Page 35 of Brigand

Usually dark, looming shadows in the woods would be ominous.But this one was shaped like a house. A small house, but a house nonetheless.

She approached it carefully. It was seated in a smallclearing, surrounded by tall trees. The windows were dark. She softly knockedon the door. There was no answer. Drawing in a deep, fortifying breath, sheturned the knob. Delight scudded through her when the door swung open.

She peered inside. “Hullo?”

No response.

“Hullo?”

Again, nothing. The cabin was empty.

She left the door open—there was a little light from the waningmoon but not much—and fumbled, searching for a lamp. She found a candle on thetable and a tinderbox on the mantel.

As light flared, her trepidation burned away.

It was a cozy little cottage. Nothing fancy. Just a tableand chairs, pantry and a bed in the corner.

It was the pantry that caught her attention.

She started the fire that had been mercifully laid in thehearth and riffled through the food stores.

In her previous life, she would never have dreamed ofbreaking into someone’s house and stealing their food—especially not someone ofsuch modest means. But she was desperate. She found a wheel of cheese and someoatcakes and an apple. That, along with a cup of water from the rain barrel,filled her belly and sent contentment clear through to her soul.

After she ate, she sat by the fire, taking in its deliciouswarmth. She would never turn her nose up at a simple meal ever again, shethought with a yawn. She glanced at the bed and shivered.

Dare she lie down and fall asleep?

The thought of walking through the night horrified her. Asmuch as she wanted to reach some kind of civilization, her thighs burned, herankle pinged and her feet just plain hurt. All of her muscles ached.

It would probably be best to rest here a while and leaveagain at first light. It would be easier to make her way through the woods withthe sun to guide her. And it would be stupid to leave this comfortable cradleto wander aimlessly in circles all night. And it was cold out there.

Yes.

She would rest.

Sleep claimed her as her head touched the pillow.

* * * * *

Ewan’s tension ran high as they made their way through thedark woods, following Wolfe’s lead. Thank God he’d thought to bring the dog.After sniffing Violet’s dress, he’d taken off like a shot, stopping onlyoccasionally to snuffle the ground.

But they’d gone for miles now and there was still no sign ofher. It was full dark and the woods were treacherous. There were no animals tofear but Ewan knew this forest—he had a hunting cabin here. More than once he’dcome upon men engaged in nefarious work. Smugglers, highwaymen, criminalsrunning from the law… He shuddered at the thought of Violet in theirclutches—brutally exorcizing the niggling reminder that he had been all ofthese things at one point or another in his career.

Wolfe stopped and lifted his nose, gleaning scent from theair. He bayed once and took off again.

“Come on,” Ewan snapped at Colin, who was trailing in hiswake. He’d been panting at their pace for the past hour.

They followed the dog and emerged in a clearing.

His hunting cabin. And there was smoke curling from thechimney.

Ewan’s heart stuttered as Wolfe ran up to the door andstarted sniffing madly at it.

What were the odds?

That she would come here.

Without hesitation, he opened the door and peered inside.