“Aye, I think I do. Ye heard. They are my kinsmen through marriage and I have heard about them. The captain trusts them as weel. Go, my fine brave laddies. We will meet again verra soon and, mayhap, this will prove the safest way for us to get to my family. Heed weel the men who take ye with them.”
Tears stung her eyes when both boys hugged her tightly. She stroked their hair and then clenched her hands into tight fists to stop herself from snatching them back when they joined the men. Arianna ignored the pain and weakness wracking her body and stood watching until they were out of sight. Doubts and fears churned her stomach but she struggled against them. In the end the decision to let the boys go rested upon one hard, cold fact. She was in no condition to keep them safe and would not be for a while.
“Come,” said Sir Brian as he tossed her cloak over her shoulders, grasped her by the arm, and tugged her toward the three horses waiting for them. “We need to leave now.”
“Why three horses?” she asked, placing a hand on the flank of the white mare he led her to.
“I want to be certain the men hunting those boys think they have three choices to make, that they need to break into three groups to track us all down.” He looked at her. “Are ye strong enough to ride?”
Arianna nodded, praying she was not fooling herself. The very last thing she wished to do right now was get on a horse, riding hard in an attempt to pull some of her enemies away from the trails the boys had taken. She wanted a bath, clean clothes, a hot meal, and a soft bed. She even wanted to cease having to be so strong, having to silently endure all her fear, pain, and weariness. It would be so lovely, she mused as she pulled herself up into the saddle, if she could just fall to the ground and give in to her misery, perhaps cry loudly and messily like a child for a little while.
Brian mounted, checked the lead to the third horse loaded with several packs to mask the fact that it was riderless, and then glanced at Lady Arianna, who was securing her cloak more firmly around her body. She did not look as if she would stay in the saddle for long, but he had the suspicion that there was a core of stubborn, hard steel in the woman. All he needed was a few hours of hard riding out of her. As he kicked his horse into a steady gallop, he found himself hoping he could offer her a few comforts when they had to stop for the night.
After an hour of hard riding, Brian slowed their pace a little. The trail they followed was wide enough that Arianna moved up to ride at his side. He caught her glancing behind them several times.
“They wouldnae have reached the place we left for a while, and deciding what to do when confronted with three trails will hold them back for a time as weel,” he assured her. “They willnae follow the whole way at such a hard pace, either. They are unfamiliar with the area and will need to keep a closer eye on their route to be sure they stay on our trail. Nor will they wish to ride their horses to death, if they e’en have them.”
“I suspect they brought horses with them,” she said. “The ship was verra large, much larger than Captain Tillet’s, and they wouldnae have wished to chase me and the boys on foot if they thought we had escaped drowning. Your mon Simon may have left ere they were able to bring their horses to shore.”
“Which will take more time. Good for us.”
“True. The DeVeaux and Amiel may e’en have held back on bringing the horses to shore until they were certain a search or chase would be needed for ’tis a lot of work to do. They were looking for our bodies.” She winced. “When they find the dead we had to leave behind they will ken that Michel and Adelar survived. I am so sorry those poor men died only to be left to the carrion.”
“’Tis nay your fault. And I dinnae think the men hunting you and those boys would act verra kindly toward us once we said they couldnae have ye, so ’tis best we didnae wait there to confront them.”
Arianna sighed and rubbed her forehead, but it did little to ease the pounding in her head. “Nay, ’tis why I ceased to seek any help. That and the fact that Claud’s family didnae wish to believe that Amiel was doing any wrong. They certainly refused to believe that he would ever deal with the DeVeaux.”
“Who is Amiel?”
“My husband’s brother.”
“Ah. So the boys inherit something he wants.”
Explanations were needed but Arianna heartily wished she did not have to give them. It meant revealing her humiliation, her shame. Unfortunately, the man not only deserved the answers he wanted, he might need them to better protect her and the children. She had learned enough from her family, and from ruling over her husband’s lands as he spent much of his time dallying with another woman, to know that even the smallest piece of information could make a difference between life and death.
“At the moment the boys are my husband’s heirs.”