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.” Duncan leaned forward and kicked his heels.Archie removed the crossbar just as Duncan and Meg crashed through the door.Meg clung to Duncan and closed her eyes.Swinging his sword, he barreled into the open lea.Men screamed; arrows hissed.Meg prayed.Hooves slapped the sloppy snow.The wind beat her face, and her nose ran.She dared open her eyes.The tree line swiftly approached.She glanced behind.English soldiers were on their heels, keeping pace.Black smoke from the barn billowed into the heavy clouds above.Flames engulfed the door they’d just ridden through.The English charged after them, but as James said, their horses were spent.With every step, the Highlanders raced farther away from their pursuers.Meg looked to the sky.It was still morning.They’d perhaps gained two hours of sleep, mayhap three.Who knew when they’d be able to stop again? Though she felt inordinately tired, Meg’s excitement thrummed hot through her blood.For the first time in her life, she was in danger and on the run.She clutched the dagger and fingered the grip.She’d use it if left with no other choice.The idea made her heart beat faster.She’d never guessed danger would ignite a fire deep within.The chill biting her face and the wind in her hair invigorated her.She was on an adventure far away from the protection of Tantallon Castle, and she’d never felt so alive.Meg slid the dagger into her rope belt and patted it.When the sun reached the noon hour, Duncan finally slowed their mount to a fast walk.“I knew we shouldn’t have stopped before we crossed the Tweed,” John said.The hackles on Meg’s neck stood on end.“If we hadn’t stopped, the horses would be worthless.” She hated it when someone suddenly became an expert in light of circumstances past.“Aye,” Duncan rumbled against her back.Something moved in the shadows.Meg tensed.He tugged the horse’s reins and drew his sword.Meg brushed her fingers over the dagger in her belt.Metal hissed, drawn from the five other men’s scabbards.A lone horse and rider walked out from the scrub, hands held high.“Thank God you got out.”Duncan sheathed his sword.“Sean? Could you not give us fair warning? The fire in the stable nearly cooked us alive.”Meg swiped an errant strand of hair from her face while the others rode alongside them.“I rounded back, but they cut me off.I nearly killed my horse trying to beat them.” Sean steered his mount west and led onward.“It gets worse.Northumberland’s men fanned out.They’re everywhere.”Duncan cued his horse to a fast trot.“Expecting us to ride straight to Tantallon.”“I’d reckon so.I’ll wager he’s setting traps all the way from Melrose to North Berwick.”“There’s a lookout yonder.” Duncan pointed.“We should have a good view from there—hopefully see how far behind us the English are.”They rode up the steep incline, the horses snorting with exertion.Holding tight to the pommel, Meg surveyed the view behind.If she could see the enemy, they’d be spotted for certain.Fortunately, all remained quiet.They crested the hill and Duncan circled the horses.“We must split up.”Everyone nodded in agreement.“Robert and James, head to Roxburgh and then cut north.The rest of you, spread out—lead them north.Sean, take a message to the Earl of Angus that his sister’s alive and will be returned as soon as ’tis safe.”Sean gave a clipped nod with his helmed head.Archie pointed his thumb at the coat of blackened armor tied behind him.“You’d best set to arming yourself.”“Nay,” Duncan said.“This gelding is already overburdened carrying the both of us.Keep it safe for me.”John patted his horse’s neck.“And where are you heading, brother?”Meg’s ears pricked.Exactly where would this big Highlander take her now?“West.” Duncan steered the horse to the far slope of the outcropping.“I’ll see you all at Kilchurn in a sennight’s time.” He tugged the reins and regarded his men over his shoulder.“God’s speed.”Chapter SevenAs soon as the others were out of sight, Meg couldn’t shake the eerie sense of being watched.Her gaze darted through the trees, and she leaned forward to peer around Duncan’s enormous frame to gain a glimpse behind them.“Why did we separate from the others?”He swayed in the saddle in concert with the horse’s movement, and seemed unusually calm, as if running from the English were a daily occurrence for him.“They won’t expect us to head west.”Meg refused to allow his serenity to put her at ease.“But is it not more dangerous without your men-at-arms?”“Everything we do is dangerous, m’lady.” His gruff voice rumbled and filled her with disquiet.At least she told herself as much.The gooseflesh rising upon her arms could be caused by nothing other than unease.Heavens, Duncan’s voice alone sounded dangerous.“How is your.uh.your injury?” Surely it wasn’t improper to speak of a man’s backside when she referred to it with concern for his well-being.“It bloody hurts.”She cringed.“Someone should tend it.”“Do not worry about me.It’ll come good in a sennight or two.”Meg sat quietly for a moment, but Duncan’s every breath filled her ears like the roaring of the sea.Tapping the claw’s pincers, she tried not to think of his incredibly warm thighs cradling her buttocks, or the protective chest pressed against her back.If she kept talking, surely these things would stop muddling her mind.“Do you know where we are?”“Still in the borderlands, I’d reckon.”Meg clapped her hand to her chest.“You’re not certain?”“Aye, m’lady, I’m well aware that we’re between Melrose and the Firth of Clyde—where you Lowlanders draw the line between borderlands and lowlands is a quandary to me.”Meg groaned.Sir Duncan could be maddening.“Since I hail from the lowlands, you probably think me snobbish and daft.”“I did not say that, but now that you mention it, Lowlanders can come across as believing themselves to be superior.”Meg straightened her spine.“I most certainly do not believe myself superior to anyone.”“Nay?” His chuckle rolled through her insides.“You’re the daughter of an earl—born into nobility and a life of great comfort.Tell me, do you believe your chambermaid to be your equal?”“You’re preposterous.” Meg ground her molars.“How about your groom? Your servants? Your valet? You are nearly as nobly born as I.”His devilish chuckle rumbled again, making her heart flit about like a finch.“Ah, m’lady, but you were the first to mention snobbery.”She glanced at Duncan’s face over her shoulder.Why did he have to be so wickedly handsome? “You’re insufferable [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]