Much Ado About Highlanders (The Scottish Relic Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF

stumbled along behind them at the end of a long tether.
    “Sir Ralph,” he said, dismounting and reeling in the old man like a stray dog. “I’ve got a prize for you.”
    Evers nodded but said nothing.
    “This one is called Cairns, and they say in the village that the old bastard possesses great knowledge of the dark arts. He even knows the secrets of the dead.”
    Evers stared at the man with little interest. These ignorant Scots. Every village they plundered had a witch or wizard. Fools. Frightened villagers spewing nonsense to preserve their
lives for an hour longer. Even the entertainment of it was growing stale.
    “Well, old man,” he demanded. “Is there any truth in what they say?”
    Cairns said nothing, but his restless eyes scanned the field of dead bodies around him.
    Maxwell struck him across the face, driving him to the ground. “You will speak when his lordship addresses you.”
    The old man, on his knees, stared at the blood running from his mouth to the black earth. He glanced up only once at Evers, but said nothing. Still, his wizened face, closed and guarded, bespoke secrets.
    Sir Ralph’s eyes narrowed. He knew nothing of sorcery or magic. But he knew about strength and control and power. These things Cairns had
. . .
for the moment.
    “Take him to Redcap Sly,” he told Maxwell. His master of torture. An artist of the first order.
    Whatever Cairns had or knew, it would all be Evers’s before the dismal Scottish sun rose again.

Chapter 3
If I had my mouth, I would bite;
    if I had my liberty, I would do my liking:
    in the meantime, let me be what I am,
    and seek not to alter me.
    “Forgive me, Sister. Normally, I would never raise a hand against any member of the church, but the desperate nature of our situation here demands drastic action.”
    The gray-haired woman, stripped of her habit, veil, and wimple, sat bound and gagged and entirely unhappy in a corner. Her furious glare told Kenna that there was no forgiveness in that old heart at the moment, no matter what the reason.
    “Where are you, cousin?” Kenna peered down at the courtyard. She’d given her word that she would not climb down the tower wall until she saw Emily clear of the building and running for the gates.
    Every blanket and rag in the chamber had been cut into strips and tied into one length of rope. They had even broken up the cot and used the woven pieces of cord that supported the straw tick. The clothing the nun brought up for her had been cut and added to the lengths she’d be using to escape the tower.
    Ignoring the woman’s fierce looks, Kenna tested the strength of the knots.
    “Finally.” She smiled, seeing her cousin in the courtyard. Emily paused for a moment to look up at the tower before hurrying toward the gates.
    “I’m eternally grateful for the clothes and the shoes, Sister. I’ll make arrangements to have them replaced.”
    The nun shook her head vehemently. Kenna moved to the window facing the sea and opened the shutter. The sun was dropping quickly toward the horizon, and the cool breeze whistled through.
    “Don’t worry about me. Even as a young lass, I was climbing greater heights than this.” Usually using good rope, she added silently, but that wasn’t going to stop her now.
    Always given free rein as a child, Kenna had enjoyed every rugged adventure she could find. After her mother’s death, she had been essentially cut loose to run wild. Her father had his boys by then and clan affairs to oversee. Only twelve years old, Kenna found plenty to occupy her time. All of it dangerous.
    She looked down at the wide ledge at the base of the tower wall. Beyond it, a high cliff dropped to a gray-blue sea.
    “This will hold my weight. Don’t give it another thought.” The assurance was more for herself than for the nun.
    One end of the line was tied to the frame of the bed that she’d slid to the window.
    Her captive’s muffled complaints grew more alarmed when Kenna dropped the coiled line