Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“What’s wrong?” he asked suddenly concerned.
“My stomach. It feels like it’s going to revolt.” She rested her hand upon it.
“The village is just up ahead. I’ll get you help there.”
Dru nodded and when she rested her head on his chest with a moan, Knox grew worried.
He urged Star to pick up her sedate pace, but it only had Dru moaning more frequently.
They weren’t far from the village when Dru looked up at him, her face so pale that it frightened Knox.
“You must stop now. Please,” Dru begged.
He didn’t argue. He brought Star to a halt and got Dru off the mare. As soon as he did, she hurried to nearby bushes, bent over, and purged herself of whatever was in her stomach.
Knox walked over to her, but she threw her hand back warding him off.
He felt crippled with helplessness as he paced not far from her. When she straightened and turned, her body weaving as if she was about to collapse, he rushed and scooped her up. He sat her under a tree, its branches bare.
“I’m cold,” she said.
He hurried and got the two blankets off his mare and tucked them around her.
“I finished the last of the meat this morning. It must have gone bad,” she said, resting her head back against the tree truck. “You need to leave me here to rest and go ahead without me.”
Knox shook his head. “Not a bloody chance that I’m going to leave you alone and vulnerable, where anyone can come across you.”
“Place me where no one can spot me,” she suggested.
“Nay, I will wait until you feel better, and we’ll ride to—”
Dru gagged. “Don’t even mention riding to me. Go find out what you can and come back for me. Hopefully my stomach will have calmed by then.”
“I will not leave you like this,” he insisted.
“Be reasonable, Knox. Let me rest and do what needs to be done before Phelan and his men descend on the area.”
She was right but he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to leave her alone, unprotected, especially with her feeling so unwell.
“The faster you go, the faster you can return to me,” she said. “Now find a safe place to hide me.”
“I don’t like this,” he protested.
She cracked a small smile. “You mean you don’t like that I’m right.”
“There is truth in that,” he said, his smile brief and the first since leaving the abbey.
Reluctantly, he roamed the nearby area, then returned to Dru to lift her gently in his arms. “I found a thick growth of foliage where you won’t be spotted.”
Her head dropped on his chest as if it was too heavy for her to hold it up and he grew even more concerned for her. He quickly saw that she was settled safely and comfortably, lying her down on a bed of leaves so it would keep the chilled ground directly off her.
“Rest and remain quiet. I will not be long,” he said and leaned over her to place a kiss on her brow.
Dru grabbed his hand before he could move away from her. “Be careful and come back to me.”
He kissed her brow again. “Always.”
The village was small, barely more than a scattering of cottages nestled at the edge of the woods. Smoke curled from a hole in the various thatched roofs, many in need of fresh thatching. A few villagers moved about, tending to their daily chores, though most paused to watch as Knox rode into the heart of the settlement.
He kept his eyes steady on all who glanced at him, and they quickly turned away. Conversations halted. A woman stopped mid-step, clutching a basket of turnips a little too tightly. A man stacking firewood straightened, his movements slowing as he stared.
Knox pulled his horse to a stop near what looked to be the village’s gathering place, a modest stone building with a sagging thatched roof.
As soon as he dismounted, an older man, thick in the shoulders and wrapped in a well-worn woolen cloak, stepped forward, eyeing him with mild suspicion. His face was weathered, deep lines carved around his mouth and eyes.
“Not often we see strangers here,” he said. “What business do you have?”
“I’m looking for someone,” Knox said evenly. “A woman named Autumn. She once lived not far from here.”
Silence.
Knox could feel it settle over the villagers like a heavy cloak. No exchanged glances. No murmurs. Just a quiet, unspoken understanding passing between them.
The man’s brow furrowed. He exchanged a glance with another villager—a stout woman carrying a basket of freshly washed linens.
“You’re too late,” the woman said with a glance at Knox. “Tell her, Wilbur. Tell her Autumn vanished.”
Wilbur crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “Vanished just like Rona said. More than a year ago. Left without a word.”
Knox’s jaw tightened, though his expression remained unreadable. “No one’s seen her since?”