Page 33 of Highland Storm

“Unless ye’re forgettin’, ye no longer have a horse since it was stolen by the MacNabs,” Ethan continued. “So, ye’ll have to ride it.”

“Damn, that’s right.” Hawke shook his head in frustration. “All right, take the wagon,” he told the men. “Do ye have supplies for all of us in there? It’ll be a few days before we get to the camp.”

“We have enough to get us to Glasgow,” said Callum. “We couldna take more because there is no tellin’ what will happen back here at Hermitage Castle. If the English try to lay siege to our stronghold, Renard and the others will be trapped inside and will need food.”

“We’ll make do without it then,” said Hawke, readying Phoebe’s horse. “We can hunt along the way. Leave everythin’ here but the wine and ale, and one day’s supply of food.”

“Aye, my laird,” said Orrick as he and Callum climbed out of the wagon to do as commanded.

“Which way do ye think Phoebe headed?” asked Ethan, climbing atop his horse. His wolfhound waited, lying by the door to the stable.

“She canna have gotten far without a horse,” said Hawke, pulling himself up into the saddle. “She’ll probably keep to the main road, so we’ll take it toward Glasgow. We should have her back by sundown.”

“I hope ye’re right,” said Callum as he and Orrick climbed up to the driver’s seat of the wagon and Orrick took the reins. “Because if we dinna find her, ye are goin’ to have to come up with another way to rescue our laird.”

“I will, Great-grandda,” said Hawke. “Ye just leave it to me.”

Hawke headed out of the stable with the rest of the party following. Smoke filled the air from the coast and shouting was heard on the wind. They’d be heading in the opposite direction so this shouldn’t be a problem. They’d only encounter trouble if bandits or the MacNabs decided to approach them.

Hawke hesitated and watched the party of men heading to the coast being led by his father. He should be with them to fight the English. Hawke wanted to protect his father as well as his clan. But because of the girl, he had no choice. With a sigh, he turned his steed and headed toward the Highlands instead.

* * *

Phoebe’s feet hurt like the devil and she now regretted not taking her horse. But if she had, she would have been spotted by the guards and would never have been able to sneak out of the castle without being seen.

Wiping her brow with her sleeve, she sat down on a rock to rest and remove a stone from her shoe.

“Damn ye, Hawke MacKeefe,” she cursed aloud. “Why did ye ever have to capture me? Now I’ll no’ be able to make it to the isle to find the herbs to heal my faither.”

The day had gone quickly during her journey and the sun was already starting to set. While it splashed beautiful colors of orange and red across the sky and hills, it concerned her greatly. She didn’t know where she’d spend the night. It was dangerous being a woman on the road all alone, and especially at nighttime. These woods could be crawling with cutthroat bandits for all she knew. Why hadn’t she found a way to bring the horse? What had she been thinking?

Hearing the sound of someone traveling down the road and getting closer, she quickly put her shoe back on, and hid behind a tree. Mayhap she could sneak onto the back of a peddler’s wagon and hitch a ride so she’d at least have a place to sleep for the night. Peeking out from behind the tree, she saw two men approaching in a wagon. They wore hooded cloaks and were seated on a bench driving the cart. From her position, she could tell one had a long white beard and the other had wrinkled hands. But she couldn’t see their faces because of their raised hoods. However, she was sure they were old. Even if they discovered her in their cart, she could sweet talk her way out of anything. They didn’t look dangerous, so she decided to give it a try.

As soon as the wagon passed by the tree, she darted out after it. Hopping onto the back, she quickly lay down and rolled over so she would not be seen. When the cart didn’t stop and she heard the men talking to each other, she realized her plan had worked. Staring up at the sky she smiled and let out a deep breath of relief. This was proving to be a lot easier than walking all the way back to Crookston Castle that was just outside of Glasgow. Phoebe noticed a red tail hawk up in the sky, making circles above her and her heart about stilled.

“Enjoyin’ the ride?” Hawke emerged from behind some covered barrels inside the wagon, looking straight down at her.

“Hawke!” She bolted up to a sitting position and tried to scoot over to the end of the cart, but his hand clamped down on her wrist and kept her from leaving.

“I figured ye’d be tired about now and ready to find a ride. Ye are so predictable.”

“Oh really?” she asked. “If that were true, ye would have kent I was goin’ to escape. Yet, I had no problem sneakin’ out while ye slept.” She flashed him a sarcastic smile and he frowned.

“Hello, Phoebe,” said Orrick from the driver’s seat, lowering his hood and looking over his shoulder.

“Hello, Orrick,” she replied.

“It’s that MacNab wench that’s nothin’ but trouble,” growled old Callum from the sorcerer’s side, glancing back at her as well. He undoubtedly was not happy at all to see her.

Hawke peered down the road behind them as if he were looking for someone. Then he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Immediately, she heard the sound of hoofbeats pounding the earth. Then Caleb, Logan, and Ethan rode up, mounted on horses. The wolfhound and the wolf led the way. Caleb held the reins of her horse that she figured Hawke had probably been riding earlier.

“So, I see it takes six men, a wolf, and a hound to hunt me down,” she said with a sniff. “It’s no’ impressive at all.”

“Stop the wagon,” Hawke called over his shoulder to Orrick. When it stopped, he stood up, bringing her with him. “It’s no’ impressive that ye keep lyin’ to me and keep tryin’ to escape.”

“I managed to do it, and no’ even yer guard stopped me, thanks to this.” She proudly displayed the bottle she’d taken from the sleeping guard.