“I’m sure we’ll cross paths again,” Beck said after Slatter mounted his horse behind Willow.
“No doubt, Beck, though circumstances will be much different,” Slatter said.
“A warning?” Beck asked, looking not all disturbed by it.
Slatter looked directly at the man. “A promise.”
Willow wished she felt relieved, but she didn’t. And the further they got into the woods, the more she feared that at any moment Beck’s men would jump out and drag her away and leave the men to die.
“We’ll get this marriage thing settled as soon as possible,” Slatter said as the horses ambled along a worn trail.
Willow was glad to think on something else, not that it was that much less upsetting. “I have heard that annulments have been granted to some, though the circumstance must be exceptional.”
“I would say our circumstances weren’t only exceptional but forced as well. Neither of us wished to wed the other.”
“Isn’t that the way of most arranged marriages. Neither wish to wed the other, but they do anyway?” Willow asked, the thought casting doubt on how easily and quickly their marriage could be absolved, if ever.
“We will see what can be done,” Slatter said.
“My brother James may be able to help. We can speak to him as soon as we arrive at my home. How long do you think before we reach it?”
“I’m not taking you directly home.” His hand shot up when she hurried to object. “I have a matter that cannot wait. As soon as I finish with it, I will see you get home.”
“You don’t need to take me home, simply send some of your men along with me,” she offered, anxious to get home to her family and put this whole terrible ordeal behind her.
How did she do that, though, when Slatter was now legally her husband?
“I won’t chance you going with anyone but me,” he said as if it was settled.
Worry had Willow rejecting his plan. “I expect you to honor your word, Slatter, and take me home.”
“And I will, but not immediately and I will hear no more about it for now,” he warned.
“The charming Slatter, turns into a tyrannical husband,” Willow accused.
“My leannan turns into a demanding wife?” Slatter countered.
They both turned silent.
“Leannan,” Slatter said gently after a while, “I gave you my word that I would get you home and I will keep my word. I will send a message to your brother that you are well and unharmed, and will be returned home safely in due time. You may include your own message so they don’t worry needlessly about you.”
“For that I thank you,” she said, realizing arguing with him would do no good and she was grateful that he would at least notify her family that she was safe. “You will not let them know we are wed. It is better I tell them when I return home.”
“As you wish.”
They turned quiet again and Willow’s thoughts drifted to how natural it felt to be in his arms. Had the time spent with him in such a confined space, under dire circumstances, and how she had no choice but to rely on him, made her trust him more than she would otherwise? He had proven he could be trusted, but was it a trust that would last or had it been born of forced circumstance?
“This matter that needs your immediate attention, perhaps I can help you with it,” she suggested, thinking it would help get her home faster.
“It’s a puzzling matter, not easily solvable.”
Her green eyes brightened. “I’m good in handling puzzling matters.”
When her eyes sparked like that and she smiled with delight, her hidden beauty was revealed. Some might think she had plain features, but she had a rare beauty that most would never recognize until it struck them in the face. Then they would find it difficult to keep their eyes off her, just as he did now.
“I search for someone who has wronged me,” he said, finding himself confiding in her, though warning himself to be careful of revealing too much.
“How did he wrong you?” she asked, shifting in his arms so she didn’t have to keep craning her neck to look at him, and settled more comfortably in the crook of his arm.
“He stole a great deal from me and I want to see him punished for it,” he explained, keeping watch on his words.
“What did he take?”
“That doesn’t matter now. What matters is that I find him.”
Willow continued to question, curious now. “What is his name?”
“He uses mine.”
“So you don’t know his true name,” she said.
“No, I don’t.”
“And why you can’t take me home right away has something to do with him?”
“I’ve just missed catching him the last couple of times and Walcott found out where he may be and I don’t want to chance losing him again.”
“He’s a slippery one then.”