubborn but rides well with the group. Daenae take him off the path on yer own. He has a tendency nae to listen.”
“An unpredictable thing, then,” she said with a smile. The animal sniffed at her palm for a moment before nudging her, demanding she stroke him. It felt like a confirmation that she could get through this, just as she’d gotten through everything else. “And what’s his name?”
Liam scoffed at the question as though it were the most frivolous thing he could imagine, turning away from her and looking in the direction that the maid had disappeared. “We call him Brimstone.”
“Brimstone,” Katherine repeated, not letting herself be bothered by his sour attitude. She stroked the horse’s muzzle, grinning at the way he greedily accepted her affection.
Brimstone huffed as if telling her to stop talking and give him more attention. She was happy to oblige, smiling as the animal tilted his head to show her exactly where to scratch. She moved closer to him, lowering her voice, so Liam couldn’t hear her.
“Perhaps he thinks that ye’re so difficult because ye daenae respond well to pushy people,” she whispered, her gaze shifting to Liam before she met the horse’s intelligent eyes. Brimstone pushed himself more firmly against her palm in response. “I’m quite the same. Walkin’ yer own path is much more fun, isnae it?”
Brimstone didn’t respond, much more concerned with absorbing every bit of affection that she was offering. Stroking him was calming, a quiet moment amid a day that had left her head spinning. Everything was still so uncertain, but if she was granted time to breathe, to pat this beautiful creature, she thought she could survive this.
I still daenae ken what I’ll be doin’... but perhaps I ken that I can survive anythin’, nay matter what Laird MacDougal does with me.
“Stand back, miss,” the groom said, coming up behind her with a side saddle slung over his shoulder. “This shouldnae take too long.”
Reluctantly, Katherine stepped away from Brimstone, taking solace in the fact that the creature was on her side.
* * *
Ach, this whole thing was a big mistake.
Liam had been debating with himself the entire ride. It seemed as though everything that could have gone awry had. Even if Katherine proved to be a good teacher for his daughter, he didn’t think it was worth the injury his grandmother had sustained.
“But if it werenae for Katherine, that fall would have been much worse,” he mumbled.
But if it werenae for the auction, there wouldnae have been a fall at all.
“Are ye over here losin’ yer mind and speakin’ to yerself?” Cillian asked as he caught up with Liam. Their horses matched pace flawlessly. “I kent I was right to be worried about ye.”
“I’m just wonderin’ if the storm will hold off until we return to the castle,” Liam said, glancing from the path to the sky above. The gray clouds moved slowly across the horizon, fat with rain that threatened to fall on them at any moment. With each second that passed, they seemed to grow darker.
