Page 25 of The Scot’s Secret

Something niggled at his thoughts as he rode toward the village, and he stopped his mount when the worry finally clicked into place. Clara was intelligent enough to fool all those around her about her identity. She’d obviously fended for herself for some time, which meant she was much too smart to have run on foot. She would have looked for transport.

The merchant.

When Alex found him, he’d likely also find the English lass who posed as a squire.

Using the old Roman road, he followed the wagon’s tracks south. It was a rare merchant who moved back and forth along the border. Most stayed in their country of origin. But this particular one chose to make his living in a region many others avoided. Not the kind of person he’d want Clara, or any female, to call a travel companion.

There!

The very wagon he sought had come into view along the next ridge. Alex sped up, kicking dirt and rock behind him as he dipped into the valley and climbed once again. The wagon slowed, and Alex knew he’d been spotted.

He pulled up alongside the merchant and wasted no time.

“Where is he?”

The “he” in question promptly poked his head out of the wagon as the merchant peered around the side.

He could try to convince Clara to come back, but she might not be amicable to the idea. He’d end her escape immediately.

“The boy you harbor is my squire, sworn to the service of Clan Kerr and—”

“He’s yours, my lord,” the merchant rushed to say. “Take him.”

Alex nearly laughed at the expression on Clara’s face. She rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated at the man’s quick surrender of his new travel companion.

She must have known the futility of attempting to dissuade either man that she should stay. By claiming her as his own, Alex had ensured the merchant would not intervene. Clara jumped from the wagon, offered the merchant her thanks, which sounded more like a curse than anything, and the wagon pulled away.

“Get up,” he demanded.

She didn’t move.

“Clara, you’ve nowhere to go. Toren and Juliette would have flayed me alive if I’d allowed you to escape. Do you really think little enough of them to believe otherwise?”

He assumed she felt indebted to his brother and sister-in-law—correctly, it would seem, for she moved toward him without further argument. Reaching down, he lifted her onto the mount behind him.

And immediately regretted it.

Although they were bound, he could still feel her breasts pressed against his back. And it would only get worse.

“Wrap your hands around me.”

She did, and Alex nearly groaned. The wee lass felt as if she belonged there.

As they made their way back to the keep, Alex waited for her to speak. He was torn between wanting to demand answers and ensuring she felt safe enough not to run again.

“I cannot tell you,” she finally whispered.

The panic in her voice prompted him to break his silence.

“I will not demand it.”

She said nothing.

They rode in silence, a comfortable, easy silence. He forced his thoughts away from the woman pressed against his back, and they quickly landed on the question of whether his mother had been found at last.

He should not go looking for the woman who’d abandoned them. Neither of his brothers were tempted, and he was the worst kind of fool to even consider it.

But he was considering it nonetheless.