After draping the cloak on her, he lifted her to her saddle. He did not let go once she was settled, but stayed there, his hands on her waist, looking up at her. He looked so long that it unsettled her.

Finally, he released her, but only to lay his hand on her thigh. He pointed into the night. “Look to the west, Nesta. Do you see that fire in the distance, the lone one near the edge of the sky?”

“Aye.”

“Ride there. Do not gallop, but make what speed you can. Addis has relieved the sentry posted there. He will let you pass.”

His words stunned her. “What are you doing, Mark?”

“Once you are past our camps, ride as far away as you can.” He pulled a sack from under his garment and pressed it in her hand. She recognized it as the little hide pouch that carried the dried venison. “There is coin in it too. Find a place of sanctuary, where you can hide. Do not go to Carwyn. You must flee, and make your way out of the realm.”

“You said that you were not going to help me escape.”

“If I had told the truth, would you have left that chamber?”

“Of course not, because if I do this, it will be suspected that you aided me.”

“Let me worry about that.” He tied his cloak to the back of the saddle. “Did you really think that I could let them have you? That I would allow you to be judged, and imprisoned or worse? I only put you in that chamber so that the others would not watch me too closely, so that I could get you away.”

“I cannot believe that Addis approved such rashness.”

“I told him that my squire would be passing before dawn, and he accepted that. He suspects the truth, but will look the other way because of our friendship.”

Her heart beat hard as confused emotions began a war. Salvation waited, and her blood raced with excitement. If she escaped like this, however, she would surely destroy him.

It was a short battle. Love conquered her fear. She could not allow him to sacrifice himself.

She tried to slide off the horse. “I will not do this.”

He held her in place. “You must. I command it as your husband.”

“Mark, I probably would not obey on little things, let alone something like this.”

“Then I command it in the name of our love.”

“And I must disobey for the same reason.”

“I need you gone, Nesta. I cannot do what I must if you are here. I cannot have your fate weighing on me.”

She stopped struggling. She looked down at him, and in that instant his tight hold might have been a final loving caress. She cursed the darkness that kept her from seeing clearly, but her heart knew the resolve and love that his expression held.