Page 8 of Heart of the Hunter (Band of Bastards #3)
“W hat’ve we got here?” The sneered taunt sent a ripple of gooseflesh over Anora’s skin.
Not long after Hunter had disappeared into the darkness on the other side of the meadow, two guards rounded the bottom of the hill and walked along the edge of the clearing then stopped only a stone’s throw from where she stood in the trees.
She tried to inconspicuously move further behind the tree trunk, but despite her cautious effort to be quiet, she stepped on a twig, and it snapped with a pop under her foot.
There was a break in the clouds and a beam of moonlight shone down directly on her at the same time and she swore under her breath.
She couldn’t run now that they’d seen her, so she had to think quickly if she wanted to save her hide and Hunter’s.
If she could stall them until Hunter returned and keep them from attracting the attention of any other guards, they might still have a chance of escape.
She was certain he could handle both the guards if he maintained the element of surprise and stayed out of sight of the guards walking the castle wall.
“Greetings, gentle sirs,” Anora said in a sweet tone.
Despite being dressed as a man, she decided it was safer in the current situation to reveal her identity as a woman.
The first plausible story that came to her mind was to present herself as a lovelorn woman hidden in the dark, masqueraded in men’s clothing while she waited for her lover rather than a man who lurked in places he didn’t belong.
“Ye’ don’ look like a lass, but ye’ sure sound like one,” one of the men said as they started up the hill.
“I wasn’t expecting you. I was expecting…William.” It was the first name that came to her mind, and she prayed neither of these men was called by the same. “He assured me he’d meet me here. Said I should wait for him if he wasn’t here when I arrived, that he’d be along presently.”
Anora turned away from the tree and said a silent prayer that the guards would follow her as she moved a little deeper into the forest. Hunter would need to cross the clearing undetected, which meant she need to distract the men and turn their attention to the forest. Hurry!
She prayed silently. She wasn’t sure how long she could pretend she lurked in the shadows for a clandestine tryst before the men decided to have a taste of what “William” missed.
Looking up at the castle wall looming from the top of the hill and realizing they were still visible to any guards patrolling the wall, she decided to direct the men even farther into the cover of the trees.
Hunter would need to do what he must for their escape without attracting more attention.
She noticed a fallen tree a short distance away from where she stood that looked like a good perch and turned toward it.
“Why are you dressed like a man?” one of the guards asked suspiciously as he eyed her up and down. “Wearing breeches is dangerous for a woman.”
The guard who spoke looked over his shoulder and scanned clearing, but his hesitation was short-lived before he followed the other guard into the trees closer to Anora.
The second guard reached for her coif and pulled it off her head, freeing the long braid.
“I had to know for certain, because ye’ look too bonny to be a boy. ”
She leaned a hip against the felled tree trunk and willed her nerves to calm. “I don’t know what I’ll do if my William disappoints me. Will you keep me company while I wait?”
“Depends,” one guard replied. He wasn’t a particularly tall man, but he was broad across the shoulder with a thick neck. “Are ye gonna’ tell us true what yer doin’ lurkin’ around outside the castle dressed like that? If yer after a tryst, ’at ain’t the way to dress.”
“What mischief are you up to, lady?” the first guard asked when Anora did not immediately respond. This man was taller and lankier than the other guard, with a long, sharp nose and a bald head that reflected the moonlight shining through the smattering of clouds.
“My William loves me, but my father will not let me marry him,” she said with as much forlornness as she could muster, relieved that the men were focused on her with their backs to the hill and clearing. “But we have a secret: We are running away together.”
“Dressed like that and carrying nothing?” The shorter guard said as he looked Anora up and down. The moon was hidden behind clouds again, and the forest had become considerably darker. The taller man turned in a circle and peered suspiciously into the inky night around them.
“I don’ like secrets,” the taller guard said. “An’ I don’ like lies. What are ya really doin’ out ’ere?” He stepped around her as he looked into the woods behind them, his fingers wrapping around the hilt of his sword on his hip. Anora pivoted her body trying to keep both the men in her view.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t show up again.
” She gave her best impression of a na?ve yet hopeful woman in love as she slowly backed away from the shorter guard.
With the taller man still in her sight, she willed Hunter to make his appearance quickly.
She wracked her brain for what to say next to distract the men, especially the one who stared intently into the darkness of the forest, without getting herself into a more precarious position with these men.
She knew well what men could do to a vulnerable woman alone.
“I appreciate you both for being so nice to me and staying to protect me while I wait for William.”
“What say ya put William from yer mind?” the shorter guard said as he fumbled with his belt. “What’s ’e got we can’t give ya?” He gave Anora a good look up and down and swaggered closer to her.
Anora feared Hunter might not show up in time to save her from this situation.
If it were just the shorter man, she might be able to coax him near enough to smash a knee into his stones and make her escape.
But with two of them, even if she succeeded to catch one unaware, the other guard would be on her before the first man fell to his knees.
It occurred to her that these oafs might be the very same men who used the stolen pendants to pay for services in the bawdy house in Shrewsbury. That knowledge renewed her determination to keep the men occupied until Hunter arrived and did his worst to them.
“I could never forget about my William,” Anora simpered in an innocent voice with a hint of disbelief.
A fleeting thought crossed her mind that she may have annoyed Hunter beyond his limit. Maybe he had no intention to get her out of this situation. Maybe he wanted to prove a point, show her that what she was doing was dangerous, and that she was not as capable as she believed herself to be.
She prayed that wasn’t the case as a tingle of fear slithered down her back.
If Hunter thought to leave her to her own devices, her father would never know what had happened to her.
Could he really be so heartless as to befriend her family, eat at her father’s table and gain his trust, then abandon her without any remorse?