Free Highland Promise by Hannah Howell Page A

reached for James, using the blanket he had been sleeping on to make his sling. “They appear to be in no hurry, so I dinnae think they are following any trail.”
    Eric grabbed their packs and started out the door. “Take a moment and see if yecan clear away some of the signs that we have been here.”
    Bethia did what she could, but was not sure it was enough. The ashes could even still be warm if William and his men arrived at the hut too quickly. There was also the smell of a fire and recently cooked food in the hut. She fanned the door for a moment, but was not sure that would bring in enough outside air to get rid of the scent of recent habitation. All she could do was pray that William had no time or inclination to look closely or even that he simply never found the place.
    Eric rode up on Connor and she hurried to mount behind him. He made no comment on the fact that she added James’s little bed to their baggage. She noted the branch he had tied to the poor beast’s tail in hopes of brushing away their trail even as they rode along. Wrapping her arms around his trim waist she hung on as he nudged his horse into a gallop. If they could get out of the little valley before William entered it they might have a chance of getting away.
    They rode hard for several miles and then Eric stopped. Bethia struggled to catch her breath, stolen by fear and the speed of their retreat, as Eric removed the branch from Connor’s tail. She knew it was too soon to relax but she took some comfort from the fact that they had heard no outcry or sounds of pursuit.
    “Do ye think we have eluded them?” she asked as he gave Connor some water.
    “For now. ’Tis a shame I never got to the top of that hill, for I would have been able to judge how far away they were when ye saw them.” He handed her his waterskin, idly brushing the dust from his clothes as she drank. “I am a little surprised that ye sought my aid when ye saw them.”
    As she handed him back the waterskin, she smiled faintly. “Nay, you arenae.” She caught the flash of his grin just before he took a drink. “Besides, I needed your horse.”
    “Ah, and here I thought it was my skill as a knight and my charm that brought ye hieing back to my side.”
    “Such vanity.” She sighed, the moment of jesting swiftly passing. “I think, after so many days of not seeing that bastard, that I had nourished the hope that we had lost him.”
    “Ye cannae really lose him, nay completely. The mon has to ken that ye would make your way back to Dunnbea.”
    “Of course, and so only needs to ride in that direction.” She frowned as Eric mounted in front of her and started them on their way again. “He cannae think to confront my whole clan.”
    “Nay, I dinnae think so. He must hope he can stop ye ere ye get there, but mayhap he thinks he can talk his way out of your accusations.”
    “He cannae. I may nay have the proof needed to hunt him down and hang him, but my family will believe my tale. They will protect James.”
    Eric nodded. “They would have more claim to his care than William anyway.”
    “Aye, for William isnae blood kin.”
    “He does hold Dunncraig, however.”
    “For now.”
    “And what will ye do next? Fight for what is rightfully James’s?”
    Bethia muttered a curse and did not answer him. That was exactly what would happen if William did not give up his hold on Dunncraig, but she did not want to think about it. Land and riches were not worth people’s lives. She did not understand why she seemed to be the only one who felt that way.
    It was late in the afternoon when Eric suddenly veered off the trail he had been following and urged her to dismount. Bethia winced as she stood up, her muscles protesting the long ride. The long rest at the hut had stolen away the toughening she had gained before their trouble at the river.
    “Where are ye going?” she asked when Eric did not dismount, but turned his horse back toward the trail.
    “I want to go back