Chapter 7 #2
“Aye, and run ourselves into the ground before the sun’s even high?” He cast her a sharp glance. “We need to pace it, lass. Save our strength. There’s a hollow ahead—sheltered. We’ll rest awhile, and then cut inland.”
Ruby bit back a retort. He made it sound so easy. But every muscle in her body trembled, and truthfully, she wasn’t sure how much farther she could push herself without collapsing.
They reached the hollow, a dip in the land sheltered by gorse and boulders. Evan checked it carefully before letting her step inside, his gaze always flicking back the way they’d come. She lowered her bundle, unwrapping the blankets with trembling fingers.
“It was good thinking to go back for supplies,” he said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised. I’m not completely useless, you know.”
“Never said ye were. The way ye handled that oaf at the harbor showed that.” His eyes lingered on her a moment too long, then he turned away, tearing a loaf of bread in half.
They ate in silence. Ruby watched him as she chewed on the tough bread, the way he remained half-turned toward the coast, ready to move at any sound. Who was he really?
She remembered what the thug by the boat had said. Always thought that highborn blood of yers made ye better than the rest of us.
Highborn blood? What had he meant by that?
When the bread was gone, Evan leaned close and pulled one of the blankets tighter around her shoulders. “Keep warm. If they’ve no horses, we’ll be well ahead by the time they think to search this far inland. They will expect us to steal another boat.”
“What did that man mean?” she asked.
“What man?”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about. He said something about you having noble blood. Who are you, Evan Campbell?”
He turned to look at her, the smirk and cocky charm gone, replaced by an earnest look in his gray eyes.
“I am exactly what ye see, lass. Evan Campbell, merchant, freebooter, smuggler.” His expression tightened.
“As for what I used to be, well, that’s something best left buried. We all have a past, dinna we?”
Ruby opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Yes, they all had a past, herself included. She’d been running from hers and that’s what had landed her in this mess in the first place. She looked away, biting her lip.
Evan was silent for a long time. Then softly he said, “I’m sorry, lass.”
She looked at him, surprised by the admission. That earnest expression was still on his face, and Ruby wondered if she was seeing the real Evan Campbell, the man beneath the arrogance. “Sorry?”
“For dragging ye into this. It wasnae my intention to put ye in harm’s way. If ye dinna believe any other word I say, believe that. The last thing I wish is to put ye in danger.”
Something about the way he was looking at her made it difficult to tear her gaze away. She cleared her throat. “Just tell me one thing. Can you really get me to my cousin?”
He didn’t answer. Nor did he look away. “Aye,” he said finally. “On my honor, such as it is. I will get ye to Edinburgh and the woman ye are seeking. I give ye my word.”
He was a liar, a swindler, a wanted man. She couldn’t believe a word he said.
And yet, despite everything, she did.
EVAN SAT WITH HIS BACK against the rough gorse, one hand resting on the hilt of his dagger, eyes never straying far from the faint line of the path that wound back toward the coast. Ruby was curled up next to him, her breathing even.
Somehow, she’d managed to fall asleep. He should’ve been grateful she could rest—he couldn’t.
He hated the tug in his chest, the gnawing guilt at the trouble he’d caused her.
He wasn’t supposed to care. Years ago, maybe, before his family had splintered and left him fending for himself.
But that part of him had been beaten out, ground down under the weight of survival. Soft feelings only got a man killed.
And yet, watching Ruby sleep, her hair tumbling loose across her cheek, he felt something stir that he thought long buried. He cursed himself silently. He didn’t need her problems. He had plenty of those himself.
The dawn crept higher, bleeding pale gold across the land. Finally, he pushed to his feet, shaking off his thoughts. “Up,” he said, more curtly than he intended. Ruby blinked awake, frowning at him as she rubbed her eyes. “We need to move.”
For a wonder, she obeyed without complaint, tugging the blanket around her shoulders as she gathered her bundle.
They set off, Evan leading her down the slope of a dry stream bed, its cracked bottom hidden by tall banks and tufts of grass.
Perfect cover. He kept his pace steady but not rushed, listening for the slightest sound behind them.
They walked in silence. For a while there was nothing but the whisper of their steps and the occasional clatter of a loose stone underfoot. Then suddenly he heard a sound on the still air: the steady creak of wood, the rhythmic clop of hooves, voices calling to each other.
Evan raised his hand, and Ruby froze. Her eyes went wide as she followed his gaze upward. Indicating for her to remain where she was, he moved with quiet care, climbing one of the banks until he could peer over the top.
A long train of wagons rolled along a track that cut through the landscape like a scar, carts of various sizes pulled by sturdy draft horses. Guards rode alongside, carrying both swords and flintlock pistols.
A merchant caravan.
Evan exhaled slowly. Edinburgh bound, if he was lucky. Worth the risk. He pushed himself up, dusting his hands as he stepped onto the road, and spread his arms wide. “Good morning!”
The effect was immediate. Half a dozen guards wheeled their mounts, drawing weapons.
“Who’s there?” one barked.
Evan raised both hands, palms open, though his stance remained loose, coiled, ready if things went sour. “A traveler,” he called back, pitching his voice calm. “Just need to know where yer wagons are bound.”
A man rode forward—the merchant leader at a guess as he was dressed finer than the rest, though with the same guarded look in his eyes. “Edinburgh,” he said sharply. “Why? What’s it to ye?”
Evan opened his mouth to answer, already thinking through the best way to spin it, when movement flickered at his side.
“Thank God!” Ruby’s voice rang out, clear as a bell. She clambered up the bank, skirts snagging, and before Evan could grab her, walked towards the armed men. “We’re trying to get to Edinburgh too. Can you take us with you?”
Evan’s jaw clenched. Did the fool woman ever think before opening her mouth?
True, the merchant caravan would be perfect cover for their journey, allowing them to blend in and disappear from prying eyes, but that didn’t mean she should go blurting their business to anyone that would listen!
He inched his hand closer to his dagger, ready if things should go bad.
The guards exchanged looks, the merchant leader narrowing his eyes. His gaze flicked from Evan to Ruby and back again, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Passengers slow us down,” he said at last. “We’ve no room for strays unless they’ve coin.”
Evan’s stomach sank. Of course. He’d suspected this would come, but he’d hoped—just for a breath—that Ruby’s wide-eyed plea might soften the man. Of course not. Merchants didn’t deal in kindness.
“We can pay,” Ruby said quickly. “I’m sure we can find something.” She began rummaging in her clothing.
He cursed inwardly. Aye, he had payment—but not for this. Ah, damn it. With a resigned sigh, he reached into his cloak, fingers closing around the cool weight of the locket. The bloody thing glimmered when he drew it out, the sun catching on the gold. The merchant’s eyes sharpened.
“This’ll cover our passage,” Evan said, holding it out flat in his palm.
His tone was steady, but inside he burned.
That locket was supposed to buy him breathing space once they reached Edinburgh—somewhere to stay, maybe bribes to grease the right palms, enough coin to keep him hidden until he could figure out his next move.
The merchant leaned forward in his saddle, considering. “Aye,” he said, extending his hand. “A fair price.”
Ruby’s brow furrowed. She glanced at Evan, her lips parting as if to protest, but she said nothing. Evan dropped the locket into the merchant’s waiting hand, feeling the last thread of his plans unravel.
“Done,” the man said briskly, tucking it away. “I’m Duncan Fraser and this is my caravan. Keep out of the way, and dinna bring trouble on us.” He nodded to his guards, and the line began to move forward once more. “We’ll be in the capital in a few days.”
Ruby shot Evan a look—something between relief and reproach—but he ignored it, jaw tense, glancing around at the huge train of people he was now lumbered with.
Oh aye, Ruby Douglas was trouble all right.
RUBY WALKED IN SILENCE beside Evan, her skirts brushing against the long grass at the edge of the road.
The caravan creaked and rattled ahead, everyone moving with the ease of people who had done this a hundred times before.
She tried to focus on them—their steady pace, the reassuring clop of horses’ hooves and the armed men that kept them safe—but her thoughts kept circling back to the glint of gold she’d seen in the merchant’s hand.
Her locket.
Well, not hers anymore, technically. It had been Daniel’s gift to her—a promise of a future that had shattered so completely she still felt the shards pricking at her heart whenever she thought of it.
She had told herself she was glad to part with it, that she wanted nothing of Daniel’s lies near her skin.
And yet, when Evan had handed it over, something had twisted inside her.
She glanced at him. His jaw was clenched, his eyes fixed ahead with that restless wariness that seemed to cling to him. He didn’t say a word, and his silence made her uneasy.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she murmured.