Hugh watched his brother speaking quietly to Broc— his partner or his first mate, or whatever he was—after he returned from the village. So far, neither he nor Derek had broached the topic of their estrangement so many years ago.

One of them had to do it. Especially since Derek was risking his life to help him.

Derek frowned and glanced occasionally over his shoulder where Dalla waited. She fidgeted, as if trying to make herself comfortable. He knew that Derek would help them, and was in the midst of preparing his ship for a short journey, but he didn't underestimate the trouble that he could be bringing down on his brother in doing so. Hugh wished there was another way, but he couldn't think of one.

He glanced at Dalla, now sleeping fitfully, half-sitting, half-slouching on top of the grain sacks. He had to admit it. He had to admit the reason for this mad scramble to the coast, rather than risking a chance of traveling overland. He was growing more attached to Dalla by the day, but he struggled with conflicting emotions and not a little bit of guilt when he thought of Elyse. He had given his heart to Elyse and never imagined that he would ever feel that way about anyone ever again, but the more time he spent with Dalla, the deeper his feelings grew.

They were both strong in different ways. Both had overcome life's hardships, and both, despite those hardships, did the best they could. While he certainly didn't know Dalla as deeply as he had known Elyse, he knew that the feelings he experienced now were true, and gave him hope for a future. And yet that future was dulled by the thought that in the next hour, the next day even, she or he could be dead.

And now, for helping him, Derek might also pay a hefty price. Hugh had so many questions for his brother, so much catching up to do, but there was no time.

Derek had said that they would leave after nightfall, in secrecy, but he still had to prepare the ship for travel. That would garner attention, no matter how careful he tried to be. That's what worried Hugh. He wanted to help, although he couldn't. To show his face in daylight would be to invite disaster.

They had already disagreed about his horse. At first, Derek had balked at taking his horse aboard.

“Do you know how difficult it is to get a horse on board a ship and into the hold, let alone keep the animal calm in rough seas?” Derek grumbled, shaking his head.

“But you can't leave Agnarr behind!” Dalla had said, eyes wide with concern.

Derek frowned, glancing between the two. “Who's Agnarr?”

“The horse,” Hugh and Dalla answered at the same time.

Derek gave him an odd look. “You named your horse Agnarr?”

Hugh sighed, and glanced at Dalla. “She did.”

Derek said nothing after that, merely shook his head and gestured toward one of the grain sacks. “Will he eat oats, or does he have more discerning tastes?”

Hugh grinned, although Dalla, not familiar with his brother’s humor, had frowned with misunderstanding. He'd had to assure her that Derek was merely joking. Then again, noting Derek’s present expression, Hugh wasn't sure that he was.

“He will be no trouble,” Hugh assured him.

Derek finished talking to Broc, stood for a moment, staring outside, then turned to look at Hugh before gesturing him over. Hugh glanced down at Dalla, now asleep, and approached his brother.

He appeared agitated, rubbing the back of his neck. Agitated about his sudden appearance in his life? Dragging a woman along with him, both now with bounties on their heads? It appeared that Derek wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how. Hugh decided to get it out in the open.

“Change your mind, brother?” he asked simply. “If you have, just say so. No hard feelings.”

Derek glanced at him with surprise? “Change my mind, no… it isn't that.”

Hugh waited, but Derek seemed reluctant to say what was on his mind. Hugh asked the question that was on his. “Why did you leave like that? In the middle of the night, without a word?”

Derek tensed, his eyes narrowed as he frowned. “What? What are you talking about?”

“You left Duncan lands… in the middle of the night.”

Derek shook his head. Impatient. “No, brother, I did not leave in the middle of the night, sneaking away like a thief,” he said. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Hugh. “I talked about my leaving plenty of times before I did. You only had eyes and thoughts of Elyse on your mind.”

“But why did you leave?” Hugh asked. “At the time, at least as far as I can recall, you didn't say why.” He paused. “Was it something I did, Derek? Was it because I fell in love with Elyse and didn't… we didn't… did she come between us?”

Derek shook his head with a gentle smile. “She did not come between us, brother.”

“Then what?”

“Nothing but my own burgeoning desire for adventure.” He shook his head. “You seemed—and still do—so perfectly content to live with the Duncans, to serve them, to live among them. But I wanted more than that. I told you I wanted to become a soldier, a sea captain, something, anything that was different from the life we led with the Duncans.”

Hugh tried to remember, to recognize that moment in time when his brother was not nearly as content as he had been. He could recall no defining moment, no specific circumstance or incident that triggered Derek’s departure.

“Don't look so worried, brother,” Derek said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It was nothing that passed between us, no words, no argument that compelled me to leave. We may be much the same, but in other ways, we are very different. I asked you to come with me, remember? You chose to stay.”

Did he? Hugh didn't remember that. Perhaps there were plenty of things that he did not remember. Over the years, and especially after the traumatic death of Elyse, he had filled in those blank areas, the lack of memories, with what he assumed was true. So there had been no estrangement? No wedge driven between the two of them other than his brother's lust for adventure? He looked into his brother's face, his expression somber and still.

“You've had a good life, Derek? Here by the sea? With your shipping business and your seafaring? You've found everything you're looking for?”

Derek smiled again. “Not everything, brother,” he said. “But I am not yet ready to be tethered down with the yoke of marriage. You, on the other hand? I think that marriage will suit you well.” He glanced meaningfully toward the sacks of grain where Dalla slept. Then, he straightened and shrugged, as if he'd had enough of introspection. “We'll leave as soon as it's dark,” Derek said softly. “We only have a crescent moon tonight, so we'll have to venture farther from shore. With the approaching storm, I want to be out far enough to make sure that we don't hit the shoals to the west.” He said nothing for a moment, watching Hugh, as if trying to read his mind. “Are you sure this is the way you want to do it?”

“No,” Hugh answered honestly. “But I can't think of another way that will keep us out of arm's reach of her uncle and those with him.”

“Take no offense, brother, but are you sure you can trust her? Are you sure she is not a spy as the rumors say?”

“She isn't a spy, Derek. I was in the tavern when she was brought in, bound and blindfolded, directly from a room where the women had been taken after leaving the ship.”

“She speaks English well,” he said, still doubtful.

Hugh nodded. “She has been well educated.”

Derek stated the obvious. “As a member of the royal family, she is bound to garner attention sooner or later when the truth is told. Even if… even after you arrive on Duncan lands, what are you proposing?”

Hugh sighed, struggling with a sense of impatience. It was understandable that Derek had questions, but he didn't have the answers to such questions. “I haven't even gotten to the point where I can plan that far ahead,” he admitted. “First, I want to put some distance between us and her pursuers. If what she says is true, that her uncle and perhaps even her father is behind this attempt on her life, well, she may just have to permanently disappear, if you get my meaning.”

“Aye, I do,” Derek nodded. “It is unfortunate, brother, that our reunion has to be under such difficult circumstances. I have many questions for you.”

“And I as well,” Hugh said. “But it is good to see you. You are doing well for yourself.”

Derek grinned, tilting his chin in the direction where Dalla slept. “And I hope I can say the same for you after all this is over.”

After all this was over. When would that be? Would the trouble and the danger and the threat against Dalla's life be over once they got on the ship and away from the coastline? Would it be over if they made it to Duncan lands? He wasn't sure.

“I will ask one more time, Hugh. Is she worth it?”

He turned to his brother and gave him a solemn nod. “She saved my life. She is worth it.”

Derek nodded. “Then wake her and bring her to me. I have questions for her.”

At first, Hugh hesitated, wanting to ask his brother what he wanted with Dalla, but then he nodded. His brother was risking a lot to help them. He had shown no outward animosity toward his somewhat unwilling bride. It made sense for his brother to want to talk to her, perhaps learn more about her uncle and her father.

He strode toward Dalla, his gaze sweeping over her slumbering figure. She looked so young, so innocent to have to endure what she had. Then, he stiffened. He would not feel sorry for her. Life was hard for all of them, filled with challenges. This was hers. He couldn't do anything about her past, nor his. What they had to do now was focus on the here and the now, escape her uncle and reach a modicum of safety on Duncan lands. If safety was not to be found there, they would find it somewhere else. He shook his head just before he reached down to nudge her awake. If he hadn't gone into that tavern when he did, what would he be doing at this moment?

He sighed and realized Dalla looked up at him in startled dismay before calming. No, he didn't regret going into the tavern for that mug of ale. He was glad that he had. She was his now.

“Come,” he told her. “Derek wishes to have a word with you.”

“About what?” she asked, swiping at her eyes, casting a wary glance toward Derek.

“He did not say, but he is helping us, so the least you and I can do in return is to cooperate with him, don't you think?”

She nodded, rose, swept her fingers briefly through the hair that had fallen from her braid and framed her face, glanced down and brushed straw from her clothing. Then, with only a little hesitance, she strode toward Derek.

Hugh watched, ready to jump in if it appeared that Derek said or did anything that he didn't like, but his brother, clasping his wrists behind its back, simply looked down at Dalla, and spoke softly to her, with an occasional nod or shake of the head from Dalla.

He couldn't get over the fact that he was once again reunited with Derek. They had so much catching up to do, and he had so many questions for him, but they couldn't take the time, not now.

Preparations for the sail were being completed in haste, and as Hugh watched Derek and Dalla, he hoped their escape from the region would go as planned, without difficulty. Then again, he wasn't naïve. They were in a dangerous predicament; one that he had involved his brother, albeit reluctantly.

By the time Dalla returned to him, Derek had disappeared outside.

Hugh heard him shouting to his crew, preparing his ship for sail.

“What did he want to talk to you about?” Hugh asked her quietly as she neared his side.

“He wanted to know what kind of man my uncle was, and my father.” She paused, frowned in thought, turning to glance between Hugh and the half-closed door of the building. “I still can't believe this is happening. I don't think your brother believed me when I said I wasn't sure of the reason why my uncle would stoop to such drastic means, or why he wants to get rid of me.”

Hugh could understand that. It was a difficult scenario to imagine, but then again, he and Derek didn't belong to a royal family. “Anything else?”

She nodded. “He wanted to know if I was truly married to you. I told him that I had signed the document making it so.”

He simply nodded and gestured for her to sit on a nearby bale of hay, then he turned to watch the activity as his brother, Broc, and a few sailors entered, grabbed a box, some fish, or kegs, thinking that he could at least help with loading supplies.

Hugh beckoned for Derek and offered to help.

“I don't want you to be seen outside of the building until the moment we board ship. My crew is just about ready. I'll tell you something though, Hugh. I don't like sailing off into the darkness into an approaching storm, no matter the reason. You keep a careful watch on her and your horse. I will not be distracted.”

“Understood,” Hugh said, concerned by his brother's tone of voice. In it, he heard worry, and once again a surge of regret built inside him. He’d had such different expectations for his reunion with his brother. “Derek, I want to thank you for—”

“Don't thank me yet,” Derek interrupted, turning to shout a direction at one of his sailors. “You can thank me when we get to where we're going in one piece. If we do.”

“Derek—”

Derek turned to him and once again and offered a grin. He placed both hands on his shoulders and Hugh returned the gesture. Just like old times. They locked eyes, and Hugh realized that no explanations, no regrets, no guilt was necessary.

Derek clapped him on the shoulder. “What say we have another adventure, eh?”

Hugh grinned as well, the burdens of his heart lifted, at least momentarily. This was the way it should be, the way it always should have been. He and his brother, together. Maybe, just maybe, if they managed to reach the western coast of Scotland and then once again made their way overland to Duncan Manor, Derek would agree to stay for a while. Maybe a month, maybe more. But even if he decided to go back to the sea, Hugh knew that the time he spent with his brother now was… it was like old times. The two of them against the world.

Only now, the stakes were great and potentially deadly.

“Let me get back to it. We'll be ready to launch within the hour.” Derek gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “You go take care of your bride. I have a feeling she's a bit hesitant.”

Derek moved off while Hugh turned to Dalla, sitting quietly on a bale of hay, her fingers idly playing with the end of her braid. She had a faraway look on her face, and even in the dim light of the building, he saw her pale features.

He hadn't thought of her hesitation, what setting foot aboard a ship might do to her. Fear, the memories of being kidnapped and thrown into the hold, and now, once again, she would be asked to stay in the hold while the ship rocked on the waves.

He stepped toward her. “Dalla, Derek will do his best to make sure that we reach our destination in one piece. As you know, however, there are no guarantees.”

“I know,” she said without looking up. “I'm sorry that I am ultimately to blame for all of this—”

“No, you are not. Did you ask to be kidnapped?”

“No.”

“Did you ask to be sold as a captive?”

She looked up at him and slowly shook her head.

“Did you have any indication that your uncle wanted you dead, or even in your wildest dreams, that he would do this to you?”

Again, she shook her head.

“Then none of this is your fault.” He shrugged. “This is often the way of life, the unexpected, the risks, the dangers. I have been confronted with many such dangers in mine, in my position of guarding those of the Duncan clan, and serving under the laird. But you have not. I would venture to say that this… situation, is one of the most daunting you have ever faced. Am I correct?”

She looked up at him and nodded, her eyes glistening with tears. “I am afraid.”

“And you have every right to be. Only a fool would not. be”

Her eyes widened. “You're afraid, Hugh?”

“Aye, I am afraid of something bad happening to you, or to my brother. For myself…?” He thought a moment. “For me, being afraid is a good thing. It prevents one from being headstrong and foolish, from allowing emotions to override common sense.”

She offered a half-smile. “It didn't seem to have quite the same effect on me, the couple of times I tried to escape you, and most especially when I fled into the bogs.”

Hugh shrugged. “Often, we act on instinct. Your instinct was to get away at any cost. And yes, it could have led to your death, but it didn't. And you learned from it, did you not?”

She nodded. “I—”

A shout from outside cause both of them to stiffen and turn toward the doorway.

Moments later, Derek appeared with Broc.

“Riders are coming into town,” he said, gesturing toward Dalla. “Broc has listened to the rumors that your presence is known. Now more strangers arrive, and I fear it may be her uncle. We must board and sail immediately.”