Of Gifts and the Goddess

Chapter 6

6

Duncan stared at her in disbelief. Was she crazy, then? Surely all the wandering in the hills, the lack of proper food and shelter, had done something to her wits. He opened and then closed his mouth. Twice. No sound came out. He walked behind the tree to tighten the rope around her to keep her from escaping. Stalking back to face her, and still not able to pull his runaway thoughts into coherent questions or demands, he left her and Brave and returned to his men at the fire.

Anne stared at his broad back. She had heard he was well spoken and couldn’t believe when he just left her. Thinking her promise not to escape had expired, she whispered to Brave. He dragged himself around to where the rope met the tree and sniffed. Glancing at Brave’s position, and deciding that her body blocked his head, Anne murmured, “Chew, Brave.”

When next Duncan looked over at where he had tied Anne, he had to look twice. Moments before, Anne was there. Now she wasn’t. Neither was her huge, ugly dog. What he did see was the frayed end of the rope that had held her.

“Bloody hell!” he roared.

Motioning to three of his men, he signaled for them to fan out. He went to the tree and looked at the hurriedly brushed footprints of boot and dog, and the discarded branch left in the dirt.

Anne didn’t want to go too far. She figured the O’Connor would just track her down, and though she didn’t fear him, she did want the freedom of those who were still detained by the O’Connor. She circled around the clearing, occasionally tossing a stone deeper into the forest hoping the rustling of the bushes would throw the soldiers off her trail until she could devise a way for all the McClearys to retreat to their camp half a league down the road. With Brave’s belly satisfied, he was more inclined to stay where Anne put him, right by the horses, where the O’Connor wouldn’t think to look. What she didn’t count on, however, was Friend giving her direction away as she moved away from the tree that now only held three shorter lengths of rope due to Brave’s chewing. Friend had her head up and her ears pricked forward, temporarily forgetting the thick forest grass at her feet, as she swiveled her head to keep Anne in her line of sight.

After making his way a short distance into the dark, following the sound of rustling bushes, Duncan stopped to listen and think. Though Anne was thin, well, just short of starved, really, she was tall for a woman, and the movement of branches came from close to the ground. Bent over, he doubted she could move that quickly. He thought about the bond he witnessed between her and the atrocity she called a dog, and wondered if perhaps she had a similar affinity with the Buckskin mare.

Silently, Duncan made his way back to the clearing, but moved into a position so that he could see the horses and still keep to the shadows. At the raised head moving in his direction, he smiled. If he was patient, Anne would walk right into his arms. His smile faltered at the double meaning of that thought. Glancing between the Alpha mare and the blackness of the woods beyond the clearing, he tracked Anne’s progress toward him. He crouched down and held his breath, watching for the parting of branches. A shadow approached, turned, part of it arching up into the moonless sky, and after a brief moment, he heard a rustle deeper in the darkness. The shadow then continued towards him.

Anne was so consumed with thoughts of the failure of their raid and coming up with a plan to get everyone out, she didn’t see the shadow rise before her until it was too late. Startled, she stifled a scream and dropped the remainder of her rocks.

Duncan crossed his arms and shook his head, though silently he awarded her with praise for her inventiveness. Knowing she would only be brought to the ground should she try to run, she hung her head in acceptance. Duncan reached out and grasped her wrist. As he turned toward the brightness of the campfire, his scowl returned as the buzzing started up again. Glancing around, he picked his way over a fallen log and around a clump of ferns, back to where the rest of the McClearys were tied.

Upon seeing her person return, Friend once again dropped her head to her dinner. The six McClearys seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at Anne’s return in one piece. Or, Duncan thought, perhaps it was a sigh at the failed rescue.

“It seems that a McCleary’s word is not worth the breath used to speak it. You said you would not try to escape.”

Anne glanced at him, then away, stating, “I kept my word. I did not try to escape while my bonds were loosened.”

Duncan thought about that and realized Anne would make a fine negotiator, for she seemed to pick at words to suit herself. And she was right. He stipulated the loosening of bonds. He would be wise to keep close attention to his words when dealing with her.

“So I did,” he capitulated. “If you’ll have a spot of dirt with your band, you can spend the remainder of the night keeping each other’s backs warm.”

Anne glared at him, huffed out a breath, but then complied by dropping herself to the ground and then scooting back to sit between Shane and Charles.

Enos brought over one of the shortened pieces of rope bearing fresh chew marks. Duncan snatched it from Enos’s hand. He squatted down to eye-level with Anne and proceeded to wrap her wrists with the rope, then attached the other end to the length already binding her companions.

As he was pushing himself to his feet, there was a commotion by the horses. On an inward groan, he turned his attention in that direction. Douglas had apparently found Brave, and with a piece of leather holding the beast’s muzzle shut, the giant of a man carried the dog towards Duncan.

“Not here. Not even the dog can be trusted. Tie him to that tree. And keep the leather strap around his snout.”

Douglas nodded, setting Brave down with a gentleness that was met by a growl, then a whine. Once secured, Brave looked at Anne with dejected eyes. Anne looked back, feeling very much the same way as neither had ever been bound. If it was within Anne’s power, this would be the last time.