Page 94 of Hold Fast

“Sign of a struggle?” Kenneth offered.

“Anything,” Ewan bit out. “David will ride with me.”

“W-w-where will you go?” Rabbie asked.

“To catch her.”

CHAPTER40

Una woke on horseback, unscathed except for her pounding head. The sun had crossed the midline of the sky, and Una thought it must be afternoon. The horse ran swiftly through the forest, piloted by a man who sat behind her. The air was damp and she felt a chill seeping through her clothes.

“Awake, now, are you?”

Giffard. Una’s stomach rolled. He had been her second greatest tormentor during her handfast. Laird Cameron never allowed him to touch her, but he had allowed him to watch. And when Giffard would taunt her, Malcolm never stopped him. Once, when she was walking down a hallway, Giffard had pulled her into an alcove, his breath stinking of whisky, and would have done more than just talk if Blair had not happened to walk past and ask Una if she was available to stitch up one of the stable grooms who had cut his leg.

There had been other close calls, always interrupted by Blair, who once burned his hand on purpose as an excuse for her to leave with him. Blair had always been watching. Why hadn’t she listened to him? Why hadn’t she let him save her again?

Una felt the hard edge of her sgian dubh in her boot and was comforted to know that they hadn’t found or taken it. It would do her no good right now, but who could say when she might need it?

“Take me back,” Una said, mustering as much courage as she was able.

“Why would I do that, Una? Take you back to our enemies? In your delicate, precious condition? I couldnae possibly do such a thing.”

Una shuddered as she felt his hot breath on her neck, the scratch of his whiskers against her skin. Giffard had her caged against his chest with his strong arms. He smelled her hair deeply and Una’s entire body went stiff as a board.

“Laird MacDonald will come for you. There will be a war.”

She wasn’t entirely wrong. Ewanwouldcome for her, and therewouldbe war. But that would require Ewan to know where she was. How would Ewan know to look for her at the Cameron keep? The place she swore never to return to again? He wouldn’t. When he had discovered her missing, he would have assumed that she’d run to the Stewarts. Hadn’t she talked about it enough? Hadn’t she told him that was her backup plan? That if, at the end of the handfast, she didn’t want to marry him, that she would go there?

Ewan would never guess that she had been taken by the Camerons.

“I dinnae think he will, Una,” Giffard chuckled. “You see, I’ve been watching that pup laird of yours for months now. Cameron wanted to see what he was up to. Turns out, a whole lot of nothing from what I’ve seen. Just a pathetic excuse for a laird up on crofter’s roofs and soldiers running training drills in a field with wooden swords. Hardly worth monitoring at all, I told him. Imagine my surprise to see a certain raven-haired lass in the MacDonald forest then. How fortunate that you were able to escape their clutches.”

He placed a big, gloved hand on her belly, the other still tightly holding the reins. “You’ve been busy, Una,” he said and Una’s whole body shuddered as she tried to shake off his hand.

He spoke into her ear, his breath sickeningly hot on her face. “I’m counting on a bit of a reward for bringing you in like this. Maybe I’ll finally get my turn with you. Or perhaps I’ll let the men ride on ahead, and you and I will have a little detour and finally become better acquainted.”

She was going to be sick.

“Nay,” he continued. “I willnae take you back. I’m taking you to Cameron, Una. I believe he’ll beverrahappy to see you.”

“I mean nothing to him. Our arrangement is over.”

“We shall see,” he chuckled.

Hot tears stung Una’s eyes as the heavy, strangling fear settled upon her. Her head hurt, her body hurt, the babe within her kicked hard into her ribs repeatedly until she was certain they would break. But she would not let Giffard see her cry. She would not feed him the food he liked best. Instead, she elbowed him in the gut.

He chuckled. “Glad to see you’ve still got spirit, Una. You wouldnae be much fun without it.” But then his voice turned deadly serious. “Try that again, and I’ll gag you and do as I please.”

They stopped twice for Una to relieve herself next to the horse because Giffard would not let her out of his sight. She refused to feel humiliated, refused to give such a horrid man any such power over her. As night fell, they stopped the horses to rest, taking turns on watch. Giffard tied Una to him. At some point, he handed her an apple and his water skin and commanded her to eat and drink. The apple was mealy, but her growling stomach would not be ignored. She devoured it and drank greedily.

After a few hours rest, they mounted again and rode through the night. As dawn broke, she saw a familiar cottage appear from the mist. They would be riding past her childhood home on the road into the village. Perhaps she would see her father. He would see her with Giffard and know that something was terribly wrong. Perhaps he would get a message to Ewan. She could yet be rescued.

Una allowed herself to hope as she hadn’t dared all day.

No doubt because of the commotion of so many horses, Fergus stepped out of the cottage. His eyes went wide, but she saw the mask descend just as quickly. Perhaps she had imagined his surprise. Una pleaded with her gaze.

Ewan. Go get Ewan,she mouthed silently.