"Aye, she has said the same to me. By the way, how did you get back inside the wall?"
Rachel suddenly remembered she was still mad at him. "Did you know it was a horse? Of course you did, you tricked me!"
He defiantly narrowed his eyes, "Do you mean to say, Rachel MacGreagor, that you did not know it was a horse?"
She got to her feet. "I..."
"Of course you did. It is just as I thought. You will use any excuse to get close to me."
She couldn't leave fast enough and didn't realize her fists were still clenched until she was almost home.
Connor sighed. The war with Rachel was back on, he guessed.
*
It was at last dark enough to slip outside the wall. This time Rachel didn't have to hold the Ferguson plaids out of the water to keep them from getting wet and swimming the moat was much easier. Just as she promised, she was careful to take the long way around to the loch and then come back toward the Keep.
It was slow going. She held daggers in both hands, expected men to be everywhere and stopped often to see if she could hear them breathe, smell them or feel any movement. She saw no one and moved on to the next hiding place. Again and again, she moved closer to the Keep and still she saw no men. If they were there, they were very good at keeping quiet.
What she could hear was the woman and the boys talking in Gaelic. The six and seven-year old boys were complaining of hunger and wanted to go home. The woman seemed kind and told them as soon as the bridge was down they could eat. The boys were not convinced the bridge was coming down anytime soon.
Rachel moved closer and located a large rock with bushes near it not too far from the road. She put her daggers away and got ready to catch the boys. Then she took a deep breath and remembered to speak English. "Boys, run to me...keep running...follow the sound of my voice...run this way...hurry." She could hear them coming, grabbed the oldest boy first and then caught the younger. With lightning speed, she hid them between the bushes and the rock. Then she crouched down beside them and prayed no one could hear the way her thundering heart was beating. "Be very quiet," she whispered.
She fully expected to hear warriors coming and held her breath. Instead, she only heard the voice of the woman. The Ferguson woman walked to the edge of the forest and tried to see them, but it was too dark. "Smudges, tell the woman with the blue stone we are well."