by Byrne, Julia
He broke off, going very still. “God damn their renegade souls to hell,” he swore softly.
Nell went cold. “What is it?”
Without answering, Rafe drew the bow Richard had given him from its deerhide cover and reached over his shoulder for an arrow. “Get ready to ride as if all the fiends of hell are on your tail, sweetheart.”
He nocked the arrow and took aim at the point where the horsemen were gradually reappearing. He waited, not moving, keeping Samson still by the pressure of his thighs alone. Then, as the last man came into view, he gently released the arrow and watched it find its mark seconds later.
“Go!” he yelled, and slapped Rufus on the rump.
Clinging with hands and knees, Nell obeyed, urging Rufus into a gallop. Behind and below them she heard faint shouts and knew they’d been seen, but she didn’t look back. Beside her, Rafe kept pace, riding easily, one hand guiding Samson, his bow in the other.
“Where are we going?” she shouted, the wind whipping the words from her mouth.
“We have to get off this cliff while they’re scrambling for cover and wondering what’s happening,” he yelled back. “There are only a couple of paths safe enough for the horses. If they get to them before we do, we’re stuck, but if we reach lower ground we can dig in and fight.”
“Fight? But they didn’t know we were up here,” she shrieked. “Why did you shoot?”
The way suddenly became steeper as the land dipped and she was forced to concentrate on keeping Rufus’s head up as he slithered on his hocks.
“Easy,” Rafe commanded. “We’ll make it. See that formation of rocks yonder, where the valley opens out? That’s where we’ll make a stand.”
“And then what?” She was still yelling, fear and anger combining to shred any attempt at control.
“Then we’ll see if our chances have improved. That was Ned I shot. Without him, the other two outlaws might back off and we’ll have only seven to cope with.”
Only seven?
Nell fixed her gaze on the rocks several hundred yards distant and halfway up a sloping hillside, and rode as she had never ridden before in her life. She would worry about fights and how the outlaws came into the picture later.
They hit level ground and Rafe urged Samson to a faster pace. Rufus followed gallantly, but by the time they came to a plunging halt both horses were breathing hard from the final uphill dash, and Rufus’s sides were dark with sweat.
Rafe leapt from the saddle, yanking his sword free of its scabbard before he hit the ground. “Get the horses over there between those standing stones,” he ordered, as she dismounted on shaky legs. “Then come back here and keep your head down.”
She obeyed, fuming.
“Why are we doing this?” she demanded when she returned to Rafe’s side. He was waiting, half-hidden by a stone that stood shoulder high. They were surrounded by other rocks of varying shapes and sizes, piled one on top of the other. Several more boulders were scattered about the hillside, the crest of which stretched in a long ridge that joined the cliff on the other side of the gorge.
Rafe’s dark brows were set in a frowning line as he examined the crest and the narrow entrance to the valley.
“Well?”
“Nay, ’tis not well,” he said. “I can pick off the first two, mayhap three, men to come through that gap in the hills, but the others will dive for cover. We’ll be safe from fire from that direction, but there’s nothing to stop one or two of them circling around on the other side of that ridge. You’ll have to watch the rocks behind us, princess, and yell the second you see anyone.”
She ground her teeth. “That is not what I meant.”
He shifted his gaze from the valley entrance to her face. “For God’s sake, think, Nell. You’ve been alone with me for two full days and three nights. What do you think your cousin will do to you if you fall into his hands?”
“There was little danger of that happening until you fired that arrow and announced our presence,” she yelled, waving her arms about in frustration at his reasoning.
“That might be true if Tom hadn’t met up with Ned and the others.” He went back to watching the gap, half-leaning against the boulder, an arrow nocked but pointing earthward. His sword was propped beside him, its naked blade gleaming silver in the afternoon light. “I wager Tom or his men heard talk about the fair and started asking questions. And Ned was none too happy about losing a leader who helped him to easy money and then told him to leave. Put those two circumstances together and what do you get?”
She stayed silent.
“I’ll tell you,” he continued. “You get an angry outlaw who knew when we were leaving the camp and our general direction. And you get him meeting up with a man who was probably having your description cried around the town and offering money for any information. Not only that—” His gaze flashed swiftly to her face. “Ned knew the location of Richard’s camp. He could have betrayed him.”
Her breath caught. “Do you think he’s done so?” She slumped against the boulder as Rafe’s words sank in, feeling sick. She was to blame for this. If anything happened to Bess and Richard and the others ’twould be her fault.
“I went to the fair because I wanted to help,” she murmured brokenly. “I didn’t mean…”
Rafe crossed the small space between them, captured her face with his free hand, and kissed her, quick and hard. “Nay, I don’t think Ned went that far,” he stated, looking into her startled eyes for a moment.
He returned to his post and took up his watchful stance again. “Ned also has a price on his head, sweetheart. ’Tis safer for him to seek revenge against us by joining up with your cousin than by betraying Richard.”
“But now he won’t do either.” She looked at Rafe, standing completely still, the bow in his hands, waiting like the predator he was. “Will you kill the other two?”
“Aye.”
And that was all she needed to know. He would kill her cousin and his henchmen, too, if ’twas necessary to keep her safe.
“I’m glad I’m with you,” she whispered.
He smiled at her, the swift, slashing grin of a man prepared to face any danger. “Don’t worry, princess. I’ve been in worse corners than this. We’ll be all right. If I can injure your cousin we’ll be rid of the danger for good. Without him, his men have no reason to continue the chase.”
The words barely left his mouth when she heard the thundering hooves of several horses. The riders burst through the valley entrance and reined in sharply, milling about as they looked over the apparently empty land.
Why didn’t Rafe fire, she wondered. The men were little more than a hundred yards away, well within range of his longbow, and were clearly arguing about their course of action. She craned further around the base of her rock and spied Tom in the middle of the group. One of the men pointed to the rocks and said something and she ducked back again.
“Those two outlaws are still with them,” she observed, trying not to sound as terrified as she felt.
“So I see. Your cousin must have offered them a tempting bait.”
For some reason his calm answer pulled her already straining nerves tighter. “I thought you said outlaws take care of their own.”
“Aye, well, apparently Ned and his cohorts have never heard of that particular philosophy. That’s right,” he murmured, before she could respond. “Just a little closer. Another step—”
He straightened, brought the bow up and fired in a movement so fast it was blinding. A scream of pain rent the air. Before it died away, he sent three more arrows after the first.
Stunned by his speed, Nell could only crouch in the grass, listening to the sounds of yells and the neighing of panicked horses as their riders leapt for whatever cover they could find on the exposed hillside.
“Fiend seize it!” Rafe wheeled back behind the boulder and reached for another arrow.”
“What?”
“I killed one of those outlaws and hit two of your cous
in’s men, but Tom managed to flee back to cover.”
“Leaving his men?”
“Don’t sound so shocked. A man who hires assassins to do his work is nothing but a coward. Stay down! Three of them have bows. When nothing else starts flying from here, we’re going to have a hail of arrows falling around us.”
Several arrows went whistling overhead even as he spoke.
Rafe scowled after them. “Damn it. I wish their aim was better.”
She gaped at him. “You want us to be hit?”
“Of course not. I want more ammunition.”
Holy saints! That was why he’d stopped firing when Tom retreated. He couldn’t afford to fire an arrow unless he was sure ’twould find its mark.
“We could sit here for hours,” she realized aloud. Dismay trembled in her voice. “No one out there is going to move so you can shoot him.”
“Tom’s patience will run out before long,” Rafe said with a quick, reassuring smile. “As for his cowardice, it might work in our favor.”
“How?”
“Men won’t risk their lives for a craven who shows he’ll abandon them to save his own skin. Not only that. He has a man with him behind that gap, but he hasn’t given an order for covering fire so the others can retreat.”
That left six men in the open, she thought. Two of whom might only be wounded, not dead.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“Wait. ’Tis all we can do for the moment. Except pick off anyone foolish enough to show himself.”
“And if those men out there crawl closer without making a target of themselves?”
He grimaced. “I was hoping you wouldn’t think of that, princess. Let’s just say I need more arrows than I have to pin them down and persuade them to change their minds.”
“Nell!”
Rafe’s head whipped around as Tom’s voice bellowed across the space between them. He risked a quick glance past the boulder to make sure the men flattened in the grass hadn’t moved.
“Nell? Can you speak? Can you answer me?”
“Nice touch.” Rafe’s mouth curved in a sardonic smile. “He’s trying to put the idea in his men’s minds that I have you under duress.”
“Won’t they learn our exact position if I answer?”
“They saw me when I fired at them, sweetheart. Answer him, but keep your eyes on those rocks above us while I watch the front. This could be meant to distract us.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m not a prisoner Tom,” she shouted. “You might as well go back home. I don’t need you.”
From the corner of her eye she saw Rafe grin. “Good girl. Make him angry enough to forget caution.”
She certainly seemed to have done that. Tom’s voice when he yelled again held a distinct edge.
“Nell? You’re a fool if you stay with Beaudene. He’s a killer, a murderer. He killed the man my father hired for extra protection.”
“You mean the man your father hired to kill me!” Nell shouted back. “I saw the cut rope, Tom.”
“’Twas Beaudene’s plan to use the horse, but when it didn’t work he decided to make some money out of you. Why do you think he let those outlaws capture you? They’re his friends.”
She flicked a quick glance at Rafe. He wasn’t smiling now. His eyes were narrowed, his face tense. Did he think she would believe anything Tom said?
“Ned told me what happened,” Tom went on when she didn’t answer. “How you nursed them. He was going to the sheriff to free you when he found me instead.”
“You’re a fool if you think I’ll believe that,” she cried huskily. Her voice was getting hoarse from all the yelling. She cleared her throat. “I was there. I know what—Rafe!”
Her warning scream echoed through the rocks as Rafe turned and fired. The shadow that had suddenly loomed above her wavered then became a man. He pitched forward, hit the rocks, and bounced off to roll down the hillside.
At the same time, a series of battle cries told her the others were taking advantage of the situation to pin Rafe down so they could rush his cover. She heard him cursing steadily as he returned fire, but her gaze was fixed on the body that was resting against a boulder a short distance below them. The man didn’t move. Beside him lay his longbow and a quiver of arrows.
She glanced back at Rafe. Arrows were no longer coming at them, but there was a raw graze along his jaw.
“You’ve been hit!”
“’Tis nothing. Stay where you are.”
“But—”
“The arrow was spent, Nell. It rebounded off one of the rocks and just caught me. ’Tis not even bleeding.”
“Did they get any closer?”
“Aye. Damn their eyes. I hit one or two, but I couldn’t get a clear shot without getting killed myself. On the other hand, your cousin is now alone behind that cliff, so they can’t try that diversion again.”
But they might try something else.
She looked at the number of arrows in Rafe’s quiver. Five. Not enough to stave off another attack. Not even enough to kill each man singly if the wounded could still fight.
She bit her lip, her gaze returning to the body wedged against a rock. From where he stood, Rafe couldn’t see it, but it was only about forty feet away. If she moved very fast, she could reach it and grab the quiver. She wouldn’t think about getting shot. It was her fault they were in this mess, and if Rafe was wounded or killed because of her she wouldn’t be able to bear the pain and guilt.
She took a deep breath and got to her feet. “I’m going after those arrows,” she said quietly.
He didn’t turn his head. “Don’t be a fool. They’re scattered all over the— Fiend seize it!”
Nell was already racing down the hill, staying as low as she could. Cursing, Rafe leapt into the open and fired arrow after arrow, his aim so deadly that one man jerked and went still and the others flattened themselves even further.
“Run!” he roared as she grabbed the quiver and turned back. He caught her arm as she reached him and flung her behind the rocks, hurling himself after her.
She lay there gasping for breath. “They didn’t shoot back,” she panted. “I thought they would.”
He came up on one knee beside her, wrapped his hands around her arms and shook her furiously. “By God, I ought to—” He stopped, crushed her against him and held her hard. A second later she was free. With one searing glance, Rafe got to his feet, shrugged off his empty quiver and snatched up the one she’d retrieved.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Finish this.” His mouth set hard. He turned away, nocked an arrow, and took careful aim.
But not at the men still trapped in the open.
Nell scrambled to her feet to watch. The arrow soared high, seeming to touch the clouds, before plummeting to earth just short of the place where Tom was hiding.
“Curse it!” Rafe fired again, and again the arrow soared skyward. “Go,” he muttered. “Fly!”
A startled yell echoed from the gorge, followed by a horse’s angry squeal. Tom’s stallion burst into the open, plunging and bucking, completely out of control.
“You hit it!” she exclaimed, incredulous.
“Not at this range. I couldn’t even see it.” Rafe’s voice was tight with grim satisfaction. “But that shot was near enough to panic the brute into running, which is what I wanted.”
He fired again, sending the next missile straight past the horse’s face just as Tom got its head up.
The stallion reared, pawing the air, then put its head down and went into a frenzy of bucking. Tom managed to hang on for a few seconds before he was sent flying. He landed with a sickening thud and lay still, one arm bent at a sharp angle.
“Stay here,” Rafe ordered. Picking up his sword, he sheathed it and strode out of their shelter, readying his bow as he went.
Nell waited until he was several yards ahead, then followed.
The men on the ground had scrambled out of
the stallion’s path when the horse bolted after throwing Tom, apparently considering the greater risk lay in being trampled rather than shot. They watched Rafe’s approach with varying degrees of wariness.
He stopped a few feet away and looked them over. Two appeared unhurt, one had an arrow through his leg, another was unconscious but breathing, and Tom was doubled over, groaning. The rest weren’t going to move again short of a miracle.
“On your feet,” he ordered the two uninjured men. “Leave your weapons on the ground. You have five minutes to pick up your dead and wounded and start back to Langley. Make sure you don’t turn around. If I even suspect you’re following us, there will be no one left to see that Master Tom gets home in one piece.”
“Bastard!” Tom struggled to sit up, his eyes bloodshot and glaring. “You won’t get away with this. My father will go to the King.”
“Let him,” Rafe said. “You gave yourself away the minute you mentioned that rope in connection with the stallion. Something you wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t planned it, since the rope in question is in my possession.”
“We only intended to delay Nell’s journey,” Tom muttered, his face sullen. “But the stubborn jade has the devil’s own luck. ’Twas her father’s fault. He shouldn’t have taken her from us. And now my arm’s broke. I can’t ride.”
“A pity it wasn’t your neck,” Rafe bit out. “’Twould be no more than you deserve after ordering your men to open fire at the risk of hitting a girl to whom you no longer have any right.”
“More right than you have, Beaudene, as you’ll discover.” Tom’s mouth twisted with spiteful satisfaction. “My father sent a rider direct to Hadleigh. How do you think fitzWarren will react when he learns his precious daughter has been alone with you all this time? She’ll be marked as your wh—”
Rafe drew back his foot and silenced Tom with a brutal kick to the jaw, nearly knocking him senseless.
There was movement to his right and he wheeled, bringing his bow up. “Don’t try it,” he said, his eyes slitted with menace.
The men backed off. Looking as sullen as their master they got to work rounding up horses. They were ready to depart a few minutes later. Tom was the last to be helped into the saddle.