Free Highland Hunger by Hannah Howell Page A

was really making her frown.
    “Two, three miles. Ye see that wee mountain just ahead?”
    “I see some of it and then it disappears into a misty cloud.”
    “Aye, there is always some mist sheltering us from view. I think ’tis one of the reasons our ancestors chose this place. That and the caves beneath the keep.”
    “Ah. But, if ye live in caves, why trouble building a keep?”
    “The keep is kept dark, too, and our laird stays in it. And the caves arenae like the one we stayed in. The Purebloods have made themselves a fine place down there.” He decided not to tell her that he, too, had a place down there, that such news was best held back until she decided to stay with him.
    “And if the hunters follow us right to the gates?”
    “They will die there. There is no mercy for the ones who hunt us.”
    “Nay, I wouldnae expect there to be any. I dinnae care to think on how many poor souls have died at the hands of men like the laird, and I suspicion nay all of them were truly of MacNachton blood.”
    “True, but too many nonetheless. All MacNachtons carry the weight of those deaths. We should have kenned the chance that bairns were bred outside the clan. It has happened at Cambrun, so we kenned it wasnae impossible.”
    “That was the responsibility of the men who bred those children, nay you. They didnae tell ye that had bedded a woman here and there, so how were ye to ken that there was any chance of a child?”
    “We all ken how a child is begotten, so when a mon would boast of what pleasure he had found, or taken, for himself, someone should have considered the possibility that there would be a child. Now no mon leaves Cambrun without being recalled to that responsibility.” He suddenly inhaled deeply and then cursed.
    “What is it?”
    “The hunters draw near, love. I can smell their sweat and their horses. We are going to have to ride hard and fast now. Will ye be able to do that?”
    Una nodded and gripped the reins of her mount a little tighter. “Will the horses be able to follow the trail at such speed?”
    “Easily enough for a while as the moon is bright and, once we are on the path that winds up the hill, our enemies will have to slow as much as we will. Ready?” he asked even as he freed the third horse he had secured to his mount, knowing it would follow them now.
    “Aye.”
    The moment Raibeart kicked his mount into a gallop, Una did the same. She did not look at the land they rode through, knowing she would be unsettled by the sight of all the trees, obstacles that could prove a real danger to an unskilled rider such as she was. Instead she kept her gaze fixed on Raibeart, knowing he would lead her in the right direction.
    Raibeart could hear the hunters riding hard behind them. It was going to be a close-run race. If it were only himself he had to worry about, he would stop and face the four men squarely. In truth, he would have stopped running and stalked them, a silent killer slipping in and out of the shadows. But, he had to think of Una’s safety first and not just because she was a woman. She was his woman. Leaving her on her own so that he could hunt down the men hunting them had never been a choice.
    Once he started on the winding rocky path up the mountain, he signaled Una to slow down. He knew that, from below, it would soon appear as if they had just disappeared into the mists, but he doubted that would stop the hunters. They had come too far and lost two men. The laird of Dunmorton could also have promised punishments so dire that failure was more frightening than facing a MacNachton. At least until he met them face-to-face, he thought with a touch of satisfaction. Soon the men following them would discover why his clan was still feared despite the fact that all that was left of their vicious past were tales whispered in the dark.
    Una stared at the keep before them, barely noting that the path they followed had grown a great deal wider. It had appeared out of the mists with