The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

Izzy held herself stiff in front of her husband, looking around in astonishment as they all trudged forward more quickly than she’d realized a group this size could travel. It seemed like only moments ago her husband had stumbled into the shelter with Siofra in his arms and told James the three of them needed to be hidden and they had to leave immediately. Without asking a single question, James had taken the child from Gair and started barking out orders to his men. They had efficiently broken camp and loaded everyone onto horses in a matter of minutes. Dressed as Stuart soldiers, complete with hats and curly-haired wigs, she and her husband were mounted on a large black horse. Siofra had been wrapped in a bedroll and tossed on the back of the horse beside them with Magdala and a Stuart soldier. On the other side of Magdala two more Stuart soldiers, a man and a lad, were dressed in her and Alasdair’s cast off closed and sharing a horse.She had never shared a horse with anyone befo

A soft whimper pulled Gair from his sleep. He blinked his eyes open and looked around the odd structure that Isobel’s friends called home. From the outside, it had looked like a pile of fallen brush wedged into the trees. From the inside, the frame seemed to be made of giant ribs with animal skins stretched between them and a layer of plush furs covered the ground. If they were ribs, they were from an animal far bigger than anything Gair had ever seen. It seemed impossible any animal could be this big, but at the same time, it did look as though they were sitting in the belly of a great beast. He’d have to look through the animal book when he got home and see if he could find a mention of an animal big enough for several men to stand inside of it.A hole in the top was directly over the fire, and the smoke escaped through that. The cavernous space was still hot, even though the fire had died to just coals and embers. At one end there was the door, where the soldiers were sleeping. At

Gair clenched his jaw and shifted on the saddle, trying to get his manhood under control. Since his wife looked like a lad from behind he had not anticipated this problem. Especially since it had not happened to him in the past few days. The tunic, trews, and short hair didn’t fool him at all this day. The longer they rode together the worse it got. She smelled of woman, his body knew she was his, and his mind knew what was hidden under that tunic. Every time she brushed against him desire shot through him. When he closed his eyes, the image he saw was not that of a lad or even a woman dressed like a lad. His mind created a picture of her in a soft dress the same shade of green as her eyes. Lord she was bonny with those red curls bouncing around her speckled face. She would not want a big skirt like London's pale, fashionable ladies. One that clung to her hips and legs would suit her better. They were so much more alluring anyways, hinting at the shape of what lay beneath rather than

Like a candle burned too low, the brightness of her hair flickered for a moment and then was swallowed by the darkness. Gair cursed the night and the trees as he urged his horse to go faster. The animal tossed its head, reluctant to travel quickly over unfamiliar ground that it couldn’t clearly see. “Easy, Cazador, just a wee bit faster,” he urged. He didn’t want the animal to be hurt, but he wanted to get to the bush before his wife disappeared completely. When the horse came to a stop, refusing to step even a single hoof into the bush, Gair dismounted. His feet snapped on some twigs when he swung to the ground at the edge of the brambles and someone not far inside the bush cried out in fear. It was not his wife’s scream. He slipped into the bush and headed in the direction of the scream as quickly as he was able, unsheathing his dagger as he went. With no further noise to direct him, Gair stopped, waiting for some indication of where to go. Either from the person who had screamed

“By order of the Royal House of Stuart, show yourselves or we will open fire!”Gair rolled his eyes. “Does that ever actually work?” Isobel asked. Gair almost ginned at the skeptical tone of her voice.“Not usually,” the soldier admitted.“I thought not. Wolves would nay understand and a band of thieves would nay be so daft as to believe showing themselves would do anything by giving you a clear shot.”“The Duke requires we give warning before we open fire. It is cowardliness to do otherwise.”“I see. Well, they’ve been warned now, aye?”“Aye.” The agreement was barely out of the man’s mouth when Izzy loosed her first arrow. The second was ready to fire before the man on the other side of the bush started to squeal.“Do nay fuss like a wee bairn” she called out, “ye were warned and me arrow but hit yer foot if anything. Hobble on out the lot of ye or the next arrow will be higher. Right about heart level, so like as not I’ll hit yer face since yer all bent low.”“Did ye have to shoot