Page 8 of Border Lord’s Bride

Determined to get this outing over with, he set his horse in motion, driving the beast into the foot-deep snow. Regardless of whether it was his idea to go to the crofters or Elizabeth's, he did need to talk with them and figure out what had happened to those who'd left the estate. It was his duty to see to their safety, no matter what his uncle had offered them to leave.

Pale blue skies stretched overhead. The sun bathed the snow in sparkling iridescence that lent further peacefulness to the scene as they progressed to the south. The rhythm of the horses' hooves in the ice-crusted snow was the only sound greeting them as they made their way across the fallow fields. They rode in silence, with only the sound of the harness jingling to fill the space until they came to the first crofter cottage bordering the edge of the loch.

"Bentner and his lady live here with their five children," she reminded him as they dismounted. She untied the satchel and handed it to him. "For you to disperse as you see fit."

He accepted the heavy bag and opened it up to see not only a bag of coins at the top, but several packages wrapped in linen and tied with twine. "What's in the packages?"

She lifted her chin and a hint of a challenge came into her eyes. "Marie thought you should share a ham with them for their Yuletide celebrations."

He raised a brow. "She did, did she?"

Elizabeth nodded, but her gaze searched the area near the croft cottage instead of settling on him. Her inability to look people in the face gave her away every time she told a lie. Lucius bit back a smile and headed for the door. "It was a good suggestion, whoever's idea it was," Lucius said.

After a jam tart and three cups of tea, Lucius and Elizabeth made their good-byes and headed for the southern tip of the estate. "Does Jacob Insley still live on this patch of land?" Lucius asked as they neared the Insley cottage.

"Aye," Elizabeth replied. "He and his new wife, Jayne, are there."

Lucius smiled at the memory of Jacob Insley. He'd been a frequent visitor at Midwick Manor when Lucius was young. The two men had become friends regardless of their rank, and Lucius was eager to see his old companion once more. They were riding toward the cottage when they saw a tall man with shockingly red hair pacing back and forth in front of the door. "Jacob?" Lucius called as both he and Elizabeth dismounted and hurried forward.

It took a moment before recognition dawned on the young man's face, but when it did he ran to them and clasped Lucius's arm. "Praise the saints ye are safely with us again, milord."

At Jacob's pale face, the wind suddenly felt a little cooler. "What's wrong?"

" 'Tis my Jayne. She's been laboring with our second child fer a day. The midwife told me tae come outside and walk around the house backwards tae try tae help alleviate her pain."

"I'll go see what I can do to help," Elizabeth said as she hurried inside the cottage.

"Would you like some company on your jaunt?" Lucius said when they were alone.

"Aye. That I would," Jacob said. "For a moment there, I feared ye were the English."

Lucius frowned. "Are the raids that frequent?"

"Aye. They know the country is weakened with the Bruce gone and his child on the throne."

Lucius sighed. "I've been so caught up in the Templars' troubles with the French that I hadn't heard…" He let his words trail off. It was no excuse. He was a landowner now and responsible for the safety of his people. "When was the last raid? And how many men did they have?"

"Last week they came across the border west of here and torched the MacKinley land, and stole their cattle. George MacKinley died, but his son Silas and their men managed tae fend off the English before anyone else was killed."

Lucius kept his expression neutral, though inside, alarm rippled though him. The English usually only stole cattle. That they'd killed George MacKinley indicated they might be testing the border's defenses for another, larger attack.

Before he could respond to Jacob, the door of the croft opened and Elizabeth stepped back into the snow. A worried expression brought shadows to her eyes. "Jayne's labor is harder than it should be. The babe is large, but it's more than that. She's nervous about the raid that happened last week. Mistress Grayson fears unless Jayne feels safe enough to deliver the babe, they both might die."

Elizabeth met his gaze. "Jayne would be better served if she had men to guard her. But that is your decision to make." Elizabeth's gaze dipped to her toes as though she feared what his response might be.

Instead of making the decision for him as she had about this trip, she'd given him the chance to decide Jayne's fate, even though there really was no choice. "Jacob, go tell your wife that reinforcements from Midwick are on their way. After the baby is born, I want you all to move in to the manor house with us. Jayne and the baby will be well cared for there. Marie and Hadwell will see to that."

Jacob's eyes misted. "Thank you, milord."

As Jacob disappeared into the cottage, Elizabeth turned to Lucius. "There's no one at Midwick Manor to guard anyone."

"Which is why I'm going back to the Bentners to ask for their help." He drew his sword and pressed the hilt of the weapon into Elizabeth's hands.

"I don't know how to use a sword."

"Let's hope you won't have to. I'll be back soon." He strode to his horse, leaving Elizabeth staring down at the weapon.

Chapter Four