Maiden of Inverness Read Online Free PDF Page B

at her feet. Was the daughter as treacherous as the sire?
    The unfairness drained Revas as no battle had, for the success of his life’s work rested, not on his ability to lead and thrive, but on one woman’s virtue.
    â€œDo you believe her?”
    Turning, Revas saw John Sutherland rise from the bottom rung of the companionway steps, a lantern in his hand, a sheen of sea spray in his graying hair.
    Hope forced Revas to say, “Nay. She’s a maiden to her soul.”
    â€œMaidenhead or no, ’tis a blessing she’s already wed to you, for I know a dozen Sutherland chieftains who’d trade their father’s best sporran for a chance to tame her heart.” He pushed to his feet. “By the stone, Revas, she is comely.”
    Revas had expected other men to covet his wife for her beauty, but not for her spirit. The fact that she was the Maiden of Inverness was enough to inspire a man to possess her. But she belonged to Revas Macduff. “She has a fire in her.”
    Sutherland laughed so hard, he almost dropped the lantern. “You’ve a gift of understatement even our sovereign, Robert Bruce, would envy. She’s a bonfire of defiance.”
    Revas had no intention of putting out her fire; the Highlanders needed her spirit. Especially now when autonomy from England had become an attainable goal.
    Meridene needed the people, too; she just didn’t know it yet. He had a plan to change her mind and win her heart. She’d left him no choice but to kidnap her; his informant, Ana, had told him Meridene would not come willingly.
    â€œHow fares Ana?”
    Shaking his head, Sutherland blew out an exhausted breath. “She saw you carry your wife aboard and recalled your promise to treat Lady Meridene kindly.”
    Revas battled back guilt. The cog pitched and he braced his arm on the bulkhead until the ship crested a wave. “She’s not to fret, John. Meridene is unharmed, and what I did ’twas for the best.”
    â€œAye, you’ve an obligation to the people and a duty to your wife.”
    Revas was beginning to think that winning a kingdom might prove easier than swaying his wife. “Would that she were a wee bit biddable.”
    Sutherland nodded in sage agreement. “What of your promise to Bruce?”
    Robert Bruce, the king of Scotland, knew and approved of Revas’s plan to bring Meridene home, as long as she was willing, and Revas had assured him she was. If not, Bruce expected Revas to take the throne of the Highlands by force from Cutberth Macgillivray.
    The grim alternative depressed Revas. By reverting to the old ways and declaring war on his dissenters, he could only hope to rule the Highlands by force. The solution was unthinkable, for in returning to the warlike past, he risked losing the peaceful future.
    Frustrated with his choices, he headed up the companionway stairs. “Is Randolph’s ship still in sight?”
    Sutherland followed, holding the lantern high to light their way. “Aye, a dozen ships’ lengths off the starboard bow.”
    Randolph was the younger brother of Drummond Macqueen, a former chieftain who’d recently received a pardon from English captivity. Drummond’s wife had been raised with Meridene at Scarborough Abbey. At Christmas last, Drummond had sent his brother, Randolph, with a message for Revas. In the note, he revealed where Revas could find Meridene and explained that she wanted nothing to do with her husband or Scotland.
    Then Revas had sent Ana Sutherland to Scarborough Abbey to verify the story.
    At the top of the stairs, Revas threw open the hatch. The night wind whistled across the deck, and he drew on his cloak to ward off the chill.
    â€œShall I hail Randolph’s ship?” Sutherland asked.
    Revas spotted the vessel, riding the waves hard by. “Aye. He’s to take a message to Bruce.”
    â€œA message? But the king expects to see the Maiden. He said as much when