He took off at a run.
*
It had takenher some time to outwit the snoops.
Isadora had taken an entire hour to lose her brothers, who were determined to follow her. She departed her village after she’d finished her chores; it was barely after dawn by the time she headed out. The bridge over Coe’s Burn wasn’t too far, but it had taken her far more time to get there than it should have thanks to Ewan and Ossian, who thought they were being so clever by tracking her.
But Isadora was cleverer.
She led them off toward an area where the women went to collect chestnuts, an area known to have wild and edible vegetation. There were already women there, in fact, and when she saw them, she told them not to tell her brothers that they saw her. Given that the women were more apt to side with the sister of their chieftain than her annoying brothers, they readily agreed.
And with that, Isadora’s way was clear to the bridge.
Unfortunately, Cam hadn’t arrived yet, so Isadora sat down on a rock beneath the bridge to wait. It was a very long wait; the morning passed as she sat and watched the water and wondered if she’d been wrong about Cam. He’d told her to meet him here, yet he wasn’t here.
Perhaps she had misunderstood.
Perhaps he’d even lied.
But she could never think that of her stalwart blacksmith. The man wasn’t a warrior like the men she was accustomed to, but he still had integrity. She’d known that from the start. As the morning began to edge into the afternoon, she finally heard footsteps approach.
Cam landed in the brook with a splash.
Startled, Isadora looked up to see the man closing in at her, a smile on his face. He also had smudges of soot on his cheeks, indicative of his morning’s activities. He’d been working.
That explained the delay.
“I thought ye werena coming,” Isadora said. “Ye’re fortunate I was patient enough tae wait this long.”
His smile broadened. “I’m glad ye did,” he said. “My grandfather was following me like a hawk following prey. I was forced tae work until I could escape.”
“How did ye get away?”
“I told him I had an aching head. He thinks I went tae the cottage tae lie down.”
She frowned. “’Tis a woman’s excuse.”
He started laughing. “What was I supposed tae tell him?”
“Ye should have dropped a hammer and pretended it landed on yer foot,” she scolded, but it was without force. “A man with a broken foot is much more honorable than an aching head.”
“Next time, I’ll have bones sticking out. Would it make ye happy then?”
It was her turn to laugh. “Probably not,” she said, sobering as she gazed into his handsome face. “I suppose coming late is better than not coming at all.”
“If I tell ye I’ll come, then I will. I’m a man of my word.”
“I believe ye,” she said sincerely. “Are ye sure ye werena followed?”
He looked around. “As sure as I can be,” he said, returning his attention to her. “And ye?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “My brothers aren’t nearly as clever as they think they are. I outsmarted them.”
“Good lass.”
With the initial greeting over, a warm silence settled as Cam sat down at her feet, along the brook bank. Isadora would look at Cam, grinning and looking away when he smiled at her. It was a game that went on for a few moments until Cam finally dug into his pocket.
Out came the copper bracelet.
