"Do you believe him?" Blake asked.
Rolfe shrugged. "I do not suppose there is any reason for him to lie."
"Nay."
" 'Sides, we had already decided she did not head this way."
"Aye."
"I suppose we shall have to head east and find out."
"Aye." Blake sighed, and wondered why he did not simply turn and ride for home. Surely that was within his rights? A groom was not generally expected to chase his betrothed all over the country just to marry her. On the other hand, he did not wish to explain his thinking to the king. He would head east. He urged his horse to follow Lord Rolfe and the bishop as they rode toward the waiting Scot.
"Is it Cameron?"
Seonaid glanced sharply at Aeldra when she asked the question, then supposed she should not have been surprised that her cousin had also realized they were being followed. Seonaid herself had sensed they had company even as they had ridden out of the abbey. She'd thought then that it must be Cameron, and had hoped that after following them for a while, the fact that they were headed east rather than south--not to mention Helen's disguise--would fool him and make him turn back to wait outside the abbey. He had not turned, though, but had continued to follow them for the entire day and now into the night.
"I doona ken," she admitted on a sigh. "If 'tis, then he wasna fooled by Helen's dress."
Aeldra grunted her agreement as Helen wearily urged her horse up between them.
"Will we stop for the night soon?" the Englishwoman asked hopefully. "I am fair sore from being on horseback."
Seonaid remained silent for a moment, considering their options. They could not continue to ride the horses indefinitely; the beasts were already showing signs of tiring and she disliked riding them too hard. On the other hand, if 'twas Cameron following, he would make himself known once they stopped. At least he would not catch them unawares. In fact, she and Aeldra just might take him by surprise. Doubtless he would not expect much of a fight from three lone women.
"Aye. There's a clearin' jest ahead. We'll stop there," she decided aloud, then glanced toward Aeldra. "Be ready."
Ignoring Helen's confused expression, the two women nodded at each other solemnly.
" 'Tis lovely," Helen murmured as they slid from their horses moments later and peered around the small clearing.
"Magnificent," Seonaid agreed, her gaze running over the area with satisfaction. One side was taken up with a small rock cliff, another by the river running along the clearing. That left only two sides for attackers to approach from. It would be easier to defend, especially if they blocked off one other side with the horses. She did not like doing so, since it placed the animals at risk of being injured. But she had no idea how large a party Cameron had with him, or just how much danger they were in.
"We'll settle here for the night," she announced, unhooking the satchel of food from her horse's back and handing it to Helen. Nodding, the other woman moved at once toward the spot she indicated and began digging through the contents of the bag. Seonaid and Aeldra saw to the horses, leaving their saddles on in case they had need of a speedy escape, and settled them where they made a third barrier against their would-be attackers. The women washed their hands in the river and sat to eat, their eyes and ears alert to any sound or sight that might warn them of an oncoming attack.
Once they had finished eating, they all stretched out to rest. Or at least Helen did. Seonaid and Aeldra insisted she sleep with her back snug against the cliff, then lay down before her, situating themselves between the woman and the world at large. But they had no intention of sleeping. They were waiting for the attack they were sure would come, now that they appeared at rest and vulnerable.
Chapter Five
"Wake up, sleepy heads."
Seonaid came awake with a start at Helen's call, her body and mind immediately alert. Sitting up, she glanced sharply around and spotted the Englishwoman approaching from the river. Seonaid gaped. Morning had dawned, there had been no attack, and she'd fallen asleep. Worse yet, so had Aeldra, she saw with dismay, as the other woman sat up beside her and frowned around the clearing.
"How the devil did ye slip by us?"
Helen's brows rose at the question. "I stepped over you. You were sleeping so soundly, I did not wish to wake you."
"Ye stepped o'er us?" Seonaid asked with disbelief, then glanced toward Aeldra. "She stepped o'er us."
"A fat lot of good we would have been had we been attacked," Aeldra muttered, getting to her feet. "Why didn't they attack?"
"Who?" Helen asked wide-eyed as she reached them.
"I'd be thinkin' she means us."
All three women whirled toward the deep baritone voice. Seonaid and Aeldra both grabbed for their swords, but they sagged and sighed when they saw who it was.
"Gavin!" Seonaid snapped as she set her sword back down. "What're ye doin' here?"
"Makin' sure the Sassenach doesna get hissel' killed."
Her eyes narrowed. "Is he with ye?"
For answer, Lord Blake stepped out of the trees and into view. Seonaid shook her head with disgust. "Ye could have let yer presence be known last night. Then we wouldna have had to stay awake the night through thinkin' we were about to be attacked."
"It looked to me as if ye slept jest fine," Gavin commented with amusement. "An' so ye should have; ye were watched ower throughout the night."
"Not the whole night," Lord Rolfe corrected, joining the other two men. "We only arrived a couple of hours ago. We stuck to the woods to avoid disturbing your rest."
Seonaid frowned, her gaze moving to Aeldra. The other woman appeared just as worried. They were both convinced someone had trailed them all day. They had felt that presence as they had settled down here for the night. Yet Lord Rolfe claimed the men had arrived only hours earlier.
"Why are you looking so worried?" Blake's question drew Seonaid's gaze back to her betrothed. He did not look overly pleased to have found her. Truth to tell, he looked about as cranky as she felt on the little sleep she'd had. Not that she'd expected anything else, but still it rubbed her pride the wrong way.
Gavin saved her from having to comment by giving a harsh laugh. " 'Cause she kens we're no' the only beasties in these woods."
Before either Englishman could ask what he meant, the Scot pursed his lips and released a piercing whistle. Seconds later the bushes on either side of the men rustled as two Scots slid out into the open. Both of them were from Dunbar. Gavin nodded, then explained, "I left them to trail Seonaid an' Aeldra while I returned to fetch ye."
Seonaid glared at her father's soldier as he made the admission, knowing now who to blame for her betrothed finding her. Turning, she fixed another glare on the Englishman. "What
do ye want?"
"What do you think?" he snapped back.
"I think ye want to go home an' forget ye ever heard me name," she admitted. "An' since that's what I'm wantin' as well, why don't ye do it?"
Blake blinked at her surly words in confusion. "What?"
"Ye heard me. I don't want to marry you an' you don't want to marry me, so go home an' leave me be."
Blake gaped at her in astonishment. Her mettle amazed him. The women he knew, and he knew a lot of them, did not often speak so bluntly. They would have mewed and sighed and hinted, but would never have said something so unpleasant straight out. He couldn't believe she'd done it. And had he heard her correctly? Many women had begged Blake to marry them, and still others had threatened to kill themselves for love of him. He supposed in his mind he'd imagined the chit--if he'd ever thought of her at all--pining away the years, wondering when he would come to claim her and praying nightly to God that he should. This was not wholly because of the way women threw themselves at him; it was also because a life of spinsterhood could be so unpleasant. Yet here she claimed to desire nothing more than to be left to that sad state. It must be an act, he decided, and actually smiled at the realization. Women often played games to attract his attention, and--Amazon or not--Seonaid Dunbar was still a woman. Relaxing as he regained some of his confidence, Blake tossed her a charming smile, "Careful, my lady; one would almost think you were not pleased to see me."
"One would think correctly."
Blake's gaze narrowed. "If you expect me to believe you have not been pining away these last ten years--"
"Pinin'?" Seonaid interrupted with a harsh laugh. "Do I look the sort to pine? No, indeed, m'laird, I've been quite enjoyin' my freedom ... in many an' diverse ways."
Blake's eyes widened, then his face flushed angrily at the suggestion behind her words. "You--"
"Enough," Lord Rolfe interrupted sharply. "We have wasted enough time. Let us head back to Dunbar and see the deed done."
"Go ahead," Seonaid muttered, turning toward the horses. "Aeldra an' I'll meet ye there after we go to England."
"England!" Rolfe and Blake echoed the word as one.
"Aye, England," Seonaid said firmly. "We promised." She gestured toward Lady Helen, taking in the nun's habit with new eyes. "We promised the sister we'd see her home to England. She wishes to visit her family. We promised we'd see her safely there." She turned to peer at them sweetly. "Ye'd not wish us to break our word to a woman of God, would ye?"