Page 14 of Highland Treasure (Highland Brides 9)

Not that she really thought he might do that, Elysande assured herself. After all, he could have simply refused the chore back in the clearing outside Monmouth and hadn’t.

But then he hadn’t known that she was injured and might slow them down, her mind argued, and Elysande grimaced as she admitted to herself that it was a concern to her. She’d lost so much the last few days, and feared losing his escort on top of it all. And that couldn’t happen. She felt safe with Rory Buchanan. And his brother and the other men too, of course. She added that last as an afterthought, but it was true. Tom and Simon were fine soldiers, but these Scots . . . There was something strong and wild about them that made her feel that they would stand firm in the face of any challenge and see her safely through it.

The alehouse looked like every other building on the street except for the sign over the door—a rooster sitting on a bull and holding a foamy stein of ale. There was no writing on the sign, but then most people couldn’t read, so businesses had to depend on images to advertise themselves.

“The Cock and Bull Alehouse?” Elysande asked.

“That’d be my guess,” Rory said, his words reminding her that this establishment had been Conn’s choice.

“You told Conn you had never stopped here before. So this is the first time you have been to Carlisle?” Elysande asked with curiosity as they followed Conn, Inan and Alick up a tiny alleyway between the alehouse and the building next to it.

“Nay,” he said. “But ’tis the first time I’ve stopped here fer the night.”

“But Conn has stayed the night here before?” Elysande asked. It was the only explanation she could come up with for why the man had known of a place to stay while Rory hadn’t.

“Aye.” Rory nodded. “Conn has traveled this way half a dozen times or more with one o’ me brothers or another. But I don’t travel much to England.”

“Really?” she asked, a bit startled at the admission, although she wasn’t sure why. She’d never even left Kynardersley, so why should she expect Rory to leave not only his home but his country on a regular basis?

“Aye,” he assured her. “When younger I traveled a lot to speak to healers who were said to know much, but few of them were in England.”

“Where did you travel to speak to these healers?” Elysande asked with interest as they reached a small courtyard behind the alehouse where a stable waited.

“France, Gascony, Aragon, Castille . . .” He brought the horse to a halt, and then tugged off his gloves and placed them in her hands while he set to work on the rope at her wrists that had kept her arms around his waist without her needing to hold on.

While she waited, Elysande noted that the last two Scots—Fearghas and Donnghail, she thought their names were—were following Tom and Simon and her riderless mare into the courtyard. It made her realize that she hadn’t even thought to check to be sure they were still behind them when they’d ridden through the city gates.

“There ye are, lass,” Rory said as he finished freeing her.

“Thank you,” Elysande murmured, reluctantly retrieving her arms from around his waist after he took back his gloves. She’d enjoyed sharing their body heat, but now sat back and pulled her cloak closed as she waited for Tom and Simon to come help her down.

“There now. How many horses have ye?”

Elysande peered down to see a round-bellied, bowlegged little man scurrying toward them, clutching a ratty old blanket around his shoulders.

“Nine,” Rory answered. “And we’ll be needing food and drink and a place to sleep fer the night.”

The man’s eyes fairly glowed with avarice at this news. “It’ll cost ye, but we’ve got plenty of pottage and ye’re welcome to bed down in the stable.”

“The stable is fine for us, but the lady’ll need somewhere warmer,” Rory said at once, and Elysande stilled as the man’s greedy eyes found her.

“Well, now, we sometimes let travelers bed down in the kitchen and I wouldn’t mind if she did, but I’m thinking me wife won’t be happy letting her sort sleep there.”

Elysande felt Rory stiffen at the words, and wasn’t surprised when he growled, “And what sort is that?”

“A woman what travels so freely and alone with men. And some of ’em Scots,” the man answered as if it should be obvious, and Elysande supposed it was, at least the traveling alone with men part. That was not how a lady was expected to travel. She should have servants and at least one older kinswoman or maid for propriety’s sake. Unfortunately, the situation hadn’t allowed for that.

Aware that Rory was almost vibrating with fury, Elysande touched his arm gently and said, “The stable is fine. I would rather be with the rest of you in case we need to leave quickly.”

As the little man nodded and hurried toward the stable, Rory jerked around to peer at her with surprise. “We should be fine,” he assured her. “The soldiers took the other route north. And we do no’ even ken if they were de Buci’s men.”

Elysande shrugged. “But they could be, and they could also easily have split up later and sent half the men the way we came when they did not encounter us on that other route.”

When he looked dubious, she said, “I can see you doubt me, but you did not witness de Buci’s actions at Kynardersley. I have known him all my life and never seen him act like that. He was mad with desperation. If those men at Monmouth were his, or even if they were not and he has discovered I am missing, he will search high and low for me and will not stop,” she assured him grimly. “I will not be safe until I reach Sinclair, and even then I would not put it past him to attack my aunt and uncle’s holding. His very life depends upon it and de Buci knows it.”

Rory’s mouth spread into a smile at the suggestion. “He would no’ even make it to Sinclair with an army, lass. Scots like the English as little as the English like us. No clan would let a horde o’ English soldiers cross their land and there are a lot o’ clans between here and Sinclair. Once we’re in Scotland, ye’ll be safe.”

“Then I look forward to reaching Scotland,” Elysande said, though she didn’t really think what he said was true. She wouldn’t feel safe until de Buci was taken care of. While she hadn’t known what he was searching for that night at Kynardersley and why her mother and father along with most of their faithful soldiers had died, she had found out afterward. And that knowledge told her that de Buci would kill anyone and everyone who got in his way. He had to, for it was his own life he was fighting for. What he was searching for would put his neck on the block if he didn’t retrieve it before it reached the king.

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