Chapter 1

© Copyright 2004 by Sara Keprensk



Lady Annabeth glanced once more over her shoulder and then urged her horse into a gallop. It was official. She had left the country where she had lived all her life and had entered the hostile land of Scotland.

�I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.� Annabeth comforted herself with the familiar verse as Destrier took her through more and more of the foreign land.

Her stomach rumbled loudly and she wondered for the hundred and fiftieth time if leaving the Castle without food was the right thing to do.

�Thou shalt not steal.� She said aloud, needing to hear the words to convince herself that she wouldn�t have felt any better if she had helped herself to one of the succulent meat pies that were stored on the top shelf of the Baron�s pantry.

Her mouth watered as she thought of the delicious food and her stomach rumbled again. A wave of dizziness swept over her but she forced herself to keep going, knowing that the Baron would be not far behind her.

Her one consolation was that he would search the whole of England before setting foot in Scotland. She had a twelve hour head start as it was but he would still catch up with her sooner or later. And when he found her she would be worse off than she had been when she had left.

She was so busy contemplating her punishment when she was discovered that she didn�t notice the group of warriors until she was nearly upon them. She just looked up and they were there, right in front of her. They didn�t look very happy. They were all staring at Lady Annabeth.

�Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.� She whispered, drawing her horse to a stop several feet in front of the scowling men, knowing that she would never be able to get past them.

�Where are you aiming on getting?� the leader of the group asked loudly, his brogue so thick that Annabeth only just caught what he was saying.

She stared at him, not having a clue how to answer him. Her silence did nothing to soften the glares that all seven of the big men were aiming at her. She swallowed nervously and tried to calm her wildly beating heart as the man who had addressed her persuaded his horse to step towards her.

�I asked you a question lass,� he growled. �I expect an answer. Where are you heading?�

�I�I�I don�t know. Scotland, somewhere in Scotland.� She stammered.

�Scotland�s a fair size lass.� One of the other warriors chortled and the leader turned round to glare at him.

�I just needed to get away from England. Now, if you�ll excuse me, I need to go a bit further and you�re blocking my way.� Annabeth fought another wave of nausea and faintness as she picked up the reins.

The leader of the group stared at her. �Are you feeling all right lass?� he asked.

�Of course I�m all right.� Annabeth tried to sit up straight but she slumped forward instead.

�Nay, you�re not feeling well at all,� he drew his horse up alongside Destrier. �Have you never heard the verse �Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour�? When did you last eat, lass?�

�Last evening,� Annabeth replied weakly. �Or was it the evening before that?�

�A long time ago,� He said shortly. �You�ll eat with us, lass.� He beckoned his men forward and dismounted. His hands spanned her waist as he lifted her easily out of her saddle and lowered her to the ground. His fingers dug into her back and she cried out in pain. Twas the truth that she had almost forgotten the pain in her flight.

�Did I hurt you lass?� he asked, surprised. �I barely even touched you.�

�Don�t let it worry you.� She murmured, moving away from him and sinking down onto the hard ground.

One of the warriors spread a plaid out on the ground next to her and invited her to sit on it. She gratefully scooted onto the thick material and thanked the man profusely.

�Tis the truth I wouldn�t have done it if I had had the choice.� He muttered, glaring at her and sitting on another plaid some distance away.

Annabeth looked away from him, unwilling to show him that his words had gone straight into her heart. She looked around at the other warriors and saw the same expression of hostility in each of their gazes.

�What have I done to deserve your contempt?� she asked faintly, staring at her feet.

�You�re English.� Their leader replied, shrugging his shoulders as though the answer should have been obvious to her.

�You�re Scottish but I don�t stare at you as if the very sight of you were repulsive to me,� Annabeth said hotly. �Have you never heard the verse �Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself�?�

�The English are not our neighbours,� another of the warriors said coldly. �The English are our enemies.�

��But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.��

�Do you love us, lass?� The leader asked curiously.

�I love you the way that my Father loves you,� Annabeth replied. �And my name is Annabeth, not �lass�.�

�We shall call you what it pleases us to call you, lass.�

�Then I shall not answer. You know my name, it would be polite of you to use it and to tell me yours in reply.�

�You�re too contrary for your own good.� The leader tossed her a hunk of bread and a triangle of cheese. �Now eat and then sleep, Lady Annabeth.�

�I am not going to spend the night here.� Annabeth said decidedly.

�Aye, you are,� one of the warriors countered. �You cannay be riding across Scotland in the darkness. Nobody should be riding at this time of night.�

�Will you be staying here tonight?� Annabeth asked.

�Tis the truth we will be.� The leader wrapped his plaid around him and laid down on the hard ground.

�Then I�m definitely going.� Annabeth rose slowly to her feet and made her way over to Destrier.

�You can sleep on the other side of the fire if you want to,� the leader leapt out of his plaid and had hold of her elbow before she could move. �But you�re not going gallivanting around the country in the dark.�

�I will not stay the night with seven men, especially when they all despise me for something that I have no control over. I am very thankful to you for the food but I will not stay. I won�t stay with people who won�t even tell me their names.� Tears came to Annabeth�s eyes and she brushed them away angrily.

�Robert,� the big man pointed to himself and then let his finger drift to the other warriors as he named them. �Aaron, Alex, Owen, Liam, Graham and Patrick. Now sleep.� He shoved her down onto a plaid near the fire that Patrick was building.

Annabeth overbalanced and fell onto her back. She cried out and rolled quickly onto her front, pulling the plaid round her and her cloak up over her head again. She glanced up at Robert to see him watching her carefully.

�How did you hurt your back?� he demanded.

�That, sir, is none of your business.� She said haughtily.

�Nay, tis his business,� Patrick protested. �He�s Laird and you�re under his protection while you�re with us.�

�What a load of balderdash!� Annabeth laughed. �I�m not your Laird�s responsibility.�

�You will tell me how you hurt yourself.� He commanded.

�Whatever you say.� Annabeth stubbornly clamped her mouth shut and closed her eyes, refusing to say anymore.

�Are you going to allow her to defy you, Laird?� Alex asked in surprise after a couple of minutes of silence.

�For the present,� Robert replied, returning to his plaid. �She�s English, she doesn�t know the Scottish way, we have to make allowances for that. She�ll tell me in time.�

�I wouldn�t be laying my word on that if I were you.� Annabeth muttered, stretching out on her side and waiting impatiently for the men to go to sleep.

She couldn�t stay with them. The Baron would be catching up with her soon and she was in no way hidden or protected. She would wait until the men were sleeping and the moon was up. Then she would leave.

* * * * * * * *

Robert woke in the night with the feeling that something had changed since he went to sleep. He sat up and listened to the sound of hoof beats growing gradually fainter. He looked across the fire to where the English woman was sleeping�and saw only an empty plaid. A quick glance towards the horses told him that the fool woman had left. What did she think she was doing?

Robert threw his plaid off from around him and ran for his horse. He would have to follow the exasperating woman.

He had no doubt that, with his horse�s superior strength, he would catch Annabeth up in no time, especially with the help of the full moon, but every minute he spent in pursuit of her was a minute that could have been spent sleeping and conserving his strength.

Robert muttered under his breath as he urged his horse to catch up with the cloaked figure that he could just see in the distance by the light of the moon. When he finally caught her she would hear his displeasure.

�What do you think you�re doing?� he yelled, grabbing hold of her horse�s reins and pulling both horses to a stop.

Annabeth�s cloak fell back from her head and her eyes blazed in the moonlight as she glared at him. �I am not your prisoner, I can go where I wish when I wish to go there.�

�That attitude could get you killed,� Robert wrested the horses to face back the way they had come and urged them to start walking. �Here in Scotland we all protect our land. You are on my land and if you are seen without me you could be seen as a trespasser and therefore as an enemy. Some men wouldn�t take the time to notice that you are a woman before shooting.�

�I will have to take my chances with that.� Annabeth tried to detach his hand from the reins.

�Why are you so desperate to get away from us?� Robert asked curiously. �Surely you aren�t so put off by my men�s dislike of the English as to risk your life just to get away from them?�

�I am not trying to get away from your men, though it is true that I don�t care for any of them at all, or you, but I must keep moving otherwise he will catch up with me.�

�Who is he and why is he wanting to �catch up� with you?�

�As I have said, my business is not your business. It would not benefit you to know and it could be detrimental to me to tell you.� Annabeth drew her cloak back over her head.

�Whoever it is who is following you will have to stop to sleep too and even if he didn�t he wouldn�t come near my warriors. You are safer with us than you would be on your own.�

�You underestimate the Baron, your sleeping soldiers would not deter him from plucking me from the other side of the fire.� Annabeth shook violently at the thought, an action that wasn�t lost on Robert.

He stopped the horses and laid one hand on her arm. �Whoever this man is who scares you, we will not let him harm you. If he is wise he will not be riding now anyway, night riders are regarded with a great deal of suspicion in Scotland. We are on my land, while you are with me you will be protected.�

�I will not drag you into my problems. You have a clan to take of, you don�t need to worry about me.�

�I will decide what I will worry about, Lady Annabeth. I am not going to leave you to escape this Baron on your own. God didn�t put us on this earth to face our problems on our own.� Robert lifted Annabeth down from her horse and set her on her feet, keeping his hands at her waist.

�You confuse me, Laird,� Annabeth said, futilely trying to pry his hands away from her. �You�re determined to protect me but you don�t know why I�m running from the Baron. How do you know that I haven�t stolen something from him or killed his father or kidnapped his son?�

�I can�t imagine that you would be able to do anything like that. You�ve been quoting Bible verses since we met and I�m sure that you know the Ten Commandments. You haven�t done anything wrong, have you?� Robert led her over to the fire.

�No, you�re right, I haven�t.�

�Then you have nothing to fear. God will not let any harm come to you�and neither will we. You will stay with us now.� Robert shook his warriors awake and watched them blink away their sleep.

�Surely it isn�t time to be leaving yet, Laird.� Graham groaned and rolled onto his back.

�Nay but the Lady Annabeth needs protecting. Get up and move into a circle round her.� Robert commanded.

�You mean to tell me that you disturbed my sleep just for that Englishwoman?� Owen exclaimed, disgusted.

�Mind your manners, Owen,� Robert said in a low, threatening voice. �Anyone who is part of the McAllen clan does everything in his power to protect all women, including English women. I would hate to lose such a fine warrior over such a trivial matter.�

�You would send me out from your clan for the sake of the Englishwoman?� Owen was incredulous.

�No, not for the sake of Lady Annabeth but for the sake of the clan. Every McAllen defends those weaker than himself and each McAllen obeys the commands of his Laird without question. You have defied my authority by questioning my command. Lady Annabeth is under my protection, which means that she is also under your protection. If you do not like it that way, you may leave the clan.� Robert spoke softly but firmly.

�I do not wish to split up your clan,� Annabeth walked away from the fire. �I will leave, it would be better for everyone involved.�

�You will not leave!� he boomed, striding towards her and catching her hand. You are in trouble and you need protection. My warriors are rude and need to learn some manners. I do not wish to see any of them leave but if they can�t treat a woman properly I don�t want them in my clan.�

�Laird, I don�t want to cause any trouble. You and your warriors were fine before I came along. If I leave you can be that way again.�

�Nay, Lady Annabeth, it will not be the same. I know now that Owen has no manners and that will always make things different. And, though you may not believe me, I do possess a conscience and it would not let me alone if I allowed you to ride out of here on your own.� He laid a plaid on the grass and told her to sleep.

Annabeth obediently wrapped the thick material round her and stretched out on her side. She kept her eyes open until all the warriors were settled down and then she relaxed, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

Just as she was dropping off to sleep she heard Robert�s voice drift over her as he called to Owen. �One last thing before you go to sleep again, Owen. You owe the lass an apology for your rudeness.�

Silence fell for a moment before Robert spoke again. �I�m waiting, Owen.�

�The lass is asleep, Laird. There�s no point in giving an apology she can�t hear.� Owen called back sullenly.

�Nay, she�s awake. Apologise to her now.� Robert spoke sharply.

�I�m sorry for my rudeness, lass.� Owen said, barely loud enough for Annabeth to hear.

�Do you accept his apology?� Robert asked, watching her carefully from his vantage point near the dwindling fire.

Annabeth nodded almost imperceptibly and promptly fell asleep, very much aware of his eyes on her.

�We�ll guard her with our lives.� Robert told his warriors, his voice brooking no argument.

�What are we guarding her from?� Patrick asked bluntly.

�If she would tell us that our work would be a lot easier,� Robert sighed. �I will find out tomorrow.�

�I don�t think that she will want to tell us.� Alex observed.

�She will tell me. She�ll have to tell me. She will have no choice.�


HEY! and don't forget to e-mail Sara Keprensk if you have a comment! She would really like to hear from you.





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