“Oh, thank you, Lady Dani. I can never repay this gift.”
Lady Danielle smiled, putting her arm around Jeanne’s shoulders to give her a hug as they strolled out the door of her solar and into the hall.
“There’s nothing to repay, my friend. In fact, I’d suggest it’s not me that’s giving you a gift, but Eymer.”
Eymer? His gift had been giving up his freedom to marry her and be father to her child. This time she would be forced to spend with Eric MacNicol was no gift. It was a punishment for all her sins.
Chapter Three
Eric stretched his back and glanced over his shoulder. If anyone had asked him this time yesterday where’d he be right now, he would have sworn he’d be tucked in his bed, recovering from his recent travels. He certainly wouldn’t have guessed he’d be a full day’s journey away from Castle MacGahan, headed toward the sea with Jeanne in tow.
And yet here he was, tasked with the responsibility of keeping safe the woman he’d never intended to even speak to again.
“Are you ready for a rest?”
Jeanne shook her head, surprising him once again. He’d pushed her hard from the moment they’d passed through the castle gates, giving her no consideration or leeway. Intentionally, their pace had been more difficult than what he would have set for his most seasoned warriors. His hope had been that she’d give up before the sun set on their first day.
She hadn’t. And though her face was drawn with weariness, she continued on even now.
Perhaps he’d underestimated her determination.
He shrugged and turned his back on her, pressing forward.
It wasn’t his place to question her decision. No more than it had been his place to question Malcolm when his laird had knocked on his door late last night with orders to act as Jeanne’s guardian on her journey to fulfill her husband’s last wish. Eric was sure that Jeanne’s visit to Lady Danielle was behind the laird’s change of heart.
The trees in front of him faded into one another, much less real to him than his last vision of the woman behind him, struggling to sit up straight in her saddle. She clearly needed rest, whether or not she’d admit to it.
Still, it was she who’d refused his offer, plain and simple. She’d wanted this and now she had it. Her fault and none of his own. Nothing more than what a woman such as she deserved. She’d gotten what she’d asked for.
No matter how he attempted to justify his actions, guilt ate away at his peace like a rat loosed in the grain stores. He wanted to force her into turning back, not kill her.
“Bollocks,” he muttered under his breath, pulling his horse to a halt and turning in his saddle to observe her.
She’d dropped even farther behind than she’d been a few minutes earlier.
“Yer animal looks to be worn down from our day’s travel, even if yer no. If we cut back through the trees here, we’re close to a spot that will serve us well this night.” He’d camped there often enough with his men to know.
“If you think it best,” she responded, her voice barely loud enough to cover the distance between them. “But I’d no have us wasting away our daylight on my account.”
“There’s no much light left. By the time we see to the horses and set a fire, the sun will have deserted us.”
He’d almost have sworn an expression of relief skittered across her face. Perhaps after a cold night under the stars she’d be more reasonable about returning to the castle. He could hope, though he was beginning to suspect he’d been wrong in his judgment of Jeanne. At least in this one thing.