Runaway Vampire (Argeneau, #23)

“Did Danvries find coin fer the horses, after all?” he asked lightly by way of greeting once the riders had stopped.

“Nay.” The man in the lead glanced past him to his brothers and then back. “We are looking for Lord Danvries’ sister. She went out for a ride and has not yet returned. Her brother grows concerned.”

“A ride ye say?” Dougall asked, feigning surprise. “Are ye sure? I understood she was without a mount. Sides, she was sitting in the hall when we arrived and ’tis sure I am that she went above stairs ere we left.”

“Aye.” The man frowned and glanced back the way he’d come. “I gather she left after you and your men, and we did not pass her ere encountering you. She must have gone another way.”

“That would make sense,” Dougall agreed and he supposed it did make sense if you didn’t know that he and his brothers had stopped for a meal ere leaving Danvries land.

The man nodded, and spun his horse back the way he’d come with a brusque, “Good journey to ye.”

“And to ye,” Dougall said cheerfully and grinned as he watched the English soldier lead his men away. He hadn’t even had to lie. Gad, the English were stupid. Of course, now he had to deal with the woman, he acknowledged, his smile fading.

Ah well. Dougall shook his head and turned to ride back to his own men.

“Lookin’ fer the lass, were they?” Conran asked as the men eased aside to allow Dougall to move his horse up beside the woman’s bull.

“Aye.” Dougall glanced toward Lady Danvries, expecting her to thank him for his aid. But she proved she was English by refusing to even acknowledge his presence. The woman was still huddled low on her cow, the plaid covering her like a sack of wheat.

Scowling, he tugged the plaid off of her, and then leaned quickly to the side to catch the woman when she started to tumble from the back of her beast.

“Well,” Conran breathed with disgust when Dougall pulled her unconscious body across his horse to peer at her. “It looks like she’s gone and died on us. That could cause trouble with the English.”

“Nah, ‘tis a faint,” Dougall said, but then had to tear his gaze from her pale face to her chest just to make sure she was breathing. She was, but shallowly.

“It can no’ be a faint,” Alick protested at once, standing in the saddle and craning his head to try to get a look at the woman. “If the lass is brave enough to run away on her own, she’s hardly the type to faint o’er a little scare like this.”

“Unless it was no’ courage that had her running away,” Conran pointed out.

“What else would it be?” Alick asked with a scowl.

“She could be lacking the sense God gives most,” Geordie suggested.

“Or she could be a few men short o’ an army,” Alick added reluctantly.

“This lass is no’ daft,” Conran snapped. “Nor is she witless. The two o’ ye ought to be ashamed to suggest it.”

“Well, why do ye think she’s fainted then?”

Conran eyed her briefly and then said, “Well, now, mayhap she’s ailing. ‘Tis obvious her brother cares little for her wellbeing. Mayhap she’s taken ill.”

“And mayhap,” Dougall said, shifting the woman to a more comfortable position on his lap, “Ye should stop acting like a bunch o’ old women so we can continue on with our journey.”

Conran raised his eyebrows. “Are we takin’ her with us then?”

“Well, we can hardly leave her here by the side o’ the road in her state, can we?” he pointed out with exasperation. “We’ll carry her with us until she wakes.”

“And then what?” Conran asked, eyes narrowed.

“And then we’ll ask where she’s heading and if ’tis on our way, we shall escort her there,” he decided with a small frown. The woman was turning out to be a bit of trouble and he wasn’t happy about that.

“And if where she is going is no’ on our way?” Conran asked. “Or what if we’ve carried her right past where she was headed?”

“Then we’ll deal with that at the time,” Dougall said with forced patience, and then added irritably, “Right now, I’d jest be well pleased if ye’d get yer arses in gear and yer horses moving.”

“All right, no need to holler,” Conran said soothingly. “’Tis obvious the lass has set ye aback.” He glanced around and then asked, “What about her cow?”

Grimacing, Dougall glanced at the beast and shrugged. “Leave it behind. It’ll most like return to the keep. Then mayhap they’ll think she took a tumble and’ll waste days searching Danvries’ woods fer her.”

“But then she’ll have naught to ride when she regains her wits,” Conran pointed out.

“Then she’ll have to ride with me, will she no’?” he asked dryly.

“Aye, but what if her travels lead her away from us. She can hardly follow her own plans with no beast to ride.”

“’Tis a cow, Conran,” he pointed out with disgust. “No sane minded person would ride a cow anyway.” Sighing impatiently, he shook his head. “I shall supply her with a horse. We’ve two spare with us right now anyway.”