Page 63 of A Bridge Through Time
“Richard, ye ken I have bairns with my husband, don’t ye? I cannae be away from them.” Tears filled Irene’s eyes at the thought of being away from her children, perhaps never seeing them again.
“I will not raise Robert’s Scottish brats,” Richard announced.
Irene lost her temper. “I’m not asking ye to raise them, ye damn fool! I’m asking ye to let me return home to them.” She softened her tone. “Please.”
“I’m afraid not,” Richard said. “It’s late. I’d very much like to take you to my bed.” He caressed Irene’s cheek and she flinched and pulled away from him. “But you are not ready yet. I will not force you, Irene. Soon you will come willingly, but for now, you look like you need to rest. There is a pallet in the corner, which you may use. Yourfriendmay remain with you for the time being.” He turned towards the opening. “I must go make preparations to destroy the MacKenzie Clan.”
“What of my horse thief?” Thomas questioned sharply.
Richard turned back to look at the other man, his eyes hard. “She is not yours yet, Thomas.” He waved towards where Ashley lay unconscious on the ground. “At any rate she would be no good to you tonight, and your services are required elsewhere in helping to prepare for our attack.”
Thomas eyed Ashley and looked severely disappointed at the prospect of waiting. Irene watched as he swept from the shelter with Sir Richard, grateful he took his stench with him.
***
As soon as the men’s footfalls had quieted, Irene rushed to Ashley side, falling to her knees beside the unconscious girl. Irene was about to check and see if Ashley was still breathing, when she surprised her by opening her eyes.
“My head hurts,” Ashley moaned. “And my ears are ringing.”
“I thought you’d lost consciousness!” Irene cried. “I thought he might have killed you.”
Ashley shook her head minutely, and struggled to sit up. “After he hit me the second time, I thought it might be safer to pretend I’d been knocked out.”
“I’m so sorry, Ashley. It’s nae wonder yer in pain. I canna believe the way they’re treating you! Come, lie on the pallet with me. Let’s try to get some rest and recoup our strength a wee bit.”
Irene helped Ashley onto her feet and did her best to make the badly beaten woman comfortable on the pallet, before pulling the blanket up over them both. “Cailin and Robert will come for us soon,” she whispered hopefully, wrapping her arm around Ashley’s waist to comfort her.
“I’m certain they will.” Ashley shuddered. “I only hope they get here before Thomas gets a hold of me again.”
“Shhh…” Irene whispered, her voice soothing. “Dinnae think on that now. Have hope.”
“I have hope,” Ashley agreed, “but I also have my Sgian Dubh tucked away in my boot.”
“What are ye planning?” Irene asked worriedly.
“I won’t let Thomas have me.” Tears filled Ashley’s eyes. “I can’t let him touch me. If he tries to come near me, I’ll use the Sgian Dubh to kill him.”
“Foolish English men. Too stupid to remember we women of the MacKenzie clan would be armed.” Irene offered Ashley an encouraging smile and gently stroked her bruised cheek. “We should rest now, Ashley. ‘Twill be mornin’ soon enough and we’ll need all our strength.”
THIRTY-THREE
The MacKenzie men rode on through the night. Thomas and his men hadn’t bothered to hide their tracks, leading Robert to believe they were waiting for them somewhere up ahead. After hours of riding, Robert held up his hand to halt the men riding behind them. Cailin, Cormac and Dougall were riding in formation at his side. “I don’t intend to ride into an ambush,” Robert explained, when their horses had settled.
“Nay, yer right. I’ll send Donall on ahead, to track them and locate their position. He’s a better chance of going undetected than the lot of us,” Cailin suggested.
“Aye, I agree,” Robert said, dismounting from his warhorse. “Whilst me patience is in short supply, as is yours nae doubt, I dinnae want tae do anything rash which might threaten the women’s safety. I hope to sneak up on them, Sir Richard and his men ken we are coming, but they have no way to ken how soon. For all they know, we may still be searching around Breaghacraig, they couldnae know we found William so swiftly.I want Irene and Ashley out of their encampment, before we attack. I dinnae want them in harm’s way when we battle.”
“Agreed,” Cailin responded grimly. He dismounted and went in search of Donall, to give him orders to scout the surrounding area. Robert watched him stalk away, aware that Cailin was like a caged animal and would explode into a raging fury at any moment. The tension was running high amongst all his men, as they went about watering their horses and taking a few minutes to themselves whilst they waited for Donall to complete his scouting mission.
“Robert,” Cailin announced when he returned, “I’m worried. William said that they’d hurt Ashley. What’s to stop them from killing her?” Cailin had a wild look in his eyes and Robert knew he needed to find a way to calm his brother-in-law, before he did something rash.
“Aye. I ken how ye feel, brother, but ’twill do ye no good to think the worst, before we ken what’s happened. I dinnae believe they’ll kill her. Richard may be a foolish man, but he’s nae stupid.” He put a reassuring hand on Cailin’s shoulder. “Calm yerself, brother. Ye’ll need a level head when we get there.”
***
They didn’t have to wait long for Donall’s return, much to Cailin’s relief, as he watched the man gallop swiftly into the area where they had stopped, his horse covered in a heavy sheen of sweat.
“They are closer than we expected,” Donall reported. ”They have a large encampment just two miles further north.”
