He waved them into the swiftly made sanctuary as he fed a carrot to his mount. ‘I would have built a fire, but prefer not to draw any attention to our location.’
‘A fire is not necessary,’ Keila said. ‘We have all we need.’
Moira took the pallet made from the saddle and Keila looked at the other, thinking it would likely prove softer than sleeping on the back of the cart. She retrieved two loaves from the basket, and after giving one to Adair, she tore the other in two and handed Moira one half, before sitting on her makeshift bed.
Keila took a bite of her loaf and slowly chewed to savour the welcome taste of the bread. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was until she’d begun to eat. Adair settled with his back pressed up against one of the cart’s wooden wheels and all three ate in silence and passed the skin of water around while the day slipped into night and the stars glittered to life in the darkening sky. The moon’s glow blanketed the land and granted enough light to make out the shape of each of them, if not their features. Feeling safe and settled for the first time this day, a riot of questions started filling Keila’s head.
‘How did you know we’d left Mortlach?’
In the stillness, she heard Adair swallow the mouthful of bread before his voice, deep and quiet, filled the silence. ‘I’d been watching you since I left the inn last night.’
A ripple of pleasure skittered over her skin. ‘Even after I warned you to stay away?’
A long pause. ‘Even then.’
Keila frowned. Not because she was displeased he hadn’t listened to her, but because warmth rushed into her chest knowing he had been watching over them all along. ‘Why?’
‘Several reasons.’ He took a swig from the skin and passed it to Keila. ‘I saw you leave the inn after you’d conducted your business with Euan. I know it is important to you. But you looked …’ He stopped as if searching for the best description to describe how she’d looked. ‘You looked disappointed.’
He was being kind. She’d been devastated and afraid. ‘Euan always bought our ale, yet he didn’t buy a single cask.’
‘Did he say why?’
‘Nae. But Euan wasn’t himself. From the moment he opened the inn door and saw me, I could see something was wrong.’
‘How so?’
She lowered her gaze to her lap and slowly shook her head, as if the movement could help her understand Euan’s odd behaviour. ‘He kept moving as if he couldn’t stand in one place, and he barely looked at me the whole time we spoke. He wanted to buy my ale, I’m sure of it, but something was stopping him.’ She looked across the small space to where Adair sat. ‘Then you came and helped us with the horses.’
‘Aye. And I noticed all six casks of ale I’d loaded at Drummin were still on the cart when I left you inside the inn’s stable. I then requested Euan’s finest ale. Instead, he brought me good ale. He also offered me a room. Yet you never entered the inn to go to yours. You didn’t leave the stable until close to dawn.’
Keila drew several breaths as she absorbed everything he said. He really had been watching them. The knowing warmed her further. ‘Were you watching us from your room?’
‘Demon and I prefer to sleep under the stars. We found a good place close by the stable.’
‘Demon was the first word I heard you say. I thought you were insulting me.’ She smiled at the memory.
‘I didn’t know. But I do remember your threat to fatten the other side of my lip.’
Keila heard the smile in his voice and her own lips curved higher. It felt good. ‘Demon’s name suits him, as does yours, Adair.’ Her smile slipped. ‘Do you remember anything about who attacked you and why?’
‘I remember everything about the attack, but I still don’t know who.’
‘Any chance those who attacked you and the men chasing us could be one and the same?’ Moira asked.
‘A good chance, Moira, and precisely what I’ve been thinking.’
‘You think both incidents are linked?’
‘Aye. I didn’t see who attacked me, but I know there had to have been several men. And last eve inside the inn there were a few suspicious characters, two of whom did their best to hide their faces from me.’
‘Do you think they recognised you?’ Keila asked with concern.
‘Me or their handiwork. Either way, when I saw four men riding hard out of Mortlach, but nae sign of you ladies or your cart, I followed.’
‘Thank Saint Morluag,’ Moira said with obvious relief.
But for the life of her, Keila couldn’t understand why four men had tried to run them down.
‘Had you planned to start back to Drummin House today?’
‘Nae.’ Keila sighed and heard her disappointment. ‘It wasn’t only Euan who was acting oddly toward us. Of all the people at market, people who have known us for eight years, only three of the regulars, an older man and a young couple, acknowledged us. Everyone else … it was as if we weren’t there.’ The memory of being overlooked hurt and left her feeling cold. ‘But you would have seen it all.’
‘I saw one man stop and speak with you. Who was he?’
‘Vermin,’ Moira said low from where she now lay on her bed for the night.
‘Leith of Drummin Castle stopped to see how we were faring,’ Keila said expanding on Moira’s description.
‘And showed his support by purchasing nothing,’ Moira added.
‘Leith stops by Drummin House now and again.’ Not as often as he used to since she refused his suit. ‘He is well known at home and in Mortlach.’
‘Aye,’ Moira said. ‘For his greed and his ruthless ways in getting what he wants.’
‘What does he want?’
Keila didn’t want to speak of Leith’s interest in her to Adair. ‘The matter has been settl—’
‘He wanted Keila to marry him, but the clever lass said nae,’ Moira said cutting her off.
Keila suffered a moment of uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say next.
‘Has anything changed since you refused his offer?’ Adair asked.
Keila drew a deep breath. ‘The amount of protection money we pay each month increased for the first time since I was given Drummin House.’
‘Keila, lass.’ Moira’s voice sounded soft and hurried and disappointed. ‘You never said.’
‘You didn’t need to know when you already worry enough as it is.’
‘He truly is vermin.’ Any softness had gone from Moira’s tone.
‘You pay protection money, yet four men just tried to ride you down.’ Adair’s words were not spoken as a question, but rather like he was voicing his thoughts aloud. ‘And you have travelled the same path and stopped in the same place on every journey to Mortlach.’
‘Aye.’
‘Why did you decide to return to Drummin today?’
‘’Tis my fault.’ Keila ducked her head. ‘We rely on the coin we make from the day’s sales and then we trade the unsold goods to the other sellers, near the end of the day. But it was as if people had been warned away from us and I … I didn’t want to be there any longer. We left.’
‘Did you notice the men following you straight away?’
She didn’t admit it was thoughts of him that had her gazing back toward Mortlach, hoping she’d see him following. ‘Not straight away, but soon after. I didn’t know what to do. We’ve never had anything like this happen before. It wasn’t long before I knew they were there to cause trouble and told Moira to make the horses run faster. I then climbed into the back of the cart and when they drew close enough, I started throwing anything I lay my hands on at them to slow them down.’
‘You both did well to put them off for as long as you did.’
‘The nags did all the work,’ Moira said with a hint of praise in her tone.
‘They did,’ Adair agreed, ‘but the cart would have overturned without you steering and controlling the frightened horses.’
‘Aye, Moira. I was certain the cart would tip any moment, especially
after I’d thrown half our goods at the rebels chasing us.’
‘Your aim is true, Keila.’ She liked the sound of her name on his lips. ‘You should take up the bow.’
Keila blushed at his compliment but brushed it aside. ‘I loathe waste and can’t believe I wasted so much food. ’
‘You had little choice,’ Adair said. ‘You needed weapons. You used what you had and used them well.’
‘Cabbages and onions as weapons,’ Moira said. ‘Who’d have thought?’
‘I’m sure the curs weren’t certain if you were trying to unseat them or feed them,’ Adair said.
His comment made her forget the waste for a heartbeat and made her smile. But only for a moment. ‘Why do you think they were chasing us? What could they have wanted?’
‘I don’t know, but I will find out.’
Why should it matter to him whether they discovered who had chased them and why? All she knew was that she was pleased it did.
‘I smell smoke.’
The instant Moira spoke the words, the scent of burning timber reached Keila. She stood, as did the others, and searched the night. ‘There,’ she said, pointing back toward Mortlach and then realising neither would see her gesture in the dark. ‘The fire looks to be near Mortlach.’
‘I count three separate fires, but all are in close proximity to Mortlach,’ Adair said. ‘Are fires a ritual after market?’
‘Not that I’m aware of,’ Moira volunteered.
‘Nor I,’ Keila said.
‘We’ll talk more tomorrow,’ Adair said. ‘Sleep now, ladies, and know you will be safe throughout the night.’
His words ignited a feeling of warmth deep inside her and a sense of security she welcomed. She had no idea what they would have done or what the outcome would have been had he not been watching over them. She settled on her pallet, not realising until this moment how taxing the day’s events and the lack of sleep from the previous night had been. But her concern for Adair and his own injuries wouldn’t allow her to settle immediately. ‘Do you not need to sleep too, Adair?’
‘I’ll sleep when I’ve returned you safely to Drummin House.’
Home.
Thanks to Adair’s generosity, she now had enough coin to pay the next instalment of protection money. But it was the thought of having Adair return with them to Drummin House that warmed her and made her look forward to reaching her home even more.
Chapter 13
Dair settled for the night with his back against the cart’s wheel and his sword and a polishing cloth in hand. The position gave him an unobstructed view of his surroundings and granted him the best possible chance of protecting the women sleeping within the outcropping of rocks behind him. The natural formation was both a shelter and a barrier on one side, while he and the cart were the same on the other. He expected the night to prove a long one. Not due to his not sleeping, but because the moment he sat, every unanswered question that had filled his mind since they’d reached Mortlach tormented him and only led to another.
What or who had prevented Euan from purchasing Keila’s ale, and why had the innkeeper not given them a room and then offered one to Dair? Why had no one bought their goods or stopped to talk with Keila and Moira at market? He’d witnessed it all from his vantage point within the trees above the well, and all the while he’d wanted to stride down and lift every man and woman and deposit them before Keila and Moira and their cart of goods. Watching them being ignored had been like suffering an open, festering wound in his chest. He’d wanted to fix the problem. He’d wanted his unfamiliar feelings of helplessness to end.
He’d had his horse and his sword, but this problem was different from any he’d encountered in the Borders and his usual methods of dealing with problems wouldn’t suffice here.
And then Leith of Drummin Castle had slid into view and Dair’s dislike of the man had him rethinking whether he could indeed use his usual methods in this particular instance.
The place deep down in his gut that had saved his neck more than once told him that Leith was involved, but Dair didn’t know exactly how. Though the why could be easily answered now he knew Keila had refused Leith’s suit. And if Leith of Drummin was as greedy and as ruthless as Moira purported him to be, Dair didn’t believe all the protection money in the whole of Scotland would be enough to appease Keila’s rejection.
A small noise from within the makeshift shelter alerted him that one of the women was awake.
‘May I join you?’
Dair recognised the lilting tones of Keila’s voice and welcomed the sudden jolt of pleasure that tempered the growing chill at his recent thoughts. ‘Aye. You’ll need to crawl beneath the cart to reach here.’
He placed his weapon close by and crouched beside the wheel, waiting until Keila’s darkened form emerged from under the timber tray of the cart. ‘Here, take my hand.’
She fumbled in the dark for a moment while her fingers searched and then latched onto his. Her hand was so small captured within his, but she’d proven size had naught to do with her strength of will. He’d seen for himself that her aim was true, and her decision not to give in without a fight proved her courage immense. Dair stood and helped her straighten.
‘My thanks.’ Despite her words of gratitude, her fingers remained in his for another moment. Or perhaps her reluctance to release his hand stemmed from wishful thinking on his part.
Dair stepped back and allowed his gaze to trace the dark outline of her slender form against the rest of the night.
‘The fires still burn. I hope nae one has been harmed.’
He hoped so too. In the Borders he’d seen several victims left blackened, their flesh peeled and raw after a fire, and had later heard the pain they’d suffered was beyond agony. He kept such thoughts to himself. ‘I thought you were sleeping.’
Dair heard her heavy sigh. ‘I thought I would be, too. I’m pleased Moira is. I fear I kept her awake last night with my restlessness, while tonight it is only my thoughts and memories of the chase that stop me from sleeping.’
‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘Nae. ’Tis too soon. I don’t want to relive it again just yet.’ Another long inhalation and then. ‘I’d rather talk about you.’
It wasn’t often Dair was surprised, but Keila managed to catch him off guard. ‘I am not something I talk about often.’
‘Nae, but you must be pleased you can now remember everything.’
‘Aye.’ A twinge of guilt prickled his nape that he’d known his name all along. ‘Here, sit.’ He lifted a square of linen that lined one of the few remaining baskets and spread it on the grass before the cart’s wheel he’d been resting against.
She settled on the cloth. ‘Was Mortlach Inn the one you’d last visited?’
‘Aye.’ He hadn’t known it was until he’d seen the inn again.
‘Do you want to talk about the attack, or is it too soon now your memory has returned?’
Dair settled on the grass close by, facing outward so he could keep a watch over their surroundings. ‘I still don’t know who attacked me or why, only that I’m certain there were several attackers. There is naught else to discuss until I learn more.’
‘Perhaps it will help if we talk about what brought you to Mortlach in the first place.’
Dair honestly didn’t talk about himself often, but sharing with Keila his reasons for being in the Highlands somehow seemed right. ‘Mortlach Inn is one of many Highland inns I have visited since last winter’s end, and not due to me having a penchant for ale.’ He smiled. ‘You know my name is Adair,’ he paused, ‘Dair to those who know me well, but that is also as much as I know.’ He looked directly at Keila, despite not being able to see her. ‘I’ve come to the Highlands to find out who I am.’ What would she think about him now? ‘It sounds like an odd thing to do when spoken out loud.’
‘I don’t think it sounds odd at all. You’ve come to the Highlands from where?’
‘I grew up in the Borders.’ H
e lifted his sword and pulled the cloth from his waistband and began polishing the steel.
‘The Borders are so very far from here.’
Dair smiled. ‘Nae too far.’
‘What is it like there?’
Dair ceased polishing and peered out into the darkness as he recalled what it was like in the Borders. Images of the people he knew and had grown up with filled his head. Faces he missed. Duff and Cal, Lachlan and his wife Kenzie and Lundy and Ailsa. ‘For me, the Borders are home. I have lived with the Elliot clan at Redheugh Castle since I was four. Our days and nights are tormented by the English stealing our cattle.’
‘Truly? Do they not have their own cattle?’
‘Aye, they do, and we have been known to steal back our cattle and oft times more.’
‘You sound as if you enjoy it.’
‘I do. It is what I know.’ He paused in thought. ‘Your Highlands are beautiful. The mountains are magnificent and are much larger than anything I’ve ever seen. They make a man feel small.’ Images of the mountains and scenery he’d seen and travelled over formed inside his mind. ‘The mist that fills the valleys in the early morn and at gloaming is thicker than any I have touched or ridden through.’ He slowly shook his head. ‘The Borders have a beauty all their own. From rolling green hills as far as the eye can see and golden trees and sparkling burns and lochs. But the greatest gift in the Borders are the people I have come to know.’ His chest clamped tight. He missed them. ‘You should visit the Borders.’
‘I doubt I will. Drummin House is my home.’
Dair smothered his disappointment and said, ‘Have you always lived there?’
‘Nae.’ She paused as if contemplating whether or not she should say more. ‘I lived with different relatives until I was ten summers. Drummin House was a gift to me from a caring woman who knew my mother before I was born. I never met either of them.’
The Rogue Page 15
