Page 14 of Abducted By the Highlander
“It occurs to me that ye were some distance from the road when I found ye.” He eyed the wagon before looking back at her. “’Tis a straightforward journey from Oban to Creagdoun, even with a wagon. Did one of yer men suggest leaving the road?”
Was he implying one of her loyal men had ties to the brigands? It was a disgusting accusation. Besides, if there had been a traitor amongst them, surely he would have made provisions so he wasn’t murdered along with everyone else?
“The road was blocked by a fallen tree.” Her voice was icy, but she couldn’t help it. “The choice was either to spend hours moving it or find an alternative route.”
In hindsight, maybe it would have been better to clear the road before continuing, but then, hindsight was a marvelous thing. The expression on Hugh’s face suggested he was thinking the same thing. Fortunately, he chose not to voice it.
“That road is frequently used. Seems odd a tree would fall across it, when there hasn’t been a recent storm.”
His implication was plain. And considering the treacherous route they’d needed to take to bypass the tree before they’d eventually arrive back on the road, she feared he could be right.
“Ye think we were targeted?”
It was bad enough to be attacked. But to suspect it might not have been random was infinitely worse.
“I don’t wish to alarm ye, Lady Roisin.”
This time she couldn’t help an incredulous laugh from escaping. “Are ye serious, Hugh Campbell? I believe I have every right to be alarmed, and I don’t need ye to tell me whether I should be or not, either.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He shifted on his saddle, as if her retort had made him uncomfortable.Well, good. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
For some reason, that remark stung far more than it should.
“Why not? Because ye think I shouldn’t know of the dangers I might be facing?” And then she couldn’t stop herself. “’Tis a little late for that, don’t ye think?”
He heaved a great sigh. How irritating that she found it charming.
“I didn’t plan this, Lady Roisin. But if I hadn’t found ye, God only knows where ye might be by now.”
A chilling shiver raced through her. She knew exactly what fate she and Grear would have suffered at the hands of the brigands. At least she had, when she’d tried to escape. But if the attack had been targeted, who knew what had really been on the outlaws’ minds?
It was galling, but she had to concede that in this, at least, Hugh was right.
“I’m grateful for it.” Especially since it appeared he and his compatriot had killed the remaining brigands. At least in that small way her brave warriors had been avenged. “Don’t think I’m not. But ye cannot expect me to be happy ye’re not taking me to Creagdoun.”
“I will arrange for ye safe return to yer kin. I just cannot do it rightthis moment.”
It was obvious he didn’t intend to tell her why.
For a reason she couldn’t fathom, after leaving Eigg, he’d abandoned his old life and, it appeared, his former friends. But what had happened to make him choose such a precarious path?
Whatever it was, neither of her sisters knew. Were their husbands also in the dark? Or had they just kept the truth from them?
They rode on in silence, for what seemed like hours, along nonexistent paths and keeping to the shadows of forests as they traveled higher into the mountains, and despite the rough terrain, the wagon didn’t get stuck.
The edges of the basket dug into her thighs and Ecne grew heavier by the moment, but she’d sooner cut out her tongue than admit it. But how she hoped there wasn’t much farther to go.
The sun was dipping low in the sky when Hugh came to her side and after an apologetic glance, once again grasped her reins.
It could mean only one thing. They had arrived, and her stomach pitched with nerves at what that might mean. Hugh might be the leader of the camp he’d mentioned, but did he truly possess the power to keep her and Grear safe from his men?
They emerged from the cover of the forest onto a mountainside. To their left, the impenetrable mountain descended into a steep glen, but Hugh led them along a secure path, wide enough for the wagon, before rounding a corner onto a small, secluded plateau.
Roisin sucked in a shocked breath. When Hugh had spoken of his camp, she’d had a vague idea of a small band of outlaws sleeping rough. But nestled against the rocky cliffs that surrounded the plateau on three sides, and undoubtedly gave protection from the elements, were a dozen or more tents in varying states of deterioration.
It wasn’t the tents that unsettled her so. It was the bairns who ran over to them, before standing in a silent huddle, and the women who stood and stared at her with sullen, suspicious eyes.
This wasn’t a camp of lawless men banding together to take what they could from unfortunate travelers. These were displaced families, barely scratching out an existence on the side of a mountain.
