Her Highness and the Highlander: A Princess Brides Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

weakly into the room.
    At least the worst of the storm had finally passed, although the wind continued to
     blow with a low, eerie keening. The wooden building creaked and groaned at odd intervals,
     its frame shuddering slightly whenever a gust whipped hard against the timbers.
    “It’s only the wind,” she whispered to herself over and over again in a quiet chant.
     “Just close your eyes and go back to sleep. It’s only the wind.”
    But she lay trembling instead, her eyes squeezed shut, her fingers half numb from
     their grip on the sheets. She thought about calling for Major MacKinnon, but what
     a coward he would think her. What a ninnyhammer.
    Five minutes passed.
    Then ten.
    Slowly she began to relax, the exertion and exhaustion of the day rising to draw her
     back into the world of dreams. She was sliding over the edge into sleep when a high,
     thin screeching sound raked across the windowpanes like fingernails being drawn across
     a slate.
    She was out of bed before she even knew she’d moved.
    “Major,” she called as loudly as she dared, rapping her fist frantically against the
     wall behind her bed. “Major MacKinnon. Major, can you hear me?”
    She heard bedsprings squeak. “Aye, lass. These walls are as thin as paper. What’s
     amiss?”
    “I heard a noise, like someone is trying to get in. Could you…could you come over?”
    “Don’t unlock the door until I get there,” he told her with commanding urgency in
     his voice.
    Unlock the door?
What kind of idiot did he imagine her to be?
    She waited, afraid to glance toward the window in case there really was someone lurking
     on the other side.
    In what seemed barely a few seconds, she heard his knock. “It’s MacKinnon. Let me
     in.”
    With shaking fingers, she hurried to the door, pulled back the bolt, and twisted open
     the lock.
    Daniel stood on the other side, his thick auburn hair tousled with sleep, rough whiskers
     shadowing the strong line of his jaw. He’d clearly dressed in haste, attired in a
     red and green tartan kilt and a loose white cotton shirt that hung open at the throat.
     He’d slipped on a pair of tall boots as well, the leather supple with use and age.
    She pulled the door wider and stepped aside to let him in, closing and locking it
     again the moment he was through.
    “Ye said you heard a noise. What sort and where?”
    “From the window. It was a kind of grating, scratching sound that awakened me.”
    He went to the window and peered out, looking down into the inn’s darkened side yard.
     He made what seemed to be a thorough inspection. Next, he rattled the window latch,
     testing the metal to make sure the hinge was fastened tight.
    “I’m going below to check the yard,” he told her. “I don’t think anyone is there,
     but I’ll take a look just to make certain.”
    “But…But what if someone
is
there? What if they try to hurt you?” She couldn’t help thinking of her cousin and
     her guard—all the brave men who had died to protect her.
    The expression in MacKinnon’s green eyes was reassuring. “Doona fret yerself. I’m
     well trained for such situations and this is naught but a precaution. Be sure to lock
     up after me.”
    “You will come back to let me know what you found, will you not? You won’t just return
     to your room?”
    “Nay, lass, not without putting your mind at ease that all is well.”
    I’m not sure I’ll ever feel at ease again,
Mercedes thought.
    Nevertheless, she followed him to the door, fastening the locks the instant he was
     on the other side. Alone once more in the darkened room, she trembled, fear creeping
     back upon her like a shroud.
    Where had the maid left the flint? she wondered, suddenly desperate for light.
    The room wasn’t large, so a quick, careful search allowed her to find what she required
     to light the candle. As for the candle itself, it had burned down to little more than
     a stump, but enough usable wick remained that she was able to set it