Page 45 of The Outlaw's Bride
They moved off, leaving the ruin of Dun Sleadale behind. The horse picked its way down the pebble-strewn hillside. The hoary light of the moon lit the path before them.
Adaira tried to guess the time. It was very late, or early depending how ye looked at it. They would have to ride hard to be far from here by dawn.
The maid would raise the alarm shortly after sunrise if someone didn’t discover the dead guards at the East Gate first.
The chill night air stung Adaira’s cheeks. It was cold enough tonight for a frost to settle. It didn’t take long for her fingers and toes to grow numb.
At the bottom of the hill, they reached an unpaved highway.
“Where does this road lead?” Adaira asked.
“This is the main highway south-east,” Lachlann replied, drawing the horse to a halt. “If ye want to take the fastest route to Argyle, this is it.”
Adaira caught the edge in his voice and tensed. “What’s wrong?”
“My father will be after us at dawn,” he said flatly. “He knows yer kin reside at Gylen Castle and that’s where we were heading last time. Neither of us will find refuge there.”
Anxiety fluttered up under Adaira’s ribcage. In their escape from Talasgair, she hadn’t even considered that. “So, ye think weshouldn’tgo to Argyle?”
A brief silence stretched out between them. “It would be wiser to find somewhere to wait him out, before we cross to the mainland,” he replied. “But ye may never be able to go to Gylen Castle as ye had planned … not now.”
Adaira drew in a deep breath. His words were unwelcome, yet she realized he spoke the truth. Once they were far from Talasgair, she’d have to make new plans, but for now they had other priorities. “Where can we hide in the meantime?”
“My brothers told me that Baltair MacDonald fell in battle. Yer sister is now chatelaine of Duntulm, is she not?”
Adaira went still, caught off-guard by the question. “Aye.”
Lachlann turned his profile to her. He was frowning. “Would she shelter us?”
“She would,” Adaira replied without hesitation. She trusted Caitrin with her life. “But ye do realize we’ll have to ride through my father’s lands to reach MacDonald territory?”
“Aye,” he growled. “It hadn’t escaped me.”
“But ye would take the risk?”
Lachlann muttered a curse and raked a hand through his hair. “If Baltair MacDonald was still chieftain of Duntulm, I wouldn’t go within ten leagues of the place. The man was loyal to yer father. But if ye think yer sister can be trusted, we can stay with her till the dust settles.”
Adaira considered his words. Her first impulse was to insist they rode like the wind south for Kyleakin before taking a boat across the water. She hated the thought of delaying. Every day that she remained on Skye put her at risk of being caught by either Malcolm MacLeod or Morgan Fraser.
And yet, without a destination in mind, they’d be fleeing blind.
She was also wary of Lachlann. He’d risked his neck to free her, but she didn’t trust him. The man never did anything unless he stood to gain from it; she’d learned that the hard way.
However, he did have a valid point. His father would follow them to Gylen Castle, if he didn’t catch them first.
Lachlann’s idea to seek refuge at Duntulm was only marginally less dangerous. They risked capture by her father’s men, and there was no guarantee Morgan Fraser wouldn’t follow them.
“Will yer father hunt us if we cross into MacLeod lands?” she asked, giving her fears voice.
A pause followed, and when Lachlann answered, his voice was bleak. “Aye … our only advantage is that if we travel north-east, he won’t know where we’re headed.”
Chapter Nineteen
I Did It For Ye
LACHLANN’S GAZE FIXED ahead.
It was fortunate there was a full-moon tonight, on the eve of Samhuinn. Without it they couldn't have traveled in the dark. Even so, Lachlann’s attention swept the bare hillsides around them, on the look-out for trouble.
