An Oath Sworn (7 page)

“My thanks,” he said, his tone grave. He stowed the dispatch in what she now knew was a hidden pouch within his undershirt. “We must leave before they return.”

Mud oozed beneath her slippers as Marie followed Colyne into the tempest, her thoughts as tumbled as the storm-tossed leaves whipping past.

The image of her betrothed flooded her mind. Gaston de Croix, a duke, a man with enormous wealth and power. Duty demanded she follow a path already made, except now the idea of marriage to another man left her empty.

And what of Colyne's whispering Elizabet's name?

Colyne was a man who loved passionately, Marie reasoned. He wanted her. But could his desire for her compare with his feelings for the woman he'd loved in the past?

She reined in her musings. Decorum must guide her decisions, not emotions. She would put all thoughts of Colyne out of her mind.

Besides, he believed she was a missionary. How would he react if he learned that she was King Philip's bastard daughter? Would he be angry? Or would greed sway his thoughts instead? She hated these doubts but had learned the price of trusting with her heart.

The weight of her responsibilities sat heavy on her mind. However wrong, she cared for Colyne. He had risked his life to protect her. And when faced with possible death, he had entrusted her with the writ.

If thrown into danger, would she have dared tell him the truth of her heritage and why she must return to France? She stole a glance at the cavalier knight who traveled at her side.

“Alesia, the cliff is collapsing to your right!”

Lost to her troubling thoughts, Colyne's shout gave her a second's warning. Marie tried to turn away, but the ground beneath her began to split.

Then gave way to emptiness.

O
n a curse, Colyne lunged for Alesia as she slipped over the ledge. His hand caught hers.

Barely.

With their fingers linked, she slammed against the mud-soaked bank. Her eyes locked on his, widened with terror. “Help!”

“Hang on!” Pain knifed through his wounded shoulder and his body began to shudder. He gritted his teeth. A sword's wrath, he would nae lose her! He inched back.

Pieces of the waterlogged bank beneath them continued to break free.

Alesia twisted in his hold as the churning torrent rumbled far below. “Colyne!”

“Stay calm,” he rasped. The ground beneath them began to tremble. A large slab of earth tore free, slamming into the raging waters below. Beneath him, fissures split open and widened.

Her body shifted as she dangled over the edge, wrenching his shoulder.

“Alesia, use both hands to hold my right one.”

On a sob, she wrapped her fingers around his.

With his other hand, Colyne caught the bush to his left. The branch bent as, inch by grueling inch, he pulled her up. At his next tug, her head came into view. “When I tell you to,” he shouted, “use your feet to climb out.”

Alesia nodded.

“Now!” he called and pulled with all his might. Another burst of pain shot down his left shoulder. Blackness threatened. Colyne gulped a breath, then another as he gritted his teeth and continued to pull.

Deep lines wedged her brow as she dug her feet into the muck and slowly climbed.

As her slipper came into view, he yanked her over the ledge.

With a gasp, she tumbled against his chest, and they collapsed on the soggy ground, their breathing labored, her body trembling with fear.

He glanced behind her.

Cracked slabs of rock and earth widened.

“We must move farther back!”

The ground beneath them shook, and the bush he clung to tore free.

Colyne shoved Alesia ahead of him and scrambled after her. “Go!” His boot hit air as the bank disintegrated beneath him, but his other foot found purchase on the slick earth. He lunged forward, hit solid ground.

They ran.

Several paces away, a muted roar built in their wake.

“Faster!” he shouted.

The land beneath them heaved.

A sword's wrath! Colyne grabbed her and dove. A huge tremor rocked the ground as they rolled to a stop. With his heart pounding, his brow soaked with rain and sweat, Colyne held her in his arms as, several feet away, the remainder of the cliff collapsed.

Trembling, he laid his brow against hers. A sword's wrath! He'd almost lost her.

Eyes wide with fear watched him. “Y—you saved me.”

Emotion tightened his throat as he stared at her, wondered if he could ever let her go. “I would never leave you.” Her eyes searched his with such gratitude that his heart tightened in his chest.

She shook her head. “
Non
, you would not.”

Desperate for her touch, he slammed his mouth over hers, tasting rain and fear and another emotion he refused to identify.

Lightning flashed.

Colyne broke the kiss. With a rough sigh, he stroked her wet hair, wishing everything was different.

The time.

The place.

The circumstance.

Loud splatters of cold rain continued to pound the earth, a potent reminder that naught had changed. They needed to leave before the knights returned. “Lass, we must somehow make our way across.”

“Will we use the fallen tree?”

He followed her nervous gaze toward a large oak caught in the churning torrent that straddled the banks. Though it extended the entire width of the burn, its angle, along with the amount of water spilling over the trunk, made using the downed tree too treacherous. “Nay. We will have to go back, find another shelter, and wait until—”

Loud shouts had Colyne glancing over his shoulder. With a curse, he shoved his way into the protective cover of bushes, pulling Alesia with him. As he peered through the tangle of branches, two mounted knights rode into view. Both shielded their faces against the wind and rain as they followed the water's edge.

“They have caught their horses!” she whispered.

“Aye.” He unsheathed his dagger.

The men rode closer until they were almost upon them. “ 'Tis a fool's lot,” the nearest rider shouted as he guided his steed around the jagged remains of a barren stump.

“It is,” the second knight agreed, riding at his side. “A braying ass would not be out in this foul weather.” He guided his mount toward the collapsed portion of the bank, gave a quick look down, and then reined him away. “Unlike us, they have probably fled south and are sheltered from this misery.”

“It matters not if they are on the run or have taken refuge,” the other man stated. “We will be doing our duty and keeping to our rounds.” His horse whinnied as they rode up the incline, the whip of wind stealing away any further bits of their conversation.

Once the guards rode out of sight, Colyne sheathed his dagger.
So much for retracing their steps.
The coldness of the ground seeped into his throbbing shoulder as he glared at the fallen tree. “We are going to have to try to cross using the oak.” He laced his fingers through hers. “Ready?”

Though fear clouded her eyes, she gave him a fragile smile.
“Oui.”

Pride at her bravado surged through him. Aye, she was a rare lass indeed, especially one cut from the gentry. He stood, pulling her with him, and ran toward the rush of water.

Her body trembling with exhaustion, Marie kept pace with Colyne. Frustrated by the turn of events, questions of her kidnapping resurfaced. How had the English duke known her whereabouts or executed her abduction with such seamless accuracy? Of the many scenarios she'd considered, the only thing that made sense was that someone within her father's trusted circle was involved.

“We will climb on the tree here,” Colyne said, breaking into her thoughts. “I will go first.” He grasped a root and made his way to the top of the trunk. Frustration lined his brow as he helped her up. “I am sorry. If we could go another—”

“But we cannot” she interrupted, “so let us cross.”

“Aye.” He edged along the tree's gnarled length.

With the raging water filling the air, she followed.

Halfway across, as if by a miracle, the rain ceased, but the strong winds continued. Waves broke over the surface, the foam-edged tips spewed by the gusts.

“Be careful,” Colyne warned as he moved steadily forward.

Nerves prickled along her skin as she forged through the surge of water spilling over the trunk. Careful to keep her balance, Marie scoured the woods in their wake.

No guards.

When Colyne reached the end of the trunk where thinning, leaf-filled branches remained, his troubled gaze met hers. “The limbs are too weak to hold us. We must wade to shore.”

The strong current tugged at her legs. She nodded.

He bent a limb back for her to grab, and she noticed his wince of pain. “Hold on to this.”

Marie clasped the branch.

As he slid in, water rose to his chest. He clung to one of the thicker branches and then reached up. “Interlock your fingers with mine.”

She wedged her foot against a limb. As she leaned toward him, debris caught within the powerful current and plowed into the trunk.

The tree shuddered.

Marie stumbled forward. “Help!”

Colyne caught her and hauled her against his chest.

“I am fine,” she hurried out, the roar of water rushing past.

“Are you sure?” he asked, sounding far from convinced.

“Oui.”
But she wasn't. Her pulse still raced at how close she'd come to being swept away.

A horse's whinny echoed from across the stream.

On a gasp she turned, caught the outline of the guards making their rounds in the darkening night.
Mon Dieu!
“They are coming back!”

He tugged her with him as he headed toward the dense branches.

“Do you think they saw me?”

“Nay.” The current shoved her against his side as he waded deeper into the tangle of leaves. “If they had, they would have called to alert the others.” After settling them behind a thick bough, he grimaced. “We must remain here until they pass.”

She nodded. Cold, Marie pressed closer. If they remained in the icy water much longer, they were both going to freeze.

“Put your arms around my neck and lean against me. It will allow you to rest.” At her hesitation, subtle humor flashed in his gaze as he lifted her arms to his bidding. “Lass, why are you always so stubborn?”

“You need to rest as well, more so with your injuries.” But she couldn't deny the refuge found within his powerful embrace.

Tenderness warmed his expression. “I am a seasoned warrior. I will rest when time allows. Nae until.”

Mayhap, but he was still a man, and an injured one at that. With a sigh, she leaned against his solid strength and waited.

After a long while, the men on the opposite bank rode past them into the forest.

Once they'd disappeared from sight, Colyne lifted her in his arms and started forward.

“What are you doing, carrying me? Put me down.”

Water sloshed around them as he trudged toward shore. “Nae until we are nearer to dry land.”

With an exasperated sigh, she glared at him. “And you call me stubborn?” Without the water supporting her weight, the pain in his shoulder had to be excruciating. “I can walk from here.”

Colyne hesitated and then complied. Together, they splashed up the bank.

With each step, her legs rebelled. Determined to hold her own, she slogged forward.

Once they'd pushed their way through the shield of brush, Colyne halted. “Wait here.” He returned to the shoreline and filled their tracks in the softened earth. Then he grabbed a branch and erased the last signs of their passage. Weary eyes studied her as he walked back. “Are you able to travel?”

“Oui.”
Even if she wasn't, for him she'd try.

He tossed the limb aside.

Taking her hand, they walked in silence. Naught but the muffled crunch of their steps upon soaked leaves and twigs betrayed their presence, their movements shielded from the river by a dense wall of brambles and the night.

With the storm having passed, the air held the rich scent of cleansed earth. Except for errant splatters tossed to the ground as gusts continued to shake the canopy overhead, the wind no longer assaulted the woods.

“The sky is beginning to clear,” Colyne said.

She scanned the angry clouds racing past, leaving the heavens unblemished in their wake.

As if conjured, moonbeams sliced through the darkness, edging the clouds with wisps of silver. Throughout the forest, shimmers of light played amongst the rain-slicked leaves and danced across the shadows with magical delight.

But the coldness of her body, along with thoughts of the men who searched for her and Colyne, stole any fragment of peace. They were safe, but for how long? At some point the knights would deduce they'd crossed the stream. She prayed they'd be long gone before then.

As she started up another steep incline, her body began to shake. Marie paused, trying to catch her breath.

Colyne halted and studied her face in the moonlight, his own marked by strain. “Are you injured?”

“
Non
, I am . . .”

“Exhausted.” A scowl marred his brow as he scanned the forest. “However much I wish we could stop to rest, 'tis too risky.”

“I know.” If allowed, she could fall asleep right here on the damp ground, and no doubt with his fatigue, he could do the same in a trice.

“I know of a shelter. 'Tis several more hours of travel, but it should be safe for the night.”

Regret weighted his voice, and she damned the entire situation. “You are from the Highlands. Could we not travel to one of your friends or family and rest there?”

“Nay.”

The fierceness of his tone caught her off guard. “Why not?”

“The men know we are traveling together. They would expect me to contact those I trust.” His expression darkened. “Nay doubt they have guards watching their homes, and I will nae jeopardize the lives of those I love or further endanger yours.”

His concern brought back turbulent memories of her secrets. And his. “They are after what is in the writ?”

Colyne turned away.

“Look at me,” she demanded, hurt that he continued to hide the truth. “After what we have been through, can you not at least answer that?”