The escape went more smoothly than Carissa had expected. The two men sent with her and Addie into the woods immediately took off after her, and that provided Addie with ample time to escape.
Carissa was out of breath and her legs bone weary, but she kept running. The longer it took for them to find and catch her, the longer the delay and the better chance for Ronan and her men to catch up with them.
She ducked under a heavy brush when she heard Cregan call out.
“I will find you, Carissa, and you will suffer for this.”
He did not frighten her though she would suffer no punishment willingly, which would provide more of a delay. The escape was going better than she had imagined.
Addie was no fool. She had watched the direction they had traveled and as soon as she could, she retreated in that direction, though she did so carefully. She had no intentions of getting caught by Cregan’s men. Her new daughter had surrendered herself to provide both women with a means of escape, and she would not fail Carissa.
She traveled between the brush and trees, careful not to make noise, the cover of soft snow helping her. She didn’t know how long she had traveled when she thought she heard a noise, and she quickly ducked under a snow-covered bush.
She kept as still as she could and thought herself safe when she didn’t hear another sound, then booted feet appeared by the brush, and she feared she was caught.
“It’s Piper, you’re safe.”
Ronan thought he was furious seeing the dark bruise on his mother’s jaw. It was nothing to the fury he saw on Hagen’s face. Still, the large man remained calm in front of Addie and held her shivering body tightly to his, ordering a fire built for her.
While men scurried to do his bidding, Ronan spoke with her and Hagen continued to hold her tight, seeming to believe that if he didn’t, someone would once again snatch her away.
“You are sure you are all right, Mother?” Ronan asked again for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“I truly am,” she said. “It is Carissa that concerns me.”
She went on to explain everything to Ronan, from when they were first captured, to the tale Carissa told Cregan. Then she spoke of Carissa’s courage and strength, qualities that Addie insisted she had never known any woman to display to such a degree.
“Carissa is a remarkable woman,” Addie finished.
“She truly is,” Ronan agreed. “But tell me, did Cregan believe this tale you concocted?”
Addie looked to Hagen.
“Tell him,” Hagen urged. “He needs to know.”
Ronan looked from one to the other, and asked anxiously, “Tell me what?”
“I had hoped to tell you and Carissa together,” Addie said.
“It is better that Ronan knows now,” Hagen encouraged. “It will help him to help Carissa.”
Ronan was growing upset with the exchange between his mother and Hagen. They obviously knew something about Carissa that would startle or upset her, or could it be much worse?
“Tell me,” Ronan urged.
His mother reluctantly left Hagen’s arms and walked over to Ronan and took his hand.
Her comforting touch didn’t help; it made him feel worse. What was she about to confide in him?
“You know how I have been wondering why Carissa looks so familiar to me.”
He nodded.
“I realized why,” Addie said. “She reminded me of a woman in a village a bit east from here. Your father and I would stop there after visiting neighboring clans. A woman spun the most beautiful wool yarn, and I would purchase some from her. It was that woman Carissa reminded me of, and so I went to speak with her.”
Ronan continued to listen.
“Her name was Kate, and I told her of a young woman I had recently met who bore a striking resemblance to her. She began to cry and she told me a tale about her sister Shona.” Addie took a breath. “That tale was the one Carissa thought I concocted.”
Chapter 37
“Carissa is not Mordrac’s daughter?” Ronan asked, wanting to make certain he understood what his mother had just told him.
“No, she’s not,” Addie confirmed. “Kate told me in full detail how Mordrac plundered their village and how she had watched from a hiding spot in the woods as Mordrac killed Carissa’s father. Kate told me that Shona knew she was with child and probably didn’t let Mordrac know for fear he would harm her babe.”
Ronan shook his head. “Why would Mordrac care so much for a slave?”
“He didn’t want her as his slave; he wanted her as his wife. Kate told me that he had passed through the village on several occasions, no one knowing he was a barbarian leader and had expressed interest in Shona, a kind and beautiful woman. An elder of the village told him that Shona was pledged to another and he grew furious. When they didn’t see him after that, everyone assumed he had simply gone his own way.”