Beyond a Doubt

chapter Twenty-One




Brilliant reds and golds covered the morning sky. Large puffy clouds drifted with the light blowing breeze.

From a distance Bryce watched the departing players. Lucy was amongst them. With red-rimmed eyes and a tear-stained face, Lucy had pecked him upon the lips in a nonverbal goodbye. It had almost been his undoing.

He rubbed the spot. A remaining tingle was the only reminder of their contact.

Bryce nodded as Lucy turned upon her mount and gave him a final wave.

Horse and man waited outside the gate until the group was completely out of sight. When the dust from the horses’ hooves disappeared, Bryce headed out in the opposite direction. Time to go home and begin his life.

Not wishing to increase the distance between himself and Lucy, Bryce allowed Emissary to walk. His horse placed one hoof at a time to the ground, seemingly in slow motion. A weird pressure set up in his chest.

What had he done? Would Lucy be safe? Had he made the right decision?

For the next hour, Bryce attempted to convince himself that leaving Lucy in the care of others was the right thing to do. Besides, Lucy would never be satisfied as the wife of a sheep farmer, and this was Bryce’s destiny, his only desire.

And what of Crissy? Although they’d never committed to a relationship, she’d been the only woman on his mind for years. He owed her something, right?

Weary and depressed, Bryce dismounted. The will to continue escaped him. He found a large boulder, sat, and played with a flower. The silken feel of the petals reminded him of Lucy’s hair. A sigh escaped his lips. He pitched the flower as far away from him as possible. Standing beside Emissary, he bent his head and lay against the saddle.

“I stole the girl! I stole the girl!”

Bryce's head jerked upright as a horse galloped by. Upon the horse, lying on her belly and flopping up and down, was Lucy.

A man of extra girth, laughing uproariously, sat behind her with the reins in his hand. Every few seconds the words, “I stole the girl!” escaped his lips.

Bryce was stunned. Although his brain worked, his limbs felt numb. By the time his body moved, the couple had disappeared over the next rise and out of sight. Springing into action, Bryce took off in pursuit.

The dust the horse kicked up showed a clear line of where to go. Urging his mount, Bryce worked to control his heart rate.

What in the world had happened? Lucy was supposed to be on her way to London, not slung over the side of a horse being carted away by some unknown man!

Bryce kicked his horse’s flank, insisting on increased speed. Time ticked painfully by. Slowly Bryce closed the distance between himself, and Lucy and the man on horseback. Within a few minutes their horses raced side-by-side.

“Halt!”

The man’s head leaned back and loud crazed laughter left his lips as his horse shot ahead. Agitated, Bryce raked his hand through his hair. The ribbon holding his hair back fell amongst the shrubs on the ground, becoming trampled in the mud. What could he do? To force man and beast to stop might bring harm to Lucy.

Ahead of him loomed a large grassy field. Could he be lucky enough to come alongside and knock the rider down alone? Or would this action cause injury to Lucy? There was no time to think of another plan; this was his only option.