Highland Captive Read Online Free PDF

so funny.” He walked around the animal and studied
him as the adversary he was. “The question is how to break him of the trick or,
at least, of playing it on me.”
    “Aye,
‘tis a useful trick. Ye would never have to worry about the beast being stolen,”
jested Lagan.
    A
soft laugh escaped Parlan as he took Elfking’s reins. “Mayhaps if I tempt him
with a good run. It has been a long time since he has had one.”
    Lagan
followed Parlan and the horse as did Malcolm and several other curious men.
Elfking went along calmly until Parlan tried to lead him through the gates. The
horse then stood firmly, refusing to leave the keep, no matter how much he was
pulled, pushed, or cursed.
    “Curse
this stubborn beast to Hades! What ails the fool animal?”
    “Mayhaps
a touch of the whip will move the beast,” suggested one man.
    “Nay,
I willnae take a whip to the beast and chance marring this fine coat.”
    Malcolm
moved closer to his exasperated laird’s side. “I ken the beast be following the
laddie’s orders.”
    “How
so? The lad isnae here to give any.”
    “Nay,
but, when we brought the lads in, the horse tried to follow me and the wee
laddie into the keep. The wee laddie told him to stay.”
    Shaking
his head, Parlan laughed. “And staying is just what he is doing, curse his fine
hide.”
    “Mayhaps
ye ought to give up on trying to keep the horse.”
    “Nay,
Lagan. I must think of a way to win the beast to my hand. I may have to get the
lad to help,” Parlan mused aloud.
    “He
willnae. T’was plain to see the lad’s fond of his horse,” protested Malcolm.
    “Ye
ask the right way and the lad will do it,” Parlan said grimly. “He is fond of
his brother too.”
    “Aye,
but ye willnae do aught to the lad.”
    “We
ken that, Lagan, but I suspicion the wee laddie willnae be too sure of it. ‘Tis
no secret that many a dark tale is told about me. Dinnae ye ken that I roast
and eat bairns and pick my teeth with their wee bones?” He grinned fleetingly
over such nonsense, long since inured to any sting it might have inflicted. “Aye,
I willnae do aught to the lad, but that wee laddie can be made to believe I
will.”
    “Seems
cruel to deprive a wee lad of his horse,” muttered Malcolm.
    “In
this instance I will gladly live up to my sordid reputation. Malcolm, how can
ye ask me to release such a prize? I can sense that the beast has speed and
strength. Aye, he has wit as weel. If naught else, think of the stock he will
breed. I have several mares already in mind for him to jump.”
    “Aye.”
Malcolm moved to take the saddle off the horse’s back. “I cannae help but feel
for the laddie’s loss, though.”
    “That
I can understand for I would feel the loss of such a beast sorely myself. ‘Tis
a guilt I am willing to live with,” he drawled.
    Malcolm
lifted the saddle from Elfking’s back and raised his gaze to the walls of the
keep. “Jesu,” he breathed, his eyes widening with disbelief.
    “God’s
teeth, Malcolm,” Parlan snapped when the saddle fell from Malcolm’s hands and
barely missed Parlan’s foot. “What ails ye? Ye near to broke my foot.”
    “The
wee laddie,” Malcolm croaked. “Up there. On the walls.”
    All
eyes followed Malcolm’s stunned gaze. The slight figure looked even smaller as
it skillfully descended the wall of the keep. There was admiration mixed with
the shock for, if asked, several of the men watching would have admitted that
they would not have dared such a thing. It was not thought cowardly if a man
preferred to keep his feet on or very near to good solid ground.
    “Is
he mad?” ground out Parlan after a hearty bout of cursing.
    “I
willnae argue the lad’s sanity with ye but I will say ‘tis skill that he uses
in his lunacy.” Lagan nodded when Parlan shot him a brief, piercing look. “Aye,
skill. That is no scrambling descent. I have seen the trick of it before. He
kens weel how to use both rope and body.”
    “Aye,”
Parlan agreed slowly,