Chapter Eleven

Connie drew closer to the spot where Alec had seen the man and could just glimpse a figure dashing back through the bushes away from her before she lost sight of him altogether.

She reined her horse to a halt, near to where she’d first seen him standing, and surveyed the ground. Alec pulled his horse up beside her, and she noticed he was holding a pistol in his right hand.

“Next time you decide to go tearing off toward a potential threat without a word of warning,” he ground out, “don’t.”

“You would have stopped me from coming.” She scanned the ground and could see two sets of footprints.

“Damn right I would have!” Alec jumped down from his horse, his whole body braced and alert.

“Well, quite frankly, I’m tired of always being timid and afraid,” Connie replied. “I just wanted to be brave for a little bit.”

Alec sighed. “At least give me a warning first, all right?”

“Very well,” Connie said, following Alec’s lead and dismounting from her own mare. “Looks like there were two of them, and they tore off down that way.” She pointed to the north from where they stood.

“You still remember my tracking lessons from when you were a girl?” He seemed rather astounded at the possibility.

“Of course.” She tied her horse beside Alec’s and followed him as he trailed the footprints, his pistol still in his hand, though resting by his thigh. She still thought back with fondness on the memories of when she’d been just shy of twelve, and Alec had taught her and Sophie how to track footprints in the woods.

They walked through the scrub till they got to a clearing, and Connie could hear the thunder of hooves retreating in the distance. “Yes, there were definitely two men.” The impressions on the dirt trail were more than that of one man and a horse.

“There were,” Alec agreed. “But they’re gone now. Come, we best get to our horses and leave the area before they decide to come back.”

A stray piece of paper stuck in a bush and flapping in the breeze caught her attention. Walking over, she picked it up. Her breath hitched in her throat.

“What is it?” Alec asked, striding over to where she stood.

“It’s me.” She passed him the paper, which was actually a photograph with her own image on the underside.

“What do you mean, it’s you?” Alec asked, peering down at the picture.

“Duncan had it taken after we became engaged and kept it in a picture frame on his study desk.” Connie could still remember her excitement when the photo was taken. All she could think of was that she would be a duchess, and that her future husband must love her and be so proud of having her as his fiancée, that he’d commissioned the picture. “At first I thought it was to show his love, but I soon realized it was to remind himself that I was his possession.”

She noticed that her hand was shaking slightly as she passed the image to Alec; he glanced at it before slipping it into his jacket pocket.

“We need to leave now.” He took her hand in his and led her back through the forest to where their horses were waiting.

Connie flinched at first, still becoming accustomed to anyone touching her, but then a heat radiated up her arm from the contact, unlocking a yearning within her that she didn’t seem able to push aside. He was so warm, and strong, and gentle. So different than Duncan that, not for the first time, she wondered what it would be like to have him kiss her. To feel his hands caress her skin and skim along her thighs.

But the thought also scared her. She’d never experienced any joy or pleasure from Duncan’s touch—quite the opposite, in fact. Perhaps she was incapable of actually enjoying such things? Good Lord, what was she doing even thinking about something like this, and now, of all times, when they were on the run and potentially in danger.

Perhaps she was slightly insane?

They reached their horses, and Alec released her hand before holstering his pistol.

For a moment, she missed his touch, feeling suddenly alone without it. But then she chastised herself. Hadn’t she learned that she had to depend on herself, and not a man? She couldn’t start to rely on Alec, even if he did feel like her anchor in a turbulent sea. No. She had to summon her inner confidence and independence.

It was the only way forward for her.

Neither of them said a word as they mounted their horses, and fleetingly Connie wondered if Alec had been as affected by touching her as she had been touching him. She doubted it. Instead he was probably listening for any threats, or for the riders’ possible return.

Thankfully, though, the air was silent.

They both nudged the animals back onto the dirt path that wound its way toward Inverness. Alec stayed slightly behind her, still clearly paying vigilant attention to their surroundings.

Which she was thankful of, considering those men could still be around.

Another chill ran up her spine with the thought that someone had obviously given them the photograph of herself. What scared her the most, though, was the who and the why. Because she’d thought that no one else apart from Alec and Connie knew where they were heading.

But clearly someone did.