Highland Promise by Hannah Howell

noise and activity here even for him to abide with calm. If I lead him through the crowds there will be less chance of trouble.”
    After Eric helped Bethia dismount, he gave her a hand in shifting James’s sling from the back of her body to the front. She fell into step behind him as he began to slowly make his way down the street. James’s soft curls brushed against her chin again and again as he twisted his head back and forth, his eyes wide as he stared at all the people.
    The town was filled to bursting with people and animals; the noise of the sellers hawking their wares, people gossiping and arguing prices, and animals squealing was nearly deafening. It all made Bethia very uneasy. Such a crowd meant there may not be a room for them. It could also allow her enemies to slip close to them by using the crowds to hide themselves. So many people also meant a lot of eyes seeing her, Eric, and the child; thus a lot of people could point the way for William.
    “Mayhap we should just continue on to Dunnbea,” Bethia said, hurrying forward to walk by Eric’s side so that he could be sure to hear her over the noise.
    “I am nay sure we could make it ere night fell,” Eric replied.
    It was a small lie and, he felt, a harmless one. If they rode steadily, with only a little hurrying, they could reach Dunnbea while it was still light. He had no intention of rushing her back to her family, however. It might not be wise, considering the danger that lurked at their heels, but he wanted one more night, alone, with Bethia. He needed to strengthen the bond of passion between them, needed to reaffirm his possession of her. Once they reached Dunnbea, once she and James were safe behind those walls, he had to travel on to the MacMillans. Eric wanted to be sure he left behind a woman who knew exactly who she belonged to.
    He winced as he thought of his reason for seeking out the MacMillans, allies of Bethia’s clan. Not a word had been said about his quest since he had revealed the truth, and he was reluctant to bring the matter to the fore again. The fact that Bethia had become his lover eased his concern. She clearly had not turned away from him completely. Eric was not fool enough to think that the matter was settled, however. It just gave him hope that they could find a solution to the conflict between what he had to do and her feelings about the whole matter.
    “Oh, I didnae think it was that much farther away,” she said.
    “Ye have ne’er been here?” Eric thought that a little odd, for it was not so far from her home.
    “Nay, I ne’er left Dunnbea.”
    “Never?”
    “Nay.” She frowned up at him. “Why do ye sound so shocked?”
    “I would have thought ye would have traveled at least once to a village fair or market day or e’en to the keeps of your allies.”
    “Someone had to watch o’er Dunnbea when my parents and Sorcha left.”
    “Mayhaps that was true when ye were grown, but ye were left behind e’en when yewere a child?”
    Bethia did not like Eric’s questions. They required her to recall painful times, made her look too closely at things she had tried not to be resentful or angry about. It was still a struggle; anger and hurt were still too easily roused. Long ago she had dried her tears, buried her pain, and forced herself to accept her life. There had obviously been something about her that her parents could not accept, so she had become a dutiful daughter. She did not appreciate Eric chipping away at that facade.
    “I was a clumsy child,” she said, unable to keep all of her annoyance out of her voice. “Aye, and sickly too. ’Twas thought best if I stayed secure at Dunnbea.” She could tell by the look in his dark blue eyes that he found that a paltry explanation, but unable and unwilling to challenge his opinion, she simply looked away. “When I was older, they all felt that I was more use at Dunnbea, for at a young age, I took o’er most of my mother’s work. She is a delicate woman, ye