Page 138 of Tales of Highland Loyalty

Watching as the Duncan cavalry arrived to take him, the fallen laird yelled, "Och, she was gonnae stick a blade in yer wee gullet, lad. As she should do for all that yer clan have done!"

William pushed Fiona back as the men surrounded him, securing him with rope. Grimly, William watched as he was tied and taken. His heart erupting, he turned to Alasdair.

"My horse, right noo," he commanded.

Behind him, Fiona fussed, "William, nay⁠—"

She was silenced by a single glance from her brother.

In no mood for a fight, he stared right at Alasdair, then instructed his head guard, "Right noo, nay fashing. I leave noo to find Nora."

His heart burning, William made to leave. He must not lose a moment in finding her. But he could not avoid Laird Douglas's eyes as he was dragged from the room. Venom spewed from him like an active volcano. Even though he was surrounded, he was not going easily. Ranting and raving, he turned to William.

"Ye dae that, son, an' tell that whoring wench o' mine that when ye find her, that I'll do what she didnae. An' what's more, I'll do it to her too. That isnae a threat. It's a promise!"

16

They were behind her.

Nora ran as far and as fast as she could make it, barely daring to look around once.

By now, she had been running so long that she had forgotten just which path she had taken into the forest. Casting around the densely packed forest, she had a fit of unease. This was not the same track she had been down some time before, was it?

Looking again, she was not sure. Some of the bracken appeared to be flattened down, leading her to think that maybe she had been there before. Through the trees, the sounds of rustling followed her. It was probably just wind—or perhaps sheep, grazing peacefully in the woodlands—but she wasn't taking any chances.

Since fleeing the castle, she had been pursued by bandits and followed by thieves. She was not sure if the horsemen who had pursued her across Duncan Glen were guards or just bandits out for all they could get.

She didn't care, and it did not change much either way. She needed to run as far and as fast away from him as she could get.

But half a day later, she was lost. And, worse still, she was without her horse. Grayfriar had fallen into a ditch some way back and became injured. There was no way she could ride the poor wee mite, and so, reluctantly, she had left her.

"I'll come back as soon as I can, sweeting," Nora had promised her, but leaving her there was harder than she had thought. Abandoning the stricken mare was quite a wrench; Nora had had her since she was a filly. Then, with tears in her eyes, she had departed, running on foot as fast as she could.

The problem was that she did not know where she was heading. And to cap it all, it had started to rain. Panting, Nora almost slammed straight into a Scots pine tree. Taking the opportunity to stop, she rested, her heart in her mouth.

Cold, wet splodges of rain cascaded down on her head. But Nora barely noticed, instead too busy keeping her thoughts at bay. No matter how hard she tried, they kept coming back. Everything about the day that was meant to be, taunted her. He was there, alone and bewildered, wondering if she would come back to him.

Despondent, Nora fell against the tree. She had betrayed him in the worst way possible, humiliating him in front of them all. Choking a sob, Nora could barely confront what she had done. It hurt so deeply. That she had destroyed him like this hurt her more.

A lone tear running down her cheek, Nora tried desperately to gather herself. She had to do it; there was no choice. She had to leave him and make it real. William had to be under no illusion that she would come back to him. By leaving him like this, she hoped he would leave her alone and not try to follow her.

But she could not be sure, which was why she had to hurry. The fear that William might be hunting her spurred her on. Getting her breath back, she stumbled on, deep into the thick woodland. Every step was a step deeper into confusion. Far from running from him, Nora had the horrible sense she was going around in circles. Worse still, that she was heading backward.

Then, suddenly, she came to a stop. A hoarse cry curdled her heart. Fearing the worst, she stepped backward and almost fell into a hidden ditch.

"Woah!"

An ethereal cry pierced her, almost slicing her heart in two. She had almost fallen straight on top of an equally distraught Grayfriar.

"Och!" she gasped when she had her breath back. Cradling the horse, she stroked it fondly. With some effort, she helped lead it from the ditch, although it was clear it could not go quickly.

Finally, she had pulled her out. They wandered for a moment through the scrub and brushland. As she went, Nora couldn't help finding it strangely familiar.

Then, men's voices.

Her heart thundering in her chest, Nora stopped dead, as did Grayfriar, fear showing in the whites of her eyes. She heard shouting; in the distance, a group of men surged through the forest. With the undergrowth so thick, it was impossible to see through it, but this time Nora knew she was not mistaken.

Bracken crackling grew louder. They were near, looking around. Nora searched for cover. Then, a surprise. Grayfriar began moving. Nodding as if to alert her, the dappled horse whinnied, then turned away. It was difficult; she was still hopping, her injured leg held aloft, but she managed.