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A faint gleam of interest entered Royce's eyes as he considered the long journey ahead and the need for speed. A "cooperative" Je
The woman lifted her white-crowned head and looked at him down the length of her nose. " 'Tis our way, Englishman. 'Tis why her father sent for me and meant to send me with her when she left with you on the morrow."
Royce recalculated the benefits of taking the old woman with him against the difficulties she'd create by slowing their pace. He had just decided against taking her, when her next words changed his mind. "If you leave me behind," she said piteously, "my nephew will surely kill me for letting you take her. His hatred for you surpasses his love for me-even for poor Je
Mentally cursing all Scotswomen to perdition, Royce hesitated and then jerked his head in a reluctant nod. "Get dressed," he gritted.
The rope biting painfully into her ribs, her arms and legs smarting from wide scrapes on her skin where it slid against the stone wall, Je
Reaching behind her head, Je
Awkwardly, Je
A few minutes later the silence of the two men on the raft was broken by a low, startled whisper from Stefan Westmoreland. "What the hell-!" he breathed, staring up in disbelief at the castle wall Je
Her head lurched up, following the direction of their gazes, half in hopes of seeing Royce Westmoreland plunging helplessly toward the water. What she saw was the unmistakable figure of a man with a body thrown over his shoulder like a sack of wheat and tied to him at the waist.
Shock sent Je
Royce was still disentangling himself from his "prisoner," when the raft began to move with effortless stealth to the far shore. Simultaneously Je
Two bright flashes of lightning rent the sky with jagged blue light and Je
Chapter Seventeen
The storm that had been gathering strength for two days blew in with a vengeance, causing the sky to remain almost black for two full hours past the normal time for dawn. Rain pounded down on their heads and lashed their faces, bending stout saplings almost in two, and still the band moved doggedly onward, keeping to the protection of the woods whenever possible.
With his shoulders hunched forward, Royce let the rain pelt his back, irritated that his posture was also providing a sheltering barrier against the rain for the exhausted woman who was responsible for all of this and who was now sleeping fitfully against his chest.
With the sun completely vanquished by the dark clouds overhead, it seemed as if they'd been riding through a perpetual dawn. Had it not been for the rain, they'd have come upon the place he sought hours ago. Idly, Royce patted Zeus's shiny neck, well pleased with Thor's son, who carried his double burden with the effortless ease of his sire. The slight movement of his gloved hand seemed to stir Je
As if suddenly realizing where she was and what she was doing, Je
His jaw hardened as he coldly rejected the memory, and he glanced down at her upturned face, noting the bewilderment that was currently replacing her normal hauteur.
When he remained silent, she persisted with a weary sigh, "Where are we going?"
"We're moving west by southwest," he replied uninformatively.
"Would it be too terribly inconvenient to tell me our destination?"
"Yes," he bit out between his teeth, "it would."
The last numbing traces of sleep vanished, and Je
"Where is Bre