Page 43 of The Fierce Highlander

Ross shook his head. “Not as well or as fast as he would like. But he is wise enough to know impatience can be an enemy at times. His men are spread wide, listening, hoping to hear something that will help.”

“His tentacles always stretched wide,” Noble said, recalling the many powerful men Slayer was acquainted with, though he did not call them friends.

“The rogue mercenaries bent on killing or abducting your wife or Sky, since one of them could prove the heir to some Lowlander fortune, is what presently occupies his mind. It has Lowlanders arriving here and he does not like their intrusion upon the Highlands.”

“Cavell saved a troop of Lowlanders from complete slaughter and intends to escort the surviving ones to the border.”

“Then they will likely run into a larger group of Lowlanders who have crossed the border into the Highlands,” Ross said.

“Another troop has arrived?” Noble asked, not pleased by the news.

“Someone wants desperately to find the heir to the Lowland fortune.”

“My wife remains with me. Under no circumstance will I allow her out of our marriage,” Noble said, needing Ross to make sure Slayer understood that.

“Your vows are sealed, your marriage unbreakable?” Ross asked, and when Noble looked away, he shook his head. “Seal your vows posthaste and plant your seed deep so there is no chance of voiding the marriage.”

“I will see it done,” Noble assured him.

“Immediately,” Ross urged. “It will take time for that Lowlander troop to reach us, make sure your wife is with child before they get here.”

Noble nodded, annoyed he had not seen to it sooner so that his wife could possibly already be with child, securing their marriage.

“One other thing,” Ross said, “we ran into a group of mercenaries on the way here. The fools attacked us or at least attempted to. The ones lucky enough to survive were sent to Clan Ravinsher for Slayer to decide what to do with them. Once they heard where they were going, they couldn’t stop talking about their mission and how they were searching for their leader, Kinnel, who a Gallowglass warrior had taken prisoner. I am assuming you were that warrior.”

“I am, and his fate is sealed since he attempted once again to harm my wife, a poor attempt at that, his greed ruling his common sense,” Noble said, his brow narrowing. “Lance was not with them?”

“Your tracker?” Ross shook his head after Noble nodded. “He was not among them, and I doubt they would have harmed him since he could have led them to Kinnel.”

Noble didn’t like what that meant. “If Kinnel’s men didn’t catch him, then what troop does he follow?”

CHAPTER13

Noble stood amidst the towering pines deep in the forest, frustrated. He had learned his tracking skills from an early age, his grandfather having taught him.

Patience and a clear mind are the two most important skills of a tracker, he heard his grandfather reminding him. Unfortunately, he feared he would lose the little patience he had left, and then all the skills his grandfather had taught him would be worthless, and he would not allow that to happen.

He took a fortifying breath and remained as he was casting a slow glance but a keen eye on his surroundings or attempting to. His mind had yet to clear, his wife forever popping into it. He had found himself missing her not long after he and his warriors had left Clan Skirling to search for Lance. It was a few days since then and he’d been surprised at how much he not only thought of her but how very much he missed her. She had somehow, in a brief time, become a constant thought that too often twisted at his gut and challenged his heart.

The night before he left to search for Lance, he had gone to their bedchamber long after his wife had, Ross keeping him up with talk and drink. Until finally, and as if he only recalled it, Ross ordered him to go to his wife and see their marriage sealed.

Noble had known when he entered their bedchamber that it would not likely happen that night. His wife slept soundly, turned on her side, her nightdress hanging off her shoulder, exposing the bruise left by the chunk of rock. He cringed at the size of the bruise and how it must pain her, and how sleep could not have come easily for her. He would not couple with her while she was in pain, and he did not like the thought of leaving her the morning after their first coupling. He felt it would not be right or wise since he feared once he did, he would want more of his wife and his mind would be more preoccupied than it already was.

He shook his head. He had to stop thinking about her. He had to concentrate on tracking Lance if he ever wanted to get home and see their marriage protected.

Noble returned his attention to the surrounding area, searching for crushed pinecones, snapped twigs, and disturbed foliage, any signs Lance may have purposely left as markers, but he saw nothing. He worried for Lance as to what that might mean. Had he been found and disposed of without a thought?

He shook his head. What was he missing? He had wondered the same when he had attempted to track Leora from Dundren Abbey after arriving there and finding out she had escaped. He had thought he had picked up her trail, discovering broken twigs and pinecones crushed from footfalls, but they had led nowhere. He had come upon tracks, but the size was far too large for them to be his wife’s and too deep as well. Someone with weight had made those tracks and then they had disappeared, not to be found again. So how had she managed to avoid him? It was something he was growing impatient to find out.

Bew approached him appearing as frustrated as he was.

“I can find nothing. How can that be?” Bew asked, annoyed. “Lance would not fail to find me if I went missing. How have I failed him?”

The sudden thought was like a jolt of lightning striking Noble and he smiled as he shook his head. “You haven’t, Bew. We are at fault for not considering Lance’s skills.”

Bew looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

“We find nothing because there is nothing here to find,” Noble said.

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