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pledged to return and marry. Her face had been a little brown for she’d always had a true English-rose complexion—but mayhap she had stained it with walnut juice. Some of the knights had used that ruse when trying to infiltrate the Saracen’s camp.
    His thoughts led him to the same conclusion; she and her companions were hiding from someone—someone who meant them harm. Zander watched the two horses and their riders move away and then let his horse wander down to the water’s edge. They had ridden hard and could afford to let their quarry go on a little. It had been easy enough to discover their route, for they had stopped in a nearby village to take water from the well and buy bread and cheese.
    Why would Elaine choose to ride with so few escorts? She must know that she was at the mercy of unscrupulous men. Even with her facestained she was lovely—and there were many that would want her dower lands. Why would her father allow it?
    Perhaps her father had died and she was at the mercy of some unscrupulous guardian.
    Of course! The solution came to him in a flash. She was hiding from someone who wished to force her into marriage and take her fortune for himself.
    Zander frowned. She needed his protection, but she had refused to trust a stranger, fearing that she would be led into a trap. He must either reveal himself to her—which he was reluctant to do yet—or he must follow behind and watch over her.
    He was not yet strong enough to fight for her himself, though Janvier would do his best if asked to lend his protection. Zander knew that when he sought revenge on his enemy he would need strong men to fight for him. He must recruit them—and they would soon be at the estate of his uncle, his mother’s brother, Sir Roderick Harvey. There they would find friends, but if he stayed with them he might lose sight of Elaine.
    ‘You must follow the lady and her companions,’ he told Janvier as he brought food and wine from their packhorse. ‘This night I shallstay with my uncle and follow in the morning with all the men I can muster.’
    ‘Leave you to travel alone?’ Janvier looked at him uneasily. ‘If you should faint again…’
    ‘I shall not, for I feel a little better. Give me some of Elaine’s herbs and I will brew them this night.’
    Janvier frowned. ‘You place much trust in a lady who would not trust you with her name or destination.’
    ‘I know where she goes. We have been heading steadily south-west all day. She means to try to reach her dower lands. I fear that rogues are pursuing her.’
    ‘It is your wish that I follow and do what I can to protect them?’
    ‘For the love you bear me, protect her whom I love if you can,’ Zander said. ‘In the morning we shall follow and in good time I dare say we shall come up with you.’
    ‘I am only one man, perhaps against many. Yet I will seek to do as you ask, my lord.’
    Zander frowned—he did not wish to lose his friend. ‘I think if this man desires her in marriage he will not seek to harm, only to capture—it may be best if you simply follow and observe. Should she fall prey to some rogue’s perfidy, follow her to see where he takes herand then come for me. I shall not be long behind you.’
    Janvier nodded. He lifted his flask and drank deeply. ‘If I believed it possible, I would help her, my lord—but I shall do as you order me.’
    Zander nodded. The two men clasped hands and set off in their different ways. Zander’s head was aching again, but he ignored it, determined to reach his uncle’s house before nightfall. His mother’s brother would do all he could to supply him with men he could trust—good fighting men who would stand by him.
    He had thought to wait until he reached his father’s lands, but now he had no choice. If Elaine was in danger, he must protect her somehow.
    Elaine glanced over her shoulder. She had an odd feeling that they had been followed from first light, when they left the barn that had sheltered them from