“Aye, just talking to myself. I will be ready in a few moments.”
Brian frowned at the screen. He had not been able to understand what she had said but the anger behind the words had been clear. Anger was not what he wanted her to be feeling after they had made love. Before he could ask her what she was angered by, a loud banging came at the door.
“Frenchmen, Sir Brian,” said Molly the moment he opened the door.
“At the inn?” He moved to pack their things, already planning how to slip away.
“Will be soon. My youngest lad came to tell me they were asking for a good inn to stay at and had been directed here.”
“Ye have a back way out of here?”
“I do, and I have already told the lads to have your horses readied and waiting for ye behind the stables.” She glanced at Arianna as she ran out from behind the screen still lacing up her gown. “This is about more than ye taking some lass for a wee bit of pleasure, isnae it?”
“A lot more, but I havenae the time to tell ye. ’Tis life or death, hers and two wee laddies. I would suggest that ye keep those burly lads of yours close and armed. This isnae some group of simple travelers.”
“That be what my lad said as he wasnae sure we would be wanting them staying here. Come with me. I will show ye the best way to slip out of here.”
Brian grabbed a pale Arianna by the hand, cast a last longing look at the bed, and followed Molly. He had hoped they could rest for a little while. He had also hoped to savor Arianna’s passion in the comfort of a bed a few more times, if only to make it very clear to her that she was not only desirable, she also satisfied him.
In truth, she satisfied him in ways he had never felt before. Not only did she stir his desire to heights it had never reached in another woman’s arms, she left him far more sated than any other had, too. Brian knew it was going to be very hard to let that go.
As they slipped through the back garden of the inn and to the rear of the stables, Brian could hear the voices of Amiel’s men. The stable boys were clearly trying to delay the men, holding them outside the stable with a long, torturous bargaining over the cost of caring for so many horses. He was tempted to go and see what he might learn, but one look at the fear on Arianna’s face had him pushing that idea aside. He could not take the risk when she was so close to her enemies.
He kissed Molly on the cheek and then lifted Arianna up into the saddle as he said, “I thank ye, Molly. Best ye get back inside the inn to greet your new guests.”
“Aye. Dinnae worry. If ye can slip out of town without them seeing ye, ye should be safe for a while. Sent one of my lads to tell a few maids that there was a party of rich Frenchmen here. I am thinking those men will soon be too busy to come a-hunting ye and the lass.”
Brian chuckled and began to lead Arianna on a winding route that kept them sheltered by the buildings. As long as he and Arianna could get away without any of Amiel’s men catching sight of them, they would have time to put some distance between themselves and their pursuers. He was a little surprised they had stopped for a rest when it was so early in the day. It was an action that confirmed his fear that Amiel knew where he was headed, was not tracking them as much as hoping to get between them and where they needed to go. The man was treating it all more like a journey to visit someone than the hunt it really was.
When the line of buildings ran out, Brian paused, leaning over the neck of his mount to look up and down the street. They would be in the open for a while and he needed to make certain none of Amiel’s men were on the watch for them. What he saw made him grin.
At least eight women, dressed in all the finery a poor whore could afford, were gathered near the stables, flaunting their wares. The men who had not yet entered the inn were all watching the women, some already making their choices clear. Brian just wished the women would get the men inside the inn quickly.
“Are they watching for us?” asked Arianna.
“Nay. They are watching the women Molly sent her son to fetch. A bonnie little flock of birds. I but wait to see if they can get all the men to go inside the inn. If they dinnae do so soon, we shall have to take our chances and go that last distance to the trees anyway.”
“I ne’er would have thought of such a thing as a distraction. Especially not when ’tis barely the middle of the day.”
“Time doesnae matter to a hungry mon, lass.” He grinned when she made a soft sound of disgust. “I but keep wondering why Amiel has stopped so early in the day.”