Chapter 60

The early morning chatter of the birds had started taking over from the nocturnal hum of the night crawlers and a soft golden glow was filtering into the forest as she made her way back towards the MacInnis keep. Izzy glanced back at the tree, trying to shake the feeling of unease that would not leave her.

Ellie was safe enough up there.

There was nothing so remarkable about the tree that it would draw attention, and even if someone were to look the lass could not be seen. She had food and drink enough for a couple of days, which was more than enough time for her husband to arrive at MacInnis and come to get her. The tree was old and hollow, but still solid enough to keep larger predators from getting to her. Somehow this felt different than any of the other times she had helped a woman to hide. It didn’t feel as secure. Perhaps because this was not her land and she didn’t know how used this part of the woods were. There were several empty crofts, none of them occupied at the moment