Page 48 of A Fearless Rebel

“Ye should remain for the night. After the long ride, I do not think ye will be able to ride the long distance back,” Elspeth said in a quiet voice. “Or perhaps ye can follow in a wagon. The horse will need to be rested as well.”

“I will go,” Ava said. “His horse, Gallant, cannot remain here.”

Just then, a servant materialized with food and drink. Ava accepted the drink but could not fathom eating at that moment. Every moment they delayed could bring dire consequences.

“I will take it with me,” she offered, and the food was quickly wrapped and packed into a sack.

Elspeth hugged her. “I wish ye well.”

Refusing to meet the woman’s gaze, knowing she’d lose control of her emotions, Ava rushed to catch up with the laird and his brother.

“If ye fall behind, I will not wait,” Kieran warned as they walked out into the courtyard.

Ava nodded. “Please do not.”

A short time later, she was astounded when they rode through the gates. Somehow, several hundred warriors had amassed and were ready to head out within the hour.

The well-armed army took her breath away and she understood why Clan Ross was feared. Every man was immobile, their expressions flat, not shifting other than when Kieran called for them to ride forward.

At the command, as one, every single horse fell into a precise fast gallop.

The thundering of hooves vibrated the ground as Ava followed in the rear with Gallant. Every sound filled her senses. The grunts of the horses, the steady beats of hooves on the ground and the whishing of the wind past her ears.

At the front, Kieran Ross rode, his shoulders back, one with the horse. She looked to the men who flanked her. “If I fall behind, do not stop, continue on. I will catch up.”

The men nodded without response.

At a fast gallop, the pace was astounding. Ava knew she and Gallant would soon fall by the wayside. But she’d ride as far as possible with the Ross army.

*

It was just two or three hours later that the sun rose on the horizon and they neared the edge of Mackenzie lands. It would still be several hours before they arrived at the keep, and that was if they were not intercepted by warriors.

Ava fell more and more behind. Despite his stamina, Gallant was tiring, and she finally brought him to stop. She didn’t want to injure Keithen’s horse.

Finally, upon arriving at a stream, she dismounted and allowed the horse to drink. “Ye must rest,” she told the horse as she lowered to the water’s edge and drank from the cold water.

While the horse meandered to graze, she sat at the foot of a tree, watching toward where the large Clan Ross contingent had ridden.

In her heart, she knew he still lived, but whether or not he’d be alive when Clan Ross arrived was not something Ava took for granted.

Looking up at the clouds, she prayed that they arrived in time.

Esme’s words permeated her mind. Part of what she’d said was true. As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she was not wanted at Fraser Keep. Everyone saw her as an intruder and part of the reason so many of their people had died.

Before marrying Keithen, the plan she’d had in place had been to leave, to start a new life away from everyone she knew. Perhaps it would be best to do so at that moment. Whether Keithen lived or died was out of her hands, and if she didn’t know exactly what happened, her heart would hold to the hope that he lived.

With her gone, he could go on with his life. Perhaps marry Catriona, whom he cared so much for.

Ava looked to Gallant. The horse would adapt to being hers. Perhaps he was a bit large for a woman to have but, at the same time, he was strong and would take her far.

Instead of heading to the keep, she’d go to the cottage where she’d stored items over time. It was possible to reach the small home without being seen.

No longer in a hurry to go, she nestled against the tree to sleep before heading in the new direction.

The sun was high by the time she and Gallant rode once again. Sadness settled in her chest like a boulder pressing against it, but Ava soldiered on, unwilling to look in the direction of the keep.

Her husband was possibly dead by then. If he lived, he would probably be maimed. She’d seen how horribly beaten people were by the time they were put out of their misery and hung. A cry caught in her throat and she lost control, sobbing uncontrollably. Her entire body quaked with each breath as she mourned losing the one person who’d given her a sense of security.