Page 39 of The Iron Earl

He stopped by Rupe walking and tugging on the reins of the draft horse that pulled the wagon. His eyes flickered to the back to the empty road. “Where is she?”

Rupe thumbed over his shoulder, not breaking his stride. He couldn’t if he was going to keep the wheels from getting stuck in the mud. “Back over the crest of the last hill. She tripped and fell against the wagon—been doing that all morning.”

A frown set upon Lachlan’s face as he looked to the top of the last hill they’d just passed. He’d seen her do that hours ago, but thought she’d just slipped in the mud.

His gaze fell to Rupe. “It was more than once?”

“Aye.”

“And you didn’t stop to see what troubled her?”

“On the last tumble she called out that she was fine, she just needed to remove some rocks from her boots. Said she didn’t want the wagon to get stuck again and that she’d catch up.”

Lachlan nodded. “Keep moving.”

“Don’t plan on stopping,” Rupe said, the sound of his boots sucking from the mud overriding the grumble in his voice.

Lachlan sent his horse back along the road. It was actually two rolling hills back before he found Evalyn.

She sat beneath an oak tree, her form crumpled forward, her attention on her feet. Her bare feet. Her boots were off, lying askew ten paces from her as though she had thrown them. To her left sat the damn dress in a crumpled mess on the ground.

Stubborn, stubborn woman.

She looked up to see him just before he pulled his horse to a halt.

As Lachlan dismounted, she ducked her head down and swiped at her cheeks with her left hand while her right set her skirts to hide her legs as she drew her feet inward, hiding them.

He tossed the reins of his horse over a low branch and walked to her, stopping in front of her with the toes of his boots touching her grey skirts.

She looked up at him.

Damn. Tears.

For as much as she managed to wipe away, tears shone bright in her eyes, drops on the verge of falling.

She forced a strained smile that barely lifted the corners of her mouth. “I told Rupe I would catch up. I was just about to start forth again. You didn’t need to come back for me.”

He bent over, lifting her skirt and grabbing her ankle.

“Stop.” She kicked at him, trying to shove the edge of her skirt over her foot. “Lachlan, stop.”

He didn’t release her ankle, pulling it toward him.

She shoved his arm with both hands. Weak, at best.

“Stop, Lachlan, please stop.”

He looked up, his iron gaze skewering her. She stilled.

Silently, he looked down and dragged her left foot free from the folds of the skirt.

She still put up resistance, her leg pulling against him, but not enough to stop him.

Her foot cleared the fabric.

Bloody hell.

He dropped to his knees. His right hand holding her left leg in place, he searched with his free hand under her skirt until he found her right ankle and pulled that foot into daylight as well.