Journey to the Highlands: Robbie and Caralyn (Clan Grant Series Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

light of the nearby torch. “He is not the man who made these bruises, I hope?”
    Caralyn blushed. “Nay, Your Grace, he saved me from the man who hit me. Our cottage has been burned to the ground and we have nowhere else to go.”
    Robbie added, “I am Captain Robbie Grant of the Grant Highlanders. We came from the coastline. The Norse are in the firth waiting to land with thousands of men. Caralyn is a victim of one of King Haakon’s galley ships that came ashore south of Ayr. The safest place for her family right now is inland.”
    The prioress’s voice softened. “And I see the young lady needs a healer right now. And there are many here to help you with the bairns while you heal.” The prioress clasped one of Caralyn’s hands in hers.
    “Your Grace,” Robbie said, “I would be much obliged if you would take them in for now until she decides what to do next. I would also like to make a donation for your hospitality before I leave at daybreak.”
    “Of course, lad.” She smiled and patted Gracie’s back before she lifted the bairn from Caralyn’s arms. “Please have a seat and I will return after I settle the lasses.” She turned to exit but stepped aside in order to allow entry to the original nun, who was returning with a steaming bowl of soup and a chunk of dark bread for him.
    The steam from the soup warmed his chin as he gazed after Caralyn. Since he hadn’t eaten a warm meal in a long time, his sole interest should have been in the food, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the departing shapes of the comely mother and her two girls. At the doorway, Caralyn twirled back and whispered, “Thank you, Robbie.”
    And with that, they were gone. Would he ever see her again?

 
    Chapter Six
     
    Caralyn had settled both girls in a soft bed together. Full from a nourishing supper, they’d fallen asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. She had dozed for awhile, too, but now she was restless. The moonlight through the small window showed Gracie had her thumb in her mouth. How she loved her girls. Her eyes misted at the thought of what had almost befallen them. She had to do better. She had to make sure something like this would never happen again. How frightened the lasses must have been after hiding in the rocks for so long. They had been forced to sleep one night outside without her.
    She closed her eyes against the onslaught of guilt, which tormented her even though she was fully aware the situation had been completely out of her control. After running her fingers through Gracie’s golden locks, she climbed out of bed, searching for something to wear on her feet. There was something she had to do. She just had to.
    After one last check on her slumbering lassies, Caralyn stepped into the cool passageway and closed the door behind her. Her girls were used to her leaving in the middle of the night. If they awakened, and she doubted they would, they wouldn’t wander about. Thank goodness they had each other.
    She tiptoed down the maze of corridors, rationalizing her actions as she searched for Robbie Grant’s chamber. He was her savior. If he hadn’t come upon her when he had, she would have been passed from man to man on a Norse ship, bound for who knows where. Had he not been willing to help her, how could she have found her girls with a sprained ankle? She limped down the passageway, intent on her mission. All she had been able to do was to give him her thanks. Words were not enough. Much as she loved her mother, she knew her mother would disagree with her choice, but her decision was made.
    She knew what men wanted, and she intended to give it to him. She told herself it was only because she was grateful and not due to the blossoming in her heart, though she knew that to be a lie. Robbie had touched something inside her, something she didn’t quite understand, but couldn’t deny. The strength of this feeling left only one course of action: to act on it, even though she knew she risked severe