Page 8 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

Chapter Two

Running away was thrilling. It took Elspeth an hour to pack everything she deemed important to take on her journey. Bruce’s injuries were unknown, but her imagination got the best of her and she packed her entire medicine box with a few clothes and some food she filched from the busy kitchens.

Writing the letter was the hardest part. Agonizing over her choice of words, Elspeth finally settled with a short missive about where she was going and why. Placing it on her dressing table where it would be found almost immediately, she tucked her cloth sack under one arm and left her room.

The castle was quiet. Usually, guards were pacing the halls and the walls. But after a feast where every able-bodied man and woman had been on their feet since before dawn, it wasn’t surprising to find the halls and guideposts deserted.

Not that it would have mattered if there were guards in every hall. Elspeth took the discreet paths out of the castle. She knew them all. Months of hiding from Adamina had made her an expert on secret passages and hiding places.

Stealing a horse was another matter altogether. The stables boys slept in a neat row in the first stall where the saddles were kept. Elspeth had to place her cloth sack by the stable gates and tiptoe around their sleeping forms. Her heart beat a tattoo in her throat, and she was certain that one of them would wake up at any moment and sound the alarm.

Picking up the lightest saddle she turned to leave the stall when a hand grabbed her by the ankle. Terror snaked up through her leg to her lungs where her scream froze like a leaden lump. It was fortunate that her fingers clamped rigidly shut around the saddle rather than loosen like jelly, letting it drop to the floor.

The hand gripping her was that of Ainsley, one of the younger stable boys. Snoring lightly, he had shifted in his sleep and taken a hold of her. Twisting her ankle away from him gently, Elspeth coaxed his hand off of her ankle slowly. Ainsley grunted and turned to lie on his other side. Elspeth nearly fainted with relief. She tiptoed out on shaking legs. Once she had steadied her breathing, she made her way to the stall at the very end.

Willow was sleeping. She did not take kindly to being woken. Her neigh pierced through the dark. Elspeth shushed her, stroking her nose. She pulled out the apples from her cloak pocket and bribed her favorite horse. Willow shook her head grumpily but accepted the bribe. While she was munching away, Elspeth placed the saddle on her back and tied it securely. Then she led Willow slowly out of the stall, another apple in her hand to inspire good behavior.

The night was cool compared to the oppressive humidity of the stables. Elspeth wasted no time in stuffing her cloth sack into one of the saddlebags. Instead of mounting Willow and galloping away as fast as possible, Elspeth slowly walked the horse. The thundering of hooves could alert one of the guards and she would be caught before even leaving the perimeters of the castle. If she were caught before making it out of the grounds, she doubted she’d be able to live down that embarrassment. Elspeth Buchan - the would-be runaway. What a joke.

And so, she walked. It gave her ample time to think about her decision and what she could look forward to in the future. Elspeth had a plan. She was no fool to risk her reputation and her brother’s goodwill by being so reckless. As soon as Bruce was rescued and placed in hiding somewhere, she would go to Laird Labert’s castle and write to Domnhall, placing forward her demands. Domnhall would be upset, and he would try to order her home, but eventually, he would give in.

Then she could have her cottage and her independence.

Elspeth reached the North Wood a little before dawn. There were no signs of a camp, no fire, no noise of men and horses. For a dreadful moment, she feared that Leo hadn’t taken her offer seriously and had left soon after leaving Blair Castle. She scanned the trees, hoping to discern something in the dark. She stood there, undecided, for so long Willow nudged her shoulder with her nose to make her move.

“Just a minute,” Elspeth hissed.

Willow did not take kindly to the rude tone and pulled on her reins. Elspeth had not expected it, and she yelped as she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“That’s a feisty horse.” Leo’s voice came to her from the forest. Heart racing, Elspeth sat up straight to see shadows pull away from the tree branches like tar slinking off the roof. Leo Sinclair and his men came to join her just as the sky turned a lighter shade of black. “Are ye certain ye can ride it, lass?”

Elspeth got to her feet in a flash. She couldn’t see the faces of the other men in the dark, but she could tell they were laughing at her. Brushing dirt off her skirts she straightened herself and grabbed hold of Willow’s reins. The horse harrumphed a little but didn’t protest anymore. Elspeth knew Willow could sense something was finally happening.

“Aye,” she said. “Willow’s antsy to get started.”

“As are we,” Leo said. “Our horses are down the road.”

Elspeth followed them, suddenly nervous. It had been exciting to think about the adventure when she was in her room, but now that she was there, right at the edge of making a move she could never take back, she was getting cold feet.

Her life had been a world composed mostly of women. Men were usually in the background, not a big part of her daily dealings. Now, she was the only woman in a group of burly men with varying degrees of facial hair. It was intimidating, not to mention frightening to be found in such company. Already thought of as frail and of little consequence, among these giants, Elspeth felt dwarfed.

“Is the journey long?” she asked Leo, falling in step with him.

“It takes six to seven days to reach Bass Rock Castle, but we need to make the journey in five.” Leo gave her a quizzical look. “Are ye certain ye can keep up?”

Elspeth licked her lips and glanced at Willow. The mare was fast but temperamental. Elspeth would need to find a bushel of apples along the way to keep her happy. “Aye,” she said. “That should be fine.”

Leo looked skeptical but he kept his doubts to himself. Elspeth appreciated his discretion.

They reached the clearing where they had camped the previous night. The sky was a deep azure blue when they finally mounted their horses and galloped away from Blair Castle. Elspeth kept turning back to watch her childhood home diminish until it was swallowed by the horizon.

She was finally on her way!