Highland Hero Read Online Free PDF

talk with her pet. Gar had become so comfortable at Dunmor, so pampered by the MacRaes, that he was not doing a very good job of guarding her or Malcolm anymore. Gar saw no threat and, although she found some comfort in that, for it implied that she was not sitting in the midst of the enemy, she had to strengthen her commands. There could yet come a time when she would need his aid.
    She was rubbing her hair with a drying cloth when a faint sound made her tense. Immediately kneeling by the child and pulling her sword from its sheath, she carefully looked around. It could be just someone from Dunmor keeping a guard on her, but she needed to be sure. Still watching, she finished dressing and picked up Malcolm. The joy of her moment of freedom was gone now.
    Knowing that Gar would find his own way back to Dunmor she decided that it was past time she and Malcolm returned to the safety of its high walls. She had barely taken three steps toward the keep when she knew she had waited too long. Six mounted and well-armed men rode out of the trees bordering the brook. Edina carefully set Malcolm down by her feet and faced the men squarely, her sword in her hands. She knew she did not have any chance of defeating six men, but she was determined to make them pay dearly for Malcolm’s life.
    “And where did Lucais find you?” demanded a tall, bone-thin man who rode to the fore of the others. “I dinnae ken who ye are.”
    “And I dinnae ken who ye are either, but I hadnae realized this was a courtesy visit.”
    “Ye are no MacRae.”
    “Nay. If it troubles ye so, I am Edina MacAdam of Glenfair. Does it help to ken who is about to kill you?”
    The man laughed. “Ye have more spirit than wit, wench.” He gave her a mocking bow. “ ’Tis a great pity we couldnae have met at a better time and place. We could be lovers instead of enemies. I am Sir Simon Kenney.”
    “Lovers? I think not, Sir Simon. I ken what happens to the lovers ye grow weary of or who displease you.”
    The way his expression turned cold made Edina nervous. The man was obviously quick to anger. If she faced only him, that could have worked to her advantage. Now making him angry would make her death arrive all the sooner. She inwardly cursed and wondered where her dog and her guards were when she really needed them.
     
    Lucais looked at the men slowly encircling Edina and softly cursed. “Ian, how could ye have let her come this far from Dunmor alone?”
    Ian flushed with guilt. “Ye said we didnae need to guard her too closely.”
    “That didnae mean ye could let her wander about as if all is weel and there isnae a madmon lurking about.”
    “That madmon isnae lurking anymore,” Andrew drawled, putting a stop to the argument. “We have three men behind Simon and his men, and we are in front of him. Ye are the one who must decide when we attack, Lucais.”
    “At least everyone will not think me some fool for the way I ordered so many men to arms just because one tiny woman and a bairn were out walking,” Lucais muttered, dragging his fingers through his hair. “An attack could get Edina and Malcolm killed.”
    “There is no question that they will also die if we dinnae do something soon.”
    “If only we had something to briefly distract Simon and his men.” Lucais looked around one last time before he gave the order to attack, an order he feared would be a death sentence for Edina, and his gaze settled on a familiar mottled-gray shape creeping toward Simon and his men. “Look, ’tis that cursed dog.”
    “Is he going to attack?”
    “Aye, Andrew,” Lucais replied, finding it hard to keep his voice low as excitement and anticipation rushed through his veins. “That ugly dog has ne’er looked more bonnie. He is about to give us the diversion we need.”
    “He could get hurt,” Ian murmured even as he readied himself for the attack he knew would come at any moment.
    “I pray that doesnae happen, for ’twill sorely grieve Edina,” said