Arsenic and Old Armor Read Online Free PDF Page A

that both of you go to the chapter house.”
    Marion sneezed and the bowl tipped forward
on her head. Iain took off her disguise and handed it to one of the
nuns. “You can advise the prioress that my fiancée and I will join
her as soon as Lady Marion has cleaned up.”
    “ Kindly take the laird
there now ,
Sisters,” the imp on his side said pointedly as she tried to wrench
her arm free again. “I shall join everyone later.”
    Iain held on. “I cannot stand our separation
any longer, lass. I simply cannot let you out of my sight.”
    “ You tolerated our
separation well enough for twelve years,” she blasted at him. “Now
let me go, villain.”
    Iain smiled confidingly at the nuns.
“Lovers’ quarrel. Please tell the prioress her charge and I shan’t
be too long.”
    He didn’t see the blow to
his shin coming. She must have rocks in
the tips of her shoes , Iain thought. He
hid his grimace, not wanting to give Marion the satisfaction of
knowing that she had inflicted pain.
    “ On second thought,” he
said to the wide-eyed nuns, “my beloved demands some private
attention. She has missed me far too much. We may take a wee bit
longer than I intended. Which way to her chamber?”
    The second nun pointed
weakly to one of the buildings. The first woman, though, quickly
pushed her companion’s hand down. “Perhaps, it would be best if you
let us help
Marion. You do not know of her disposition.”
    “ Indeed, I know her
temperament very well.” He looped an arm around Marion’s waist and
drew her tightly to his side. “Let us go, sweetness.”
    She refused and dug her heels into the dirt.
Scooping her into his arms, he began to carry her toward the
building the nun had indicated. Half a dozen steps were all it took
before she started fighting him in earnest.
    “ Let me go,” she cried,
battering his face and squirming to free herself.
    “ You’ve sprouted extra
hands and feet in the past few years.” He tossed her across his
shoulder. “Much easier this way.”
    “ I am not six years old
anymore, you barbarian. Villain. Put me down right now. You are
embarrassing me.”
    “ You asked for
this.”
    “ I did not.” She landed a
sharp elbow to the back of his head and grabbed his hair. Iain
tilted her backward, and she gasped and clutched at his tartan. “I
dare you to drop me on my head. When I am free of you, I shall take
out your eyes, tear every lock of hair from your head. I shall use
your own dirk and cut out your ruthless heart and feed it to the
dogs. If you even have a heart, that is. You’re an ill-bred cur.
Vile and disgusting. You have lived too long.”
    A lengthy string of threats and epithets
continued to pour out of her. priory workers and nuns and some of
his Armstrong warriors were beginning to line the path ahead of
them, watching them with amusement. No one approached or tried to
stop him. They all knew. There had been plenty of warning. The men
he’d sent ahead had been here nearly a month. Iain nodded and
smiled as he passed them all, ignoring Marion’s tirade. At the door
to the residential building, he asked an older woman who was coming
out which room was Marion’s. She didn’t hesitate to answer.
    Iain climbed the steps three at a time to
the second floor. The building was old, the hallway narrow and
dark. As he shifted her weight on his shoulder, her head
accidentally hit the wall a number of times. He had to give her
credit, though. She didn’t complain about that even once. At the
same time, the curses and threats never stopped.
    Her room was at the end of the corridor. He
pushed the door open and walked in. Marion tried to raise herself
on his shoulder and banged the back of her head hard as they
entered the cell. Iain felt a fleeting moment of remorse as she
actually did quiet down.
    The room was small, but not uncomfortable.
At the end, sunlight came through a narrow window that he figured
she could slither through if she was given the chance. The shutter
was open