The Scot's Secret - Cecelia Mecca Page 0,86

coin to keep himself from harm.

“Pay us in coin or in fur. You decide.”

“I’ve not got more than I earned at Kenshire.”

So he didn’t have a bribe. How did he plan to stay alive?

Clara moved around the side of the wagon and held her finger to her lips when the boy looked down to her. The poor lad was terrified.

“Please,” the merchant begged. “My sister and her husband are both dead. The boy only has me to look after him. Without that fur—”

As soon as the second man dismounted from his nag, she moved quickly, taking advantage of the opportunity before her. Clara kicked the lance from the first man’s hand and held her thin sword to his back.

“You have choices,” she grumbled. “Leave us in peace and rob some other unsuspecting victim, or lose your partner for a few pelts of fur.”

She only had one chance to get it right, to convince him her words were true. Her training, it seemed, had not deserted her.

“Move,” she muttered to the man, who smelled like a mixture of dirt and dung, “and die.”

He could overpower her easily, but she wouldn’t give him the chance to learn that.

“I’ve no wish to see anyone die,” the second man said.

It wasn’t at all what Clara had expected to hear.

“Can’t overlook the opportunity for extra coin,” he continued. “But we’ll be on our way.”

This was the most dangerous part. Once she took the sword away, she would be vulnerable.

She tried to think of something to say, hoping for some time for the merchants to arm themselves. Even an old man and a boy would know enough to carry weapons. She peered around her captive to see the old man did indeed hold a knife in his hands.

But it would provide very scant protection against these men unless they truly believed her a threat.

She’d been in difficult situations before, but this was one of the trickiest. Not even a full day had passed, and her life was already on the line.

Alex and Geoffrey were forced to slow down without much moonlight to guide them. They rode side by side, their horses kicking up pebbles and dust. At least it had not rained in a few days, making the road easily passable.

Unable to calm himself, Alex found himself thinking of all the horrific things that could befall Clara on her journey.

“Tell me about your brothers,” he said to Geoffrey, hoping the conversation would help distract him.

“You’ve met Bryce, of course,” Geoffrey said. “He’s always been the quiet one.”

“Quiet,” Alex chuckled. “I suppose that’s one way to describe him.”

In truth, Bryce glared more than he spoke. His silence was unnerving at times, and Alex still wondered how Catrina could have fallen in love with such a man. She was his opposite in so many ways, and yet there was no denying they were happy together.

“And Neill. . .” He was quiet for a moment. Alex allowed him time to think. “He takes after his eldest brother in his good looks and charm.”

Alex laughed aloud then. “I doubt that.”

Geoffrey ignored him.

“But he’s as headstrong as Emma. He oft acts before he thinks.”

Alex thought it was a good description of Geoffrey’s sister as he knew her.

“But I see Bryce in him too. Though I believe he uses silence more to his advantage than anything else. With us, he’s never too shy to give an opinion.”

“That sounds like Catrina,” Alex said.

“A fine woman,” Geoffrey complimented his sister. “Bryce could not have found a better one.”

“She is very much like the mother I knew from my childhood.”

Geoffrey didn’t answer, and Alex could have kicked himself. No matter how friendly they became, the subject of Geoffrey’s parents would never be a comfortable one for them, and he did not wish his. . . friend any discomfort.

“As is Emma,” Geoffrey finally said. “That my mother was killed attempting to attack one of your men was not a surprise to me.”

There was no malice or condemnation in his voice. Alex didn’t know how he managed such a thing.

“I feel sorry for the man who attempts to tame that hellion,” Geoffrey said. “I love my sister dearly, but she’s never once listened to anyone. Perhaps with the exception of our father. But I’m not the only one who couldn’t control her. My mother and my aunt and uncle had no better luck.”

Alex thought again of Catrina. Of Clara and Sara and all the other strong women he knew. “Maybe you should all stop trying.”

“Ha!” Geoffrey slowed