wove through her as Thomas collected and stacked twigs and brush. A fire, was he insane? “We canna.”
He shot her a cool look, and then withdrew his dagger and flint. After several strikes, smoke, then flames, crept through the tangle of wood. Moments later, sparks swirled into the sky.
After tossing several larger limbs on top, his movements stiff, the knight returned.
Confused, Alesone frowned. “I thought we were nae going to make camp?”
“’Tis a decoy.” Face taut, Thomas swung up behind her and took the reins. “If anyone is nearby, they will see the flames. Your father’s knights are battle seasoned. Believing we are resting in the dense firs they willna rush in, but encircle the encampment to prevent our escape before they attack.”
“Which buys us time to put more distance between us,” she said, impressed by his shrewdness. “You have set up similar decoys before?”
“Aye.”
Though swirls of snow, she caught the flicker of light. “What if the wind blows out the fire?”
“Shielded by the rocks, and with the tinder at the base, the flames should continue to build. If the fire dies, our pursuers will find ashes.”
The confidence in his voice eased her nerves a bit. “You have fought in many battles?”
“I am a knight,” he said, his voice cool.
“That accounts for your proficiency with a blade, but nae your tactical expertise.”
A frustrated exhale sounded behind her. “Do you always interrogate the people you meet?”
Though tired, she smiled. “Only the interesting ones.”
Ice crunched beneath the horse’s hooves as his destrier picked his way through the litter of rock and snow down the incline.
At her protector’s silence, she glanced back.
In the cloud smeared moonlight his gaze held hers.
At the intensity, a shiver swept through her. From their less than cordial start, she’d doubted they’d ever come to a point where she’d look at him as other than a man to avoid. Yet something about Thomas drew her.
Drew her?
An understatement. In truth, from the way his eyes held hers, his direct manner, and how he moved with predatory stealth, left tingles of awareness sliding through her body. He was unlike any man she’d ever met.
Thrown off balance by the feelings he evoked, she shifted to a safer topic. “I want to apologize.”
“You have done naught to apologize for.”
“I have. Although you were praised by our king, I doubted you.”
“Lass,” he said, fatigue weighing heavy in his voice, “your belief in me is irrelevant. Once you are safely delivered, never will we see each other again.”
She stiffened, hurt that he could dismiss her with such ease when thoughts of him lingered on her mind. Why? ’Twas nae as if she wanted him to stay. Still, a foolish part of her needed to know. “And when you ride off will you forget me?” she teased.
He grunted. “Anyone who drives an arrow a finger’s width from my heart I remember.”
She smiled at the reminder. “That is all?” Why was she pressing him? Regardless of how he made her feel, their time together would soon be over, and he’d ride away. In the end, he’d be naught but a vague memory. In truth, this warrior she would remember. A woman didna forget a man like him.
“I would think a woman of your beauty,” Thomas said, interrupting her musings, “wouldna need to rummage for compliments.”
“You think I am beautiful?” Warmth swept her cheeks as she stared at him. “Never mind.”
He chuckled. “If your private banter with the Bruce is anything like what we are sharing, I understand why he finds you intriguing.”
At the mention of their sovereign, memories of Grisel swept over her along with her reason for fleeing southward. The lightheartedness faded. “’Tis loyalty that binds us,” she said, smothering the heartache. “How did you come to know the king?”
“A common friend.”
Alesone frowned. “You have a penchant for vague replies.”
“And you have a penchant for prying into people’s lives.”
She leaned back against his muscled chest. “’Tis nae prying, only curiosity.”
“Are you this inquisitive with everyone you meet?”
“Nay,” she said, intrigued by the fact that something about this man threw her off balance. She’d believed him a simple knight when they’d first met, but by the king’s faith in him, and judging by his split-second decisions, cunning, and determination, he was much more. Neither was he cold or hard. Intense was a better choice, driven to serve those who’d earned his loyalty, and ferocious to those he protected. “’Tis that you are unlike anyone I have ever met before.”
A rock clattered beneath his mount’s hooves and the horse shifted. Thomas swayed in the saddle, righted himself, and then guided his mount between two oaks. “I am unsure if that is a compliment…or nae.”
She chuckled. “Now who is seeking flattery?”
“I seek naught more than to serve my king. Never forget that.” The coolness of his tone matched the rush of air that howled past.
Grief settled in her heart. Nay, she wouldna forget, a fact he would ensure. How had she thought him neither cold nor hard; he was both and more. The day when they parted couldna come soon enough.
He guided his steed down the shallow incline. “Here.” He held out a piece of bread.
“My thanks.” Alesone ate, noting the snow on the ground reflected enough light to travel.
“Once you finish, try to sleep. I will wake you upon our arrival.”
She wanted to argue ’twas unfair that she rested while he remained awake, more so when but moments before she’d silently called him cold and hard. With fatigue weighing heavy on her mind and the comfort of his presence, along with the steady sway of the horse’s easy gait, she drifted into blackness.
* * *
A horse’s snort broke through her sleep. With a frown, Alesone opened her eyes and stared into the darkness, the slow, steady steps of the horse assuring her they continued to travel, except somewhere along the way Thomas had slowed their pace to almost a crawl.
Thankful for the warmth of his body against hers, with a yawn she glanced up. Shimmers of purple light warmed the eastern sky, and explained why her muscles ached. They’d traveled throughout the night.
Odd, he’d said that they would’ve arrived at their destination by now. “’Tis
