Lyon's Gift Read Online Free PDF Page B

she hoped not! She had to believe not!
But he was an
Englishman after all.
    She should speak up and put an end to the
escalations once and for all, she knew. All she had to do was step
forward and take responsibility.
    Right?
    She tapped a nail against her teeth,
considering... What precisely would confessing accomplish? As she’d
very likely still have to wed the Englishman, after all—and truth
to tell, the Montgomerie-Brodie feud had reached a level to which
her simple confession of stealing a single Montgomerie goat was
like to make no difference at all.
    Too much had passed between them already,
she reasoned.
    So, then... all Alison could truly hope to
accomplish with her confession was to make everyone angry with
her—and nay, that simply wouldn’t do at all!
    Springing up from her think-place upon the
boulder, she hurriedly tethered the lamb to a nearby bush.
    Of a sudden, she didn’t wish to wait for
Meghan, because Meghan would know intuitively that something was
wrong. And if she asked, if she merely glanced at Alison with that
canny way she possessed, Alison would be forced to confess
everything. She would never be able to keep anything from Meghan,
she knew—and truth be told, she didn’t wish to confess anything at
all!
    The only thing worse than having Colin
Brodie angry with her, she determined, was to have everyone angry
with her.
    Abandoning her gift for Meghan to find, she
hurried away from the meadow as fast as she could go.
     
     
    There was no sign of Alison when Meghan
entered the clearing—only a tiny lamb tied to a bush near the old
cairn, where Colin had said Alison would be waiting for her.
    Meghan’s brows drew together into a frown as
she contemplated the bleating little creature. Either her dear
friend had left in a terrible rush, abandoning her charge, or this
was some cruel joke of Colin’s in order to make clear his feelings
toward Alison MacLean.
    She didn’t think Colin could be so cruel. It
had to be that Alison had hied away for some reason. But... unless
Alison were in danger... why would she leave without taking her
sweet little lamb?
    Meghan’s gaze scanned the meadow for some
clue as to her friend’s sudden disappearance, but there was no sign
of disturbance at all: the hillside meadow seemed as serene as
ever. The posies swayed with the breeze, like little dancing people
with painted faces.
    In the distance the birds chirped merrily
from the lush green treetops of the forest.
    All was as it should be.
    Shrugging, Meghan made her way to the little
lamb, intending to set it free. She stroked it gently while she
untethered it and then wrapped the lead rope about her wrist. “Poor
wee lammie,” she commiserated with it. “How could anyone abandon
such a sweet little thing as yourself?’’
    The lamb bleated shyly and peered up at her
with bright trusting eyes, and Meghan smiled as she drew upon the
lead rope, prompting it to follow.
    “ Let’s go now!’’ she
urged. “You’re comin’ home with me. Findings, keepings!” she
announced. Och, but why would anyone bind an animal and then leave
it? she wondered.
    Unless the owner planned to come back for it
later?
    “ Poor wee lost lammie,”
she said, coaxing it to follow.
    She scanned the meadow once more, still
finding nothing and shrugging, she started away. The lamb
hesitated, and then followed, and Meghan smiled down at the
beast.
    Well, it was her beastie now, she
determined. They certainly could use the livestock after having
been so thoroughly raided by David’s English lackey. And this was
Brodie land, after all! It made little sense that someone would
leave their animal bound here, whether they were returning for it
or not.
    And furthermore, they didn’t deserve the
poor animal if they could so cruelly leave it to bake beneath the
hot sun.
    Unless...
    She faltered in her step. Perhaps it
belonged to Alison and she’d had to abandon it suddenly—though what
Alison would be doing with a single lamb this far