Free Arrow To The Heart (De Bron Saga) by Katherine Vickery Page B

watched for any signs of recognition but saw none and knew that her disguise had worked.  If Marion who had known her since childhood didn't know who she was , then she need not fear being recognized by others.  It gave her just the confidence she needed.   "Now come.  To horse again.  You have far to go still and can not linger here.  Prince John and his henchmen are not far off."               
    Maria n pulled herself up on her steed, smiling at the young "man" who had saved her.  "I thank you, kind sir, for your help this day.  Perhaps some day I will be able to reward you for your act of bravery in saving me from the clutches of......."   Her face paled as she looked back towards the castle. "Look!  Someone is coming."             
    Whirling around , Rowena cursed beneath her breath as she recognized who  was approaching.  Even from afar she recognized the dark hair, the way he sat his horse, indeed  the very  arrogance of the man.  "Kendrick de Bron," she exclaimed.  Alas, he was not alone. Two other men rode with him.             
    "We'll be caught!"  Maria n hesitated, not knowing whether to stay or to go.             
    "No we shall not."  Rowena made a hasty decision to act as a decoy.  "Ride.  You must return to Huntington," she said a bit gruffly.  "I'll  lead them on a merry chase." When  the Lady Marian refused, Rowena  gave Marian's horse a slap on its rump with her bow.  "I said ride!"  Turning her horse around, returning her bow to the safety of its strap, she mounted, urging her  horse onward.  And just in time! The sound of horses' hooves echoed in her ears, coming closer and closer.             
    "The rogue robbed me.  Catch him! " she heard Roderick of Hereford shout.              
    "Never!" she vowed.  She would outride them all.  Across the rocky hillside she guided her horse, moving towards the thickest part of the forest.  The leafy branches beckoned her like the arms of a lover as she fled her enemies.              
    Feeling the pulsating rhythm of her horse's flanks beneath the high leather of her boots, she rode towards a  clump of trees.  Once there she could seek the shelter of the dense foliage, double back, make a large circle and emerge from the trees to take the opposite path  back to the castle.  A tricky man euver but one she must complete successfully.  To be caught would put not only herself but her father in danger.               
    Rowena's heart was beating like a drum as at last she reached the foliage.  Reining in her mount she hid behind a tall, stout tree, scarcely daring to breathe.               
    "Where did the lad go?"
    "He went to the right."             
    "To the left."              
    "Come follow me."              
    From her position she could see the shadows of the men on horseback as they rode past her.  She could hear their shouts, the plop of their horses' hooves, could nearly hear them breath e as they passed her.  Ride, you churlish bastards !  she thought angrily .  But you will never capture me .  To assure that they would not, she kept her eyes trained on them, watching their every move. For what seemed forever she huddled behind the trunk, totally determined.  Only when she was certain that they were gone did she come forth from her concealment. 
    “Had they but eyes in their heads they would have found me.”
    She was pleased with herself because of her cleverness, more so because she had outwitted the arrogant dark-haired knight who had been so certain she would anxiously jump right into his bed.
    “Overbold knave!” Not for the world would she have admitted that his sexual virility had burned her like a flame, nor that in truth she had enjoyed the searing warmth of his kiss. “I have escaped you once again.”
    Rowena wasn’t completely safe, however. She