Page 54 of A Flawed Scotsman

Her mind whirled and she did her best not to give up hope. When the other guard returned, it would be harder to escape. There had to be a way to distract the guard who held her hands fast. He’d not tied them, knowing she’d fight and could possibly get free.

It was just moments later that hope evaporated when the other guard appeared on horseback, pulling a second horse behind. The man looked around. “They will see her if ye put her on the horse. We have to get her away for a bit before ye can mount.”

“It will look strange for ye to ride away with the other horse,” the man who held her protested.

“We can cover her up.”

They continued back and forth. The entire time, she looked to the wall. There were no guards atop the wall there because there was no way to get away except in one direction. They would have to pass where guards patrolled.

There was only one way out from that area because, on the opposite side, there was a steep hill that was almost impossible to climb on foot and horses could not traverse.

Esme wanted to smile at their predicament. However, a desperate person was also a dangerous one and she could only pray they did not decide to kill her then and there.

“We cannot leave her now. If we kill her, they will remember me coming out and heading here,” the guard on horseback said, sounding distressed.

The one who held her grunted out in annoyance. “Help me bind her. I have an idea.”

Esme fought but, in the end, could not win against two men. They wrapped straps around her, binding her arms to her sides. Then they collected thin branches and neatly placed them around her body until she was fully hidden. The two idiots grunted with the heavy load but, finally, she was atop one of the horses.

They spoke in whispers and she could not hear past the thundering of her heart. Soon, she was moving as the horse was guided out.

Chapter Seventeen

Ruari watched as a guard walked in through the gates. He looked as if he’d just been in a fight. It struck him as odd when the man scanned the surrounding before rushing to the stables.

“Did ye see that?” he asked Keithen with whom he’d just been discussing the sword practice.

When Keithen shook his head, Ruari began walking toward the center of the courtyard. “The guard who just walked through the gates. He looked scratched up and seemed very nervous.”

“Which one?” Keithen asked.

After Ruari motioned to the man who was now saddling a horse, Keithen frowned. “He is not married. He may have had an encounter with an angry woman.”

Something about the man’s actions seemed strange. From his stilted moves to the way he kept looking around and up at the guards on the wall. He then looked toward where Ruari stood, but then quickly looked away as if afraid of being caught. There was something definitely wrong with the guard.

“He is acting somewhat odd,” Keithen admitted, his gaze pinned to the guard who tied the straps to the saddle. “I should speak to him just to ensure he is not in trouble.” Ruari agreed, walking with Keithen to the man who jerked, startled upon their approach.

Keithen placed a hand on the horse’s rump. “Where is yer horse?”

The man looked from Keithen to Ruari and then back. “John took it. We killed a deer and are taking it to his father’s farm to slaughter.”

Ruari recalled that, indeed, a guard had left with two horses earlier.

“Why did ye not build a stretcher for the deer and drag it there?”

“Very far,” the man replied, his eyes narrowing. “Is something amiss? I am hurrying to complete this task so that I can return promptly to be atop the gate this night.”

Keithen shrugged. “I suppose not. See that ye are back on time.”

When the man rode out through the gates, the tightness in Ruari’s gut did not leave. Warnings of something wrong would not leave him.

Unsure of what exactly to do, he rushed into the keep. After scanning the great room, he went down the corridor to Catriona’s chamber. He peered in to find the injured woman and her mother both sleeping.

Then he ran up the stairs to his and Esme’s bedchamber. It was empty. Finally, he went to the laird’s bedchamber. The door was open to show no one was there.

In the sitting room across the corridor was Esme’s mother and several other women sewing. “Have ye seen Esme?”

Lady Fraser shook her head. “When ye find her, tell her we are waiting. She promised to join us.” The woman waved him off.