The Hunter (Highland Guard #7)(61)

But she didn’t complain. Even when her mount took a misstep that nearly toppled her off her saddle.

Ewen saw it happen in what seemed like half the normal beat of time. He was watching the steady up and down of her shadow, when all of a sudden the rhythm broke. She lurched to the side—his heart doing the same—and cried out. He saw her slipping, saw the distance to the ground, and realized how hard that ground would be. A couple of inches of snow would not cushion her bones from breaking.

He shot forward to try to catch her, wrenching his leg in the process. If he weren’t so focused on her, the burning knife of pain might have concerned him.

Somehow she managed to stay seated.

He grabbed the reins, pulling her to a stop. “Are you all right?” It happened so quickly, he didn’t have time to keep the emotion from his voice. She’d scared him, damn it. More than he wanted to think about.

Her face was lost in the shadows and the darkness, but he could see the movement of her nod. “I think so.” Her voice shook a little, and he had to fight not to pull her into his arms. Not yours. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to be more careful.”

He could see her readjust the plaid she wore over her head like a hood, which had fallen off as she nearly fell.

His mouth hardened. “It isn’t your fault. These are treacherous riding conditions for anyone.”

MacKay hadn’t seen what had happened, as he’d been riding ahead with Sutherland, but he must have guessed. “We’re pushing you too hard.”

“No, really, I can do this. I’ll pay more attention.”

MacKay and Ewen exchanged looks. Despite her protest, they both knew this wasn’t working.

When they’d started out from the cave, they had about seventy miles or so to reach the birlinn in Ayr, much of that over rough countryside. They weren’t using roads—not that many existed through the hills and forests of southwestern Scotland. In the past few hours, going as fast as they dared, they’d probably covered no more than ten miles. Even if they could outpace the English at night, the enemy would catch up with them in a few hours of daylight.

If the English were still following them, that is. And every instinct in his body clamored that they were. Ewen couldn’t see them, but he could feel them pressing, a far more ominous force than the snowy darkness around them. The last time he’d felt like this was five years ago, when he and the rest of the Guard were fleeing west with Bruce across the Highlands and the king had been forced to seek refuge in the Isles. Then, as now, it felt like they were being hunted. Used to being the stalker and not the quarry, it was an odd sensation for him—and not one that he enjoyed.

They didn’t have a choice. He wasn’t going to take any chances with her. His first—his only—objective was to keep her safe. “We need to separate.”

Janet’s heart dropped. “Separate? We can’t separate.” What if the English caught up with them? The odds were horribly against them as it was.

It’s because of me. Janet hated knowing that she was slowing them down. It wasn’t often that she was forced to confront her weaknesses so openly, but she did not hide from them.

She might not have the physical strength or endurance that these men did, but she was every bit as determined and had no intention of giving up. “Please,” she looked back and forth between the four shadows, wishing she could see their faces. “I can do this.”

From the concern in Ewen’s voice before, she thought he might have been worried about her, but there wasn’t a hint of concern now when he snapped, “No, you can’t. You aren’t a strong enough rider.”

She flinched. Trust Ewen not to cushion the blow. The worst part, of course, was that he was right.

Sir Kenneth attempted to ease the sting of Ewen’s words. “What Lamont means to say—”

She cut him off. “It’s all right. He’s right. I’m not strong enough. But I don’t see how that will change if we split up.”

“They won’t be following you,” Ewen said with his typical lack of explanation. The get-the-job done soldier had taken over. He turned to Magnus. “Take the horses and head north toward Broad Law. With any luck Boyd and Seton will still be there with Douglas, and you can give our English pursuers a nice surprise. I’ll head west with the lass and take cover in the forest. As soon as it is safe, I’ll find some horses and catch up with you at Ayr.”

At least he meant to go with her. She didn’t know what she would have done if he’d tried to send her with someone else.

“I’m going with you,” Sir Kenneth said. Ewen seemed poised to argue, when her brother-in-law added, “If this doesn’t work, you’ll need my sword.” He paused. “She’s my sister.”

The show of family loyalty touched her, but she still didn’t understand. “But how can you be sure they won’t follow our tracks instead?”

She could almost hear Ewen smiling. “We won’t have any.”

She learned what he meant a few minutes later when she found herself tromping through the icy water of a small burn. They’d led the horses to the water, making it look like the group had stopped to rest, and then with Ewen in the lead and Sir Kenneth behind her, the three of them had taken off on foot through the water, leaving no tracks in the freshly fallen snow (which thankfully had abated), while Magnus and Eoin had ridden off with all five horses.