“I don’t like this,” Rose whispered when the horse stumbled over something none of them could see. “It is going to hurt itself if it continues to trip over things.”
Barnaby knew she was right but there was nothing else for it. Without daylight it was impossible to know if there was a village nearby where they could swap the animal for two less exhausted horses with saddles. For now they had to keep going and hope for the best.
“We won’t go far. We have to find somewhere dry where we can wait out the night,” Barnaby soothed. “Listen.”
Rose tipped her head and waited. At first she could hear nothing. When the faint sound of hoof beats began to penetrate the silence, a surge of horror swept through her that immediately made her cower against Barnaby’s solid strength.
“Over there.”
Rose looked in the direction of Barnaby’s nod and watched two riders approach the carriage. She didn’t need to see beneath the hoods of their cloaks to know that it was most probably Chadwick’s men. They studied the abandoned carriage for several minutes, their heads together in silent conversation, and then began to search the surrounding road.
“It’s them,” Barnaby muttered. “Whatever you do, sit perfectly still. We are covered. Unless they see your dress or my shirt, they have no way of picking us out when the night is as black as this.”
Rose felt sick at the thought of being at the mercy of such cold blooded killers out in the middle of nowhere like this. It was decidedly worse than being chased by them in the centre of the town. For some reason that hadn’t felt as sinister as this. The threat from the men on the land was almost tangible.
“Can we leave?”
“Not yet,” Barnaby whispered. “Just sit tight. We will wait until they leave. He will want to catch up with the men down the road to find out if they have seen us. Once they have gone we are going to double back but stay away from the roads. Just keep an eye out for anyone else nearby.”
Rose stiffened. “Do you think there are likely to be more of them?” The very thought was chilling.
“I
don’t know,” Barnaby murmured honestly.
They lapsed into watchful silence and waited for Chadwick’s men to leave.
“Let’s go,” he said once the men had disappeared.
Wheeling the horse around, Barnaby nudged the horse toward the blackest corner of the field. He knew Rose was watching him but refused to meet her gaze. It would bring him more temptation than he was in a position to resist right now. He was painfully aware of the way her every curve fitted against him as though made to be there. It was annoying really because she was the very last woman he should have any interest in. Determined not to succumb to temptation, Barnaby turned his thoughts to their onward journey.
A loud bang from a gun behind them suddenly shattered the silence. Rose squealed in alarm, her face twisted in horror. Whatever she had intended to say remained unspoken when the horse suddenly began to dance nervously and jerk its head around as it fought for freedom.
“Damn it,” Barnaby swore as he glanced back at the two riders now racing across the field toward them. “They have seen us.”
Drawing his gun, Barnaby squinted, took aim, and released a shot. He couldn’t tell if anyone had gone down but didn’t wait to find out. The horse had taken advantage of the loosened reins and began to increase his pace, commanding his attention. Barnaby made no attempt to slow him down and instead encouraged it to go faster.
“The trees,” Rose gasped when she found the courage to speak. She had buried her head in his shoulder when the horse had stared to run and had no intention of lifting it again until they stopped, but she had noticed a large patch of woods in the distance that would suit their purposes.
“We can’t go into the woods. The horse can’t run over the uneven forest floor. It is too dangerous. We need to put some distance between us not get slowed down,” Barnaby replied. He hated to do it but Rose was right, the woods were their only option.
“We have to,” she persisted.
Rose ducked when Barnaby led the horse into the trees. As soon as they were under the shelter of the low-lying branches, Barnaby jumped down. Using a tree as cover, he removed his gun, carefully took aim, and shot at one of the riders. It was a relief to watch the man go down, but that still left his accomplice.
“You have a gun?” Rose gasped.
Barnaby didn’t even bother to look at her. “Of course. Take the horse deeper into the woods, Rose, and keep quiet. I will come and find you when I am done here.”
He glared at her while he was reloading his gun when she didn’t move. “Hurry.”
Rose stared at him in horror but now as not the time to argue. Eyeing the horse warily, she grabbed hold of the leather straps wrapped around the animal’s head and tugged it through the trees as instructed. She had no idea how far she should go and hated to lose sight of Barnaby but kept going, all the while listening of the loud blast of gunfire behind her.
“Please be alright,” she whispered tearfully.
“Talking about me?”
She gasped and whirled around at the husky whisper directly in her ear. The flash of his smile in the night made her want to smack him for worrying her. Instead, she threw him a dour look, which swiftly turned to shock when she realised he had no shirt on.