The Hunter (Highland Guard #7)(63)

The sky had cleared and there was just enough moonlight to make out Ewen’s slightly taken-aback expression.

Her brother by marriage gave a sharp laugh. “I daresay, I’m cold as well, my lady. Despite all appearances, Lamont is quite human, and I imagine he is as well, although I suspect he’d rather eat nails than admit it.” He gave her a roguish wink. “Mary told me that you could stand toe-to-toe with anyone and weren’t easily cowed. I can see she was right. My friend over there isn’t exactly known for his tact—especially around ladies’ delicate sensibilities.”

“I noticed,” Janet said dryly.

“Delicate?” Ewen scoffed under his breath. “The lass doesn’t know the meaning of the word.”

She knew he hadn’t meant it as a compliment, but she took it as one. “Thank you.”

He scowled at her with that same why-won’t-you-fit-in-the-nice-box-that-you-are-supposed-to look that her brother Duncan used to have.

“Your sister will be happy to have you back,” Sir Kenneth said. “She’s missed you terribly.”

Janet paled, the familiar anxiety gnawing at her. “I-I missed her as well.”

“She never gave up looking for you. I think she must have visited every church and hospital between Berwick and Newcastle.”

Janet looked at him, startled. “She did?”

He nodded. “Aye, she said she always sensed you were still alive. She said she would have known if you weren’t.”

Emotion suddenly gripped her throat. Was it true? Had Mary forgiven her? Had she not blamed her for what had happened?

Janet could only nod.

She glanced at Ewen. He was no longer scowling but watching her with a puzzled look on his face. Fearing she’d revealed more than she’d intended, she lifted her chin and said, “Are we going to keep moving?”

She thought he smiled, but no doubt it was a trick of the moonlight. With a bow, he said. “As you wish, my lady. Don’t let me slow you down.”

She couldn’t believe it: he was teasing her. A soft glow spread inside her, warming some of the chill from her bones. “I won’t,” she teased back, sweeping past him in what she hoped was the right direction.

It didn’t take long before they ran into the old road that he’d mentioned. It was odd to imagine Roman legionnaires marching here hundreds of years ago. Though they’d avoided most roads before now, with the number of travelers that used the road even in the snow, Ewen said it would be difficult for anyone still following them to identify their specific tracks.

Despite her previous protestations, by the time they turned off the road and navigated a very dark patch of forest to a small motte upon which sat the ruins of an old fort, she was exhausted and, as the grumbling coming from her stomach suggested, hungry. Needless to say, she didn’t argue when Ewen said they would rest here for a while.

Taking shelter in what was left of the stone foundations of the fort, they sat on the rocky floor with their backs against the wall and ate a cold and rather lackluster meal of dried venison and oatcakes, washed down with a choice of whisky or ale—she chose the latter. Her feet were like ice as she took off her hose and boots to warm them by the small fire Ewen had made. It felt like heaven, and slowly some of the chill left her bones.

Ewen didn’t sit for more than five minutes before he was up again.

Shaking her head, Janet watched his big, solid form disappear into the darkness. “Does he ever rest?” she said to her brother-in-law.

Sir Kenneth laughed. “Not much when he’s on a mission. But don’t worry, he’s used to it. We all are. He’ll get some rest when it is safe.”

“ ‘We’?”

Something flickered in his gaze. “Bruce’s army,” he said quickly, but she had the feeling that he had been referring to something else.

They were silent for a while, the sounds of the night enveloping them. It was so quiet. Almost eerily so. “Do you think we are safe?”

“Aye, lass. Lamont’s the best. It would take more than luck for the English to find us now.”

“And Magnus and Eoin?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry about them. They can take care of themselves. MacLean probably already has picked out the perfect place for a surprise attack. The English don’t stand a chance.”

“But forty against two?”

“Hopefully they caught up with Douglas—Sir James,” he clarified. But he needn’t have. The Black Douglas was well known along the Borders. “But even if they didn’t, forty Englishmen aren’t enough for two Highlanders.”

Janet dismissed his boasting as typical Highland hyperbole. It had to be an exaggeration, didn’t it? Then why did he seem genuinely unworried?

Ewen returned a few minutes later, and she heaved a sigh of relief.

“I think they took the bait,” he said. “We can rest here for a few hours. In the morning, I will see about finding some horses in the village.”

She nodded and laid her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. The difficulty of the past few days seemed to catch up with her all at once. She didn’t notice the hard ground, the stony pillow, or the cold, and didn’t even bother to lie down, all she could think about was sleep.

Feeling the weight of his gaze on her, her eyes flickered open just before she was about to doze off. Something fierce and poignant passed between them. Something undeniable. Something that made her feel safe. “Sleep,” he said.