Unfortunately, for the next several days there were no opportunities for stolen kisses or embraces. Ines existed in a twilight world of trading one cart for another, one farmer or tradesman for another. She was given food and drink. She was able to sleep, if uncomfortably, and she was steadily moving northward. She had stopped looking at the passing scenery. It all melted together in her mind. There was nothing to see. Duncan and Mr. Fortescue made sure they traveled on roads that were rarely used to make it more difficult for Draven and his men to find them. Duncan said he would not be surprised if he arrived home to find Lord Jasper sipping tea with his mother, waiting for them.
Ines was not certain who this Lord Jasper was, but she was a little afraid of a man who could move so quickly when the journey seemed to take them years.
Finally, late one night, when they had coaxed a Scottish merchant returning home with an empty cart to allow them to ride with him, Ines was shaken awake. She’d been asleep, her head on Emmeline’s lap. Ines looked up at Emmeline to see her blinking the sleep away as well. Duncan was pointing behind them at the landscape bathed in a soft morning light.
Ines sat. “What did he say?”
Emmeline rubbed her eyes. “I’m not certain.”
Fortescue, who had been riding in the front with the merchant called over his shoulder, “He said tell England goodbye. We’re in Scotland now.”
Ines sat and stared into the darkness. She didn’t know how anyone could see to stay on the road, much less note that they had moved from one country to another. But if Duncan said they were in Scotland, they must be. He looked absolutely elated. He sat, back straight, arms tight on the side of the cart. She could see anticipation in every line of his tense body. She touched his back, and he jerked to look at her then relaxed.
“I’m well and truly home now, lass,” he said with a smile.
Oh, how she liked that smile. She wished he would smile like that more often.
“How long until we reach your village?” she asked.
“Oh, a few days, if the weather holds and we don’t encounter any problems.”
Ines frowned and drew back. “What sort of problems?”
“Nothing for ye tae worry aboot, lass.”
But, of course, that was not at all true.
Thirteen
EMMELINE
“We’ll just be a few minutes,” Emmeline called over her shoulder as she and Ines moved into a wooded area to attend to their needs. When she was finished, Emmeline found a small brook and knelt beside it, plunging her hands into the cold water. She braced herself for the sting before splashing icy water on her face. Ines crouched beside her and did the same.
“Why is Scotland so cold?” she asked. “It is summer, não?”
Emmeline smiled. “I remember when I was a little girl visiting my grandmother in Cumbria. It was cold there too until July or August. In a few days you will be used to it.”
Ines wrapped a blanket one of the farmers had given her around her shoulders. “Duncan does not mind the cold. He does not even wear an overcoat.”
Emmeline sipped water from her numb hands then stood and tucked them into her skirts to warm them. “That is because we cut his overcoat off him.”
Emmeline was beginning to think she would need to do the same with her dress as it was ruined beyond repair. It had once been white, but now it was dingy with dirt and green with stains from grass. A few spots were soiled where muddy paw prints had landed. As if summoned by her thoughts, Loftus raced by her and plunged into the brook. Emmeline winced at the splash of water, then could not hold back a laugh. The dog looked to be enjoying the swim immensely. But Emmeline could only imagine that she would soon smell like wet dog, among the other unpleasant smells she had accumulated these last days of travel.
“I must have a bath soon,” Ines said, rubbing her arms to warm herself.
“I was thinking the same thing. I want a meal as well.”
“Oh, sim! A warm meal and a warm bath and a bed. We will have all of that when we arrive at the home of Duncan.”
Emmeline hoped that would not take long. She had been doing her best to avoid speaking with Stratford the past few days, but it was not easy when they were constantly together. And she was constantly reminded of what a fool she’d made of herself—suggesting marriage. She was such an idiot! She’d thrown herself at the first man who found her attractive and stirred her desire.
But, of course, that wasn’t true. She’d known Stratford for years. It seemed so natural for their relationship to change as it had. Natural to kiss him. Natural to touch him. Natural to think of marrying him. Which was ridiculous because the whole reason she had run away was to escape all the talk of marriage. But it seemed she’d been running away forever.
“How many more days until we—” she began. “Loftus!” Emmeline frowned as the dog’s ears pricked up and he trotted to the bank of the brook and then away from her. “Loftus!”
“Let him go,” Ines said. “He has probably scented a rabbit. He will come back to us when he tires of the chase.”
But Emmeline heard Loftus growl, and she had not heard him do that since the day she had rescued him. She moved deeper into the woods and finally caught sight of him. The fur on his back was raised, and he had his mouth open and teeth bared.
Emmeline knew better than to speak now. She felt Ines stop beside her, the other woman also sensing that silence was best. “A wolf?” Ines whispered.
Emmeline shook her head. There were not wolves in Scotland. Were there?
Emmeline turned to look into the trees, studying the shapes and colors for anything amiss.
And then she saw it—a splash of red where there shouldn’t have been one. The shape slowly came into focus for her. It was a man with red hair. He had a dun-colored cap pulled low over it, probably to hide the color, but it was too bright to conceal. He was crouched near a log, a bow in his hand with an arrow nocked.
The arrow pointed at Loftus.
“Call yer dog off, Sassenach, or Angus will shoot him through the heart.”
Emmeline gasped and moved only her eyes to see the man. His voice had come from her right, where Ines had been standing, and now she saw he had one arm around Ines’s shoulders and a knife to her throat. Ines looked pale and shaken, her already wide brown eyes even wider. But Emmeline also saw a trace of exhilaration in her expression. That girl certainly loved an adventure.
Only this adventure would see her killed.
“I can try,” Emmeline said. “I only acquired him a week ago.” Had it been only a week? It felt like years had passed. “He might not listen to me.”
“Pray he does.”
Emmeline cleared her throat. “Loftus!” she said in her sternest voice. “Loftus, want a treat?” That usually caught his attention, but this time he did not even look her way. “Loftus!” she tried again. This time his ears twitched, and she knew he had heard her. “No. Come here.” She patted her leg. Loftus eased back again, but his attention remained on the man called Angus.
“Loftus!” she all but yelled. Surely Murray or Stratford would hear her and come to investigate. If they did not and she did manage to call Loftus off, what would these men do? Emmeline had no idea if there were only two of them or more. And what were they doing hiding in the woods? Were they bandits? Escaped criminals? Poachers?