Gair ran his hand over the back of his neck and sat down near the fire. Their stack of peat and wood was nearly gone. They’d have to either get more or move on come morning. He had no idea where they could go. He still didn’t know where they were! He didn’t know if he was responsible for the safety of these lasses, though it seemed he was. How on earth could he look after them if he didn’t even know how to get home from here? Even the sky was no help, clouds hid the sun and would hide the stars all night. He couldn’t even tell which general direction to travel in. Well, away from the sea, but other than that... The silence was a gift to his aching head at first, but it soon began to feel awkward. He wanted to know whatever the lasses could tell him, but he didn’t want to let on how clueless he was. “M’Laird’s head pains him,” the lass said, “but I have no poultice to fix it for him. Grandmame will have some. Will we go there tomorrow?” Gair looked from the lass to Isobel. “Yer head
Gair smiled, watching Izzy run her free hand over her hair. It was a nervous gesture he realized, one he’d seen her make before. He knew he had yet to remember everything from the past few days, but when Magdala had touched his back the pain had brought back memories of the lightning strike and more details of crossing the cove. He also knew that his first instinct when he had come to his senses beside the burning tree was to find Isobel and keep her safe. Though he didn't remember what she needed to be safe from.For some reason this angel was his, or she would be. He was relieved to know she was not his brother’s woman. He did not remember what their relationship was, but he knew what he wanted it to be. It wasn’t that yet he was sure, if it were she would not have minded him seeing her in just a chemise.“I’ve had my men prepare a tent for the two of you to have some privacy,” James said, nudging his knee, “newlyweds need their time alone, eh?” Gair blinked, barely managing to mask
“How in the bloody hell did you lose a sleeping woman!”The Duke’s booming voice froze Izzy in her tracks and she crouched low behind the nearest bush. She couldn’t make out what the soldiers were answering. They’d been asleep when she’d crawled out of the tent and left her shelter. Everyone had. Between having slept the day away and the large number of men around she hadn’t been able to drift off, so when the guards had started to snore she’d slipped out and spent the night out in the bush. She just picked her way between their legs, grabbed up her bow and quiver, and walked out the entrance.She’d only waited until she could sneak away because she hadn’t wanted any of the men to follow her. It had never occurred to her that they would get in trouble when she was not in the tent come morning. Nobody had ever bothered to know where she was before. If her clansmen had ever noticed her gone, they certainly hadn’t searched for her. Well, they had after she’d been gone several months, bu
"I can’t believe ye would just wander off like that,” the Duke said again around a mouthful of fish. Gair bristled. The man was more than happy to accept the food his wife caught, cleaned, and cooked, yet still felt the need to reprimand her. He had been berating her from the moment she’d shown herself. Every comment he’d spoken was meant to antagonize but stopped short of actually insulting her so Gair himself had no cause to retaliate. The pair of them had simply bit their tongues and waited for the man to steam off all his temper, but it was getting beyond tiresome. All of the group within earshot was attuned to the goings-on, waiting for someone to start a fight. “You wasted valuable time for the sake of a few fish when we had plenty of salted fare and bread to start the day. It was a complete waste of everyone’s time!” Gair glanced at Izzy and saw her eyes narrow, “well finding food to fill your belly wasn’t all I left for.”“What then?”“Ye do understand that I am nay really a
Izzy held herself stiff in front of her husband, looking around in astonishment as they all trudged forward more quickly than she’d realized a group this size could travel. It seemed like only moments ago her husband had stumbled into the shelter with Siofra in his arms and told James the three of them needed to be hidden and they had to leave immediately. Without asking a single question, James had taken the child from Gair and started barking out orders to his men. They had efficiently broken camp and loaded everyone onto horses in a matter of minutes. Dressed as Stuart soldiers, complete with hats and curly-haired wigs, she and her husband were mounted on a large black horse. Siofra had been wrapped in a bedroll and tossed on the back of the horse beside them with Magdala and a Stuart soldier. On the other side of Magdala two more Stuart soldiers, a man and a lad, were dressed in her and Alasdair’s cast off closed and sharing a horse.She had never shared a horse with anyone befo
Izzy glanced around at the group, happy to notice the time travelling had them spread out and mostly not paying attention. She put her hands over her husband's, hoping he would remain silent and allow her to lead them. She dug her heels into the horse and it picked up its pace, moving to the side as she guided it away from the group.“Bhean?”“Shh.” She felt him turn to look around them, then his hands relaxed under hers, letting her fully control the horse on her own. “They will notice us moving off,” he whispered to her when they were far enough away not to be overheard. “I would wager at least a pair of the men who rode behind were tasked with keeping us in sight. Probably a pair for each of us.”“A few is better than a hundred. My friends will not be there if such a large number of Stuarts approached. They have probably been watching us for a while now. I am hoping the dogs will come to me when I whistle, and that will tell them it is me and I believe all is well. If I weren’t in
A soft whimper pulled Gair from his sleep. He blinked his eyes open and looked around the odd structure that Isobel’s friends called home. From the outside, it had looked like a pile of fallen brush wedged into the trees. From the inside, the frame seemed to be made of giant ribs with animal skins stretched between them and a layer of plush furs covered the ground. If they were ribs, they were from an animal far bigger than anything Gair had ever seen. It seemed impossible any animal could be this big, but at the same time, it did look as though they were sitting in the belly of a great beast. He’d have to look through the animal book when he got home and see if he could find a mention of an animal big enough for several men to stand inside of it.A hole in the top was directly over the fire, and the smoke escaped through that. The cavernous space was still hot, even though the fire had died to just coals and embers. At one end there was the door, where the soldiers were sleeping. At
Two days later, Izzy had had all she could take of the grand old Duke of York. She stood by the horse she shared with her husband, adjusting her weapons and wishing she could shoot the man where he sat. She was sick of hearing about Protestants and Catholics and Anglicans. She was sick of hearing how to bring peace to Scotia, England, and Ireland. She didn’t care, so long as the fighting stayed away from her. Apparently, it hadn’t, which is why she and Gair were not heading back to Sinclair. Mostly, she was tired of being told to change who she was. “Honestly, Isobel,” James said, looking down his long nose at her from where he was perched atop his horse. “Trews, a sword, and a bow? They haven’t even any feminine adornment. Have you no shame? Your husband will have to hire a proper English tutor just to be sure his daughters will not be shunned when the time comes for them to wed.”“He does nay have to worry on that if I do nay bare him any children.” “You may dress a lad, but you