Chapter 3
The Beast with Many HeadsIn the morning Mairi gave no sign that she had been anywhere in the night, nor that she suspected Neil of having followed her. She fed the chickens and cleaned out the byre as quietly as she did every morning, answering her mother in monosyllables when she had to, avoiding speech as much as she could.
Neil did not mention the nocturnal journey either — but watched her with intense interest. She moved with grace — with a light and easy step as though her spirit was not bound down by her life of drudgery.
He thought about her means of escape, the mare that gave her a measure of freedom, and was in a dilemma as to what to do for the best. He hated the thought of leaving her imprisoned in a bleak, harsh lifestyle with a brutal father. On the other hand — w
