Highlander's Bride: Medieval Romance (The Fae Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

for the day now you’re about to be a wedded woman?” Gordon shoved a bacon rasher into his mouth.
    “I’d like to take a swim.” That would certainly help clear the gloominess from her thoughts and rejuvenate her spirit. They’d left summer behind and autumn had well and truly taken ahold, winter a mere breath away, but she would take this opportunity to set her thoughts in order and a swim always did that.
    “You’ll need a guard. I’ll take you to the loch myself.”
    “I dinnae mind going on my own. It isnae too far.” She often walked the short distance to the pool without any issue, although with the blood feuds currently raging across the land and more enemy warriors about, such unease consumed them all. From the jug in the center of the dais, she added a dash of milk to her oats and ate a spoonful.
    “I’ll come with you. I cannae have Duncan tossing me into the dungeons for no’ ensuring your complete care.”
    “Here ye are, my lady.” The maid returned and set a cup of tea before her and she thanked her before she bustled away to serve the men at the closest table below their platform.
    “How soon do you wish to go?” More bacon stuffed in his mouth, along with a slurp of his drink.
    “As soon as possible, if you dinnae mind.” She finished her meal, bid Gordon to await her by the postern gate and hurried upstairs to collect a few things from her chamber.
    Plaid draped over one arm and a bar of soap and a drying cloth stuffed into her satchel, she hiked back downstairs and across the inner courtyard to where Gordon stood at the gate, his chainmail sparkling in the sunlight.
    He motioned for her to go first and she skipped past him as the sun rose higher and warmed the earth. Across the open meadow, she tramped then ducked into the forest. She weaved in and around thick bushes before finally emerging at her favorite pool. The loch, small, secluded and surrounded with towering trees, offered a haven of respite and provided her with all she loved most about the Highlands, nature and all its abundance.
    “I’ll wait back along the trail to give you your privacy. Holler out if you need any aid and I’ll come.” Gordon vanished within the thickness of the trees, a snare in his hand. He’d hunt while she bathed.
    Assured she remained alone, she loosened the front laces of her midnight-blue gown and wriggled the velvet over her hips. It shimmered to the ground and she stepped out of the pool of fabric, kicked her slippers off and curled her toes into the lush grass. With her shift’s skirts brushing her legs, she picked up the bar of soap and stepped around the loch bordered by the odd protruding boulder and bounded up onto the ledge rimming the far edge.
    Oh, how she’d adore a swim without any encumbrance, even that of her shift. She rocked from foot to foot. Sunlight streamed through the trees and dappled over the grass dotted with yellow flowers and the odd scrub of heather. Gordon had left and it wasn’t as if anyone else was nearby. She also adored the sensation of the water flowing over her bare skin and once under the darkened surface, none could see below. Grinning, she set the soap down on the stony ledge, whipped her shift over her head, dropped it and dove into the dark depths of the pool.
    Chilly water washed over her and she gasped at the icy shock. Oh, how invigorating. She burst to the surface and laughed as the freedom of being so at one with nature rushed through her. This was exactly what she needed to raise her spirits and as the sun rose higher, she dipped and dived within the glorious water before floating on her back. Aye, she’d make the best of what she’d been given, and marrying Duncan would ensure her true heart’s desire, that her parents lived. All that mattered was their survival. Always and forever.
    * * * *
    Never would Ronan Matheson allow Kyla to remain beyond his touch, not for another day. Over eight-hundred years in the future, he sat inside Tavish