Highland Reckoning (Highland Talents Heritage Book 3) by Willa Blair

Author:Willa Blair [Blair, Willa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
Published: 2022-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

Morven had never been so glad to see the light of early morning begin to paint the eastern sky with pinks and purples. She’d been awake all night, too worried to sleep. Instead, she sat with her back against the cold stone wall, watching the entrance to their shelter for Drummond to return. She kept imagining seeing him walk into the entrance, his body a dark outline silhouetted by starlight behind him.

When he finally did arrive, morning light behind him kept his face in shadow. But she knew his shape. His walk. It was him, not any of their pursuers. “Drummond!” She stood and went into his arms. “Are ye well? What did ye learn? Where are the horses?” She realized he was leaning on her, so she tugged him farther into their cave. “Here, come sit by the fire and warm up.”

He nodded.

She threw the rest of the fuel Rory had gathered on the glowing coals and blew on them to coax the fire to life. Settling next to him, she took his cold hands in hers. “What can I get ye? Water? We’ve little to eat, but ye are welcome to what’s left.”

He shook his head and cleared his throat. “They’re gone. The camp is empty.”

She gasped at Drummond's news. “They’re gone? All of them?” The horses, too? They would have to continue walking. How long could Rory continue like this?

“Aye. Naught left but the structures. They took everything they could carry or herd along with them. Do ye have any idea where they would go? Did they talk about moving while ye were there?”

She had no idea. “The whole camp is gone?” She shook her head. “Lorne wanted to move them, but Rodrick refused. He never said if he had a destination in mind. Does that mean they’re not searching for us?”

Drummond shrugged. “Some may be. Since they dinna ken where we are, or whether we might luck into a patrol from yer village or my men, I suspect the rest moved for safekeeping.”

“Safekeeping? They raided my village because Rodrick kenned it and the area around it. And if he wasn’t lying, because Kelso helped him. Where can they go and have the same?”

She handed him a water skin and he took a long drink before answering.

“I think they raided to survive. Ye saw how thin and tired they all looked. Angus said they only took one or two animals at a time. Added to anything they managed to hunt, it would be enough to last a day or two for a group that size, nay more. They took a huge risk, raiding that way instead of cleaning out all the livestock from a crofthold, but perhaps they couldn’t manage them, so they had to chance being caught again and again to survive. I’m not making an excuse for them, for what they did, especially when they killed a man, whether on purpose or by accident, but it didna look like they were going to survive the winter.

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