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Perhaps if she managed to steal away from Rob and return to Lachlan on her own, she’d prove herself to be courageous and strong.
    And pure. A woman who’d been defiled surely wouldn’t have the will to free herself.
    Her betrothed would realize she was worth far more than beeves and grain and bonds between clans. Elspeth Stewart was valuable, in and of herself.
    “Aye,” she said softly. “Let’s away.”

Chapter 4
    When Mad Rob decided to leave a place, he didn’t let anything slow him down. In the black cave, Elspeth couldn’t see her own hand when she held it before her face, but the MacLaren seemed to know exactly where he was going. The rope at her waist jerked her along to keep up with him as he led the stallion out.
    Once they cleared the cave’s mouth and stepped into the crisp, star-splashed night, Elspeth worked the knot at her waist, but it held firm. “Will ye no’ untie me?”
    “No. Hush now.”
    Rob climbed up on the rocks and surveyed the countryside, lying flat so as not to present a silhouette that might catch someone’s watchful eye.
    If there was anyone watching.
    Elspeth cocked an ear. Wind rustled through the heather down the valley. Small animals scurried to their burrows for the night. She startled when an owl screeched nearby, but she didn’t hear any sounds that might be attributed to a group of men.
    The search party must have given up for the night and camped in the rough, so they could look for her trail at first light. With any luck at all, she and her captor would stumble upon them in the dark.
    “Please untie me. I willna run,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back. A promise to a man like Rob MacLaren surely didn’t count. She’d run like a hind if she got half a chance.
    “I thank ye kindly for your parole, but no.” He slid down from the boulder and began inspecting the stallion’s hooves. “I’ll keep ye on a tether, lass.”
    “But…” Would the wicked man make her say it? “I need some privacy before we travel.”
    “It’s a long rope.” Rob didn’t even look up from adjusting the stallion’s girth. “There are bushes aplenty on the other side of the rocks.”
    She shot him a glare that should have burned off his eyebrows, but since he didn’t deign to look at her, he suffered no ill effects. Elspeth snorted at him, pulled the cloak he’d let her keep tighter around her, and stomped around the boulders. As soon as she was out of his sight, she bent down and picked at her hem, ripping off a small piece. She’d leave it draped on a bush for Lachlan to find.
    The rope at her waist drew taut, and she felt a tug.
    “Dinna try to work free, or I’ll have to come round there,” he called out. “And it may not be at a time of your liking if I do.”
    “I’d name ye a pig, Rob MacLaren, but t’would be an insult to swine everywhere,” she muttered as she relieved herself.
    She needn’t have worried. As she started back around the rock, he said, “Best ye give me a moment as well, unless ye’ve no wish to guard the innocence of your eyes.”
    He was gushing on the other side of the boulder, his stream loud enough to pass as the stallion’s. Then after a few moments, the rope at her waist jerked.
    “I assume that gentlemanly summons means it’s safe for me to return,” she said.
    “Safe? No’ exactly, but aye, come ahead, lass. Will ye be pleased to break your fast? I’ve a few bannocks and a rind of cheese.”
    She accepted the crusty bun and nibbled a bit on it. Then she decided to share the last bite with the stallion. If she intended to escape, taking Falin was her best chance.
    She held out the crust to the horse, keeping her palm flat. He nosed her cautiously then accepted her offering, his velvet lips and warm, sweet breath brushing her hand.
    But when she grasped his mane and tried to swing up onto his back, he shied away with a little kick. She stumbled backward, trying to avoid his hooves, and landed on her bottom while the