Black Raven's Lady: Highland Lairds Trilogy Read Online Free PDF

arrival of their tardy guest.
    “I was afraid this would happen,” Keir said, gesturing with impatience for the towheaded midshipman to stand back and refrain from serving the meal. “By now Lady Raine will be too ill to keep anything in her stomach, and she’ll only get worse through the night. We’ll have to make for the first safe harbor in the morning and pray to God we can find a reputable family to leave her with.”
    “Och” Macraith remonstrated with the tranquility of age and experience, “almost all passengers suffer from a bout of nausea their first time out. Don’t predict the worst for the lassie, till the worst actually happens.”
    Keir scowled at his uncle’s calm demeanor. “Dammit to hell, a spare-built female like Raine can die of seasickness, and we both know it.”
    Keir felt half nauseous himself, as though someone had administered a punishing kick to his gut. God knew, he’d tried at Inverness to avoid this very thing. The thought of Raine lying helpless in her bunk, unable to keep anything in her stomach as she grew increasingly weaker, brought him to his feet. He’d go look in on her now and not wait for things to get any worse.
    Just as Keir slid out of his chair, Raine appeared in the open doorway, attired in a lavender gown. Her lustrous ebony hair, plaited in one thick braid and wound into a figure eight, had been fastened at the nape of her neck with a blue satin ribbon. Her dark eyes sparkled, their luminous depths framed by long, curved lashes.
    A picture of glowing health, she smiled sedately, apparently unaware of the misery she’d just put him through. “I’m so sorry to keep you both waiting.” She looked from one man to the other without an iota of contrition. “I was standing at the railing, watching the dolphins frolic in the waves. I simply lost track of the time.”
    “Then you feel up to eating?” Keir asked, unable to keep the relief from his voice. He stood in front of the table, too astonished and grateful to move.
    Macraith jumped to his feet and indicated for Raine to be seated.
    She nodded to Keir’s uncle as she slipped onto her chair. “Ah, indeed I do. I haven’t eaten since this morning when I—” She stopped abruptly, no doubt remembering that ’twas Lady MacSween who’d last offered her refreshments at Inverloch Castle.
    Keir signaled the seventeen-year-old midshipman to begin serving the meal. Hector MacFarlane stepped forward to ladle the thick broth filled with chunks of lamb and vegetables into Raine’s bowl. She picked up a warm loaf of bread from the wooden tray on the table, broke off a piece and inhaled the aroma wafting up from her trencher.
    “Mm, it does smell wonderful,” she said, with another appreciative sniff.
    Keir watched in surprise as Raine dipped her bread in the stew and began eating with relish. When she noticed him staring, she lifted her brow.
    “Is there something wrong?” she asked.
    Keir shook his head as he sat back down. “Not at all. We were just saying that we hoped you weren’t suffering from the pitch and roll of the ship. These northern currents can be treacherous, even in the summertime. We’ll experience some choppy seas until we reach the calmer waters of the Minch.”
    “Oh, I came prepared for that,” she said with a soft laugh. “Aunt Isabel packed some ground root known for preventing illness at sea in my satchel, along with my other remedies.”
    “Known by whom?” Macraith asked, his craggy face alight with a lively interest. The kindness of his smile showed the warm affection he felt for the young lady. “I’ve nay heard of such a cure.”
    “Well, my aunt, for one, knows the beneficial properties of ginger,” she told him. “And I as well. I’ve studied healing recipes under Aunt Isabel’s tutelage since I was eight.”
    Macraith grinned at Keir. “Now here’s a lass o’ parts,” he said with a chuckle, waving his spoon in the air.
    “Oh, aye,” Keir agreed. “I’ve always