Chapter 16

They were behind her.

Nora ran as far and as fast as she could make it, barely daring to look around once.

By now, she had been running so long that she had forgotten just which path she had taken into the forest. Casting around the densely packed forest, she had a fit of unease. This was not the same track she had been down some time before, was it?

Looking again, she was not sure. Some of the bracken appeared to be flattened down, leading her to think that maybe she had been there before. Through the trees, the sounds of rustling followed her. It was probably just wind—or perhaps sheep, grazing peacefully in the woodlands—but she wasn"t taking any chances.

Since fleeing the castle, she had been pursued by bandits and followed by thieves. She was not sure if the horsemen who had pursued her across Duncan Glen were guards or just bandits out for all they could get.

She didn"t care, and it did not change much either way. She needed to run as far and as fast away from him as she could get.

But half a day later, she was lost. And, worse still, she was without her horse. Grayfriar had fallen into a ditch some way back and became injured. There was no way she could ride the poor wee mite, and so, reluctantly, she had left her.

"I"ll come back as soon as I can, sweeting," Nora had promised her, but leaving her there was harder than she had thought. Abandoning the stricken mare was quite a wrench; Nora had had her since she was a filly. Then, with tears in her eyes, she had departed, running on foot as fast as she could.

The problem was that she did not know where she was heading. And to cap it all, it had started to rain. Panting, Nora almost slammed straight into a Scots pine tree. Taking the opportunity to stop, she rested, her heart in her mouth.

Cold, wet splodges of rain cascaded down on her head. But Nora barely noticed, instead too busy keeping her thoughts at bay. No matter how hard she tried, they kept coming back. Everything about the day that was meant to be, taunted her. He was there, alone and bewildered, wondering if she would come back to him.

Despondent, Nora fell against the tree. She had betrayed him in the worst way possible, humiliating him in front of them all. Choking a sob, Nora could barely confront what she had done. It hurt so deeply. That she had destroyed him like this hurt her more.

A lone tear running down her cheek, Nora tried desperately to gather herself. She had to do it; there was no choice. She had to leave him and make it real. William had to be under no illusion that she would come back to him. By leaving him like this, she hoped he would leave her alone and not try to follow her.

But she could not be sure, which was why she had to hurry. The fear that William might be hunting her spurred her on. Getting her breath back, she stumbled on, deep into the thick woodland. Every step was a step deeper into confusion. Far from running from him, Nora had the horrible sense she was going around in circles. Worse still, that she was heading backward.

Then, suddenly, she came to a stop. A hoarse cry curdled her heart. Fearing the worst, she stepped backward and almost fell into a hidden ditch.

"Woah!"

An ethereal cry pierced her, almost slicing her heart in two. She had almost fallen straight on top of an equally distraught Grayfriar.

"Och!" she gasped when she had her breath back. Cradling the horse, she stroked it fondly. With some effort, she helped lead it from the ditch, although it was clear it could not go quickly.

Finally, she had pulled her out. They wandered for a moment through the scrub and brushland. As she went, Nora couldn"t help finding it strangely familiar.

Then, men"s voices.

Her heart thundering in her chest, Nora stopped dead, as did Grayfriar, fear showing in the whites of her eyes. She heard shouting; in the distance, a group of men surged through the forest. With the undergrowth so thick, it was impossible to see through it, but this time Nora knew she was not mistaken.

Bracken crackling grew louder. They were near, looking around. Nora searched for cover. Then, a surprise. Grayfriar began moving. Nodding as if to alert her, the dappled horse whinnied, then turned away. It was difficult; she was still hopping, her injured leg held aloft, but she managed.

As Nora watched her, it seemed as if she had something to say.

Perplexed, she pushed on through the undergrowth, trying to get away, but Grayfriar led her astray.

"Nay," said Nora, agitated.

The voices grew loud, indicating that they were near her. Shuddering, Nora tried her hardest to get away, but her horse had other ideas.

"Nay, lass, och," complained Nora, as Grayfriar attempted to lead her through the fray.

Then, giving up, she sighed. "Och, do ye happen to ken hoo to get oot?"

Following the gray mare, she battled through the undergrowth. If she had not been so petrified, she might have looked harder. Then, suddenly, they were somewhere she recognized.

"Crivvens!"

Looking up, Nora saw a tumbledown shack, a vague crumbling stack that used to be a cottage. Seeing it, she gave a gasp. It was the abandoned house in the woodlands, the one near the new village.

But as the men"s voices neared, there was nothing for it. Pulling Grayfriar in, she leaped behind the door, urging her to quiet as the party passed them.

"Och, Morag will skelp him for coming home so tardy," one of the voices filtered through the gap in the door, bringing with it the loud bravado of the men.

Breathless, Nora waited, crouching behind the crumbling cottage, glancing up at the debris around.

"Well, there"s a cure fer a nagging woman. The cucking stool at Bammock." cried one of the men as the others laughed. Nora held her breath as the men"s voices passed. Slowly, she realized that they were not guards, just villagers returning home after working in the fields.

They were not looking for her.

Probably.

Sighing, Nora looked at her stricken horse. The poor creature gazed at her mournfully in the half-light of the abandoned house. Stroking the animal"s fetlocks, Nora ruminated on her life.

"Och, Grayfriar, look at that rain." She gazed out, watching the capricious Highland weather deliver yet another surprise storm. The gray mare whinnied loudly. She had never liked rain nor loud storms.

Nora let out another sigh as her thoughts turned west to Duncan Castle. Nestling out of sight, she could nevertheless catch sight of its direction from the hole in the blackhouse wall.

With a pang, she thought of their wedding day. Leaning flatly against the wall, she deflated like a sheep"s bladder. She should be there now, her and William leading the dancing, the pair of them charging their cups to the cheering crowds.

Nora could not stop it. Hot tears trickled down her cheeks. She pictured them together, holding and caressing, joining hands for the wedding dance. A heat burned inside of Nora. They would never have their wedding night or the joy of their first child. Christenings, feasts, family occasions, the list went on. Nora could barely comprehend it. All gone.

Turning away, a picture came to her of the scenes in the castle as she had slipped away. The drinking, the jesting, the carousing, it would all be underway right now. Or it would have if she had not left him.

Forlornly, she pictured William, tense and alone, waiting for her to return. And then, when she didn"t, what would he do? Fear prickled her heart. It wrenched her deeply, almost pulling her insides out. He hated her, she was sure. Which made sense, as she hated herself too.

And with cold in her heart, she tensed as she thought of someone who hated her even more than both of them: her father. At this, Nora shuddered. Just the thought of him made her cold. If he saw her, it would be the end of her. He would kill her.

But oddly, this did not even rank as the top problem she had at that moment. Right then, Nora was more concerned with finding her way through this forest. It was raining.

Suddenly, the skies had opened up, spewing out a gale from literally nowhere. Rains lashed the ramshackle walls of the blackhouse, sending gusts howling around. Nora wondered where the men were. Maybe they had reached their homes.

Yes, because the new village was not far. She remembered now that William had shown her around. They were just there all along. And then, somehow, they had gotten back into the Duncan clan. But, also, there was a road out of it.

Screwing up her head, Nora tried to think. Where had that road been?

She was sopreoccupied that she did not notice the branches cracking, leading to the house. In her daze, she pulled her hands over her eyes, anything to try and stop the sobs from coming through.

Then, she sensed a stillness. All the sounds of the storm dulled. It was as if something came into the room. Still deep in her thoughts, Nora crouched against the wall. She had to think.

Think! There must be some way out of this.

But inside, all she could think about was if she would ever see William again.

Just as she was about to gather herself, something firm made her jump. A hand—she was sure it must be—pressed into her shoulder. Nora turned, holding a scream. As much as she wanted it, she was certain it could not be the horse.

She was right.

Behind her, a man was standing.

Nora opened her mouth to scream. Then she saw him.

It was William.