Highland Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

“She must be watched carefully, then. If naught else, she is safe now, for her husband thinks she is dead. She cannae be allowed to succumb to emotion, act rashly, and mayhap lose that shield.”
    “It could certainly prove useful at some time, useful in bringing the bastard to justice.”
    “True, but that usefulness must be verra clear, the results vital to the cause. She is his wife. The moment Sir Roderick kens that she is alive, he can take her back and no one could stop him. ’Twould be verra easy to make others believe she is naught but an unhappy wife and then anything she says will be ignored. Sadly, the fact that she sought me out will only make it worse. ’Twould be verra easy for Sir Roderick to act the wounded mon, one shamed by an unfaithful wife, or some such tale.”
    “Ah, of course,” Strong Ian rubbed his hand over his forehead and then yawned. “It has been a long night. Just tell me what your first move will be and then I will seek my bed.” He frowned. “Without my lass. I ken the bairns need her, but I hope that wanes soon.”
    Payton smiled faintly. “Sorry. ’Tis my hope it willnae take too long for the children to feel safer here, as safe as they can feel whilst that bastard still lives. And, my first move is to carefully start to blacken the mon’s name, as Kirstie tried to do. A whisper here, a warning there. Aye, I will immediately seek the proof I need to bring him down, but through rumor and the spread of a suspicion, I can turn other eyes his way. I can start depriving him of victims and make him begin to feel the weight of that suspicion, and, mayhap, e’en condemnation.”
    Strong Ian nodded as he stood up. “And e’en your enemies ken that your word is good. If ye whisper a warning, ’twill be heeded. ’Twill be a good start.”
    As soon as Ian was gone, Payton sighed and slumped in his chair. He had told the truth about needing to keep an eye on Kirstie, to be certain that she did not lose the battle of logic over emotion. It was a battle he would be fighting himself every day until Sir Roderick was dead. Payton did not think he had ever faced such a challenge. It would be a fierce struggle not to immediately denounce the man, loudly and clearly; an even fiercer struggle not to give in to the keen urge to just cut him down. Payton hoped the need to keep Kirstie from letting her emotions rule would give him the strength to control his own.
    It was also going to be hard not to involve his family. This was a crusade they would be avid to join. Payton knew he would be spending many long days soothing tempers and bruised feelings when his family discovered he had excluded them. But, exclude them he would until he either had no choice or there was no longer the risk ofbringing the wrath of the powerful MacIye clan down upon them all. His family might be bigger and hold more power than Kirstie’s, but he had the same fear of retribution. MacIye’s kinsmen might not be able to decimate his clan and its allies, but they could bloody them far more than Payton cared to think about.
    Payton tensed when the door to the hall eased open, then relaxed when Moira shyly entered. She was an enchanting little child with her thick, dark curls and her big, dark eyes. He smiled at her as she hurried across the floor and climbed up onto the chair to his right, her clean night shift billowing around her. Payton nudged the plate of bread and cheese closer to her. When she smiled at him, his heart nearly broke. She still wished to trust. Sir Roderick had not succeeded in stealing that from the child.
    “Ye should be abed, lass,” he said as he poured her a goblet full of clear, cool water.
    “I was a wee bit hungry,” she replied.
    “Mistress Alice took food up to your bedchamber.”
    “She was sleeping.” She took a sip of water, then asked softly, “Where is Kirstie?”
    “She is sleeping, too. I gave her the bedchamber right across the hall from ye.”
    Payton was not surprised to see