* * *
“Owen, where are we? There hasn"t been a house in sight. Are you sure we didn"t turn north into the far reaches of Scotland?” she begged, her lips frozen into numbness, hardly able to form words. She raised her hand to her nose and lips but it did nowt to warm them. Her numb fingers could barely hold the reins. Utterly spent, she blanked for seconds at a time and bounced awake with the horse"s unsteady stride. Slipping in and out of awareness made her addleheaded. She cried out, her eyes wildly attentive yet seeing nothing.
Owen inched up, reached over and clutched her shoulder. “Are you well, lass?” His voice was familiar and comforting, but she had no strength to turn and face him.
“Aye, I think so,” she muttered.
“Good. Because we approach a rise here, and I hope your horse ha
