Seducing a Scottish Bride Read Online Free PDF

arrangements can be made, Gelis must wed the
     Raven. God help the man if aught befalls her.”

Chapter Two

    G elis paused just inside the crowded bailey, her hand still on the latch of the postern gate. Chaos reigned, and she didn’t
     need her newly discovered ability as a
taibhsear
to recognize that the turmoil was anything but the usual bustle and stir known to fill Eilean Creag’s vast, cobbled courtyard.
     Not that the pandemonium ruffled her. Ever one to find a certain excitement in disorder, she put back her shoulders and ran
     her still-frozen fingers through her hair, not surprised to note that nary a pin remained.
    The image of the raven remained as well, the memory of his dark good looks and spellbinding intensity making her heart pound
     and her blood quicken. Thinking, too, of the fierceness of his embrace, she leaned down to swipe at the wet sand and bits
     of seaweed clinging to the lower half of her cloak, not at all bothered that her efforts made so little difference.
    She had more important matters on her mind than caring if anyone glanced askance at her.
    As for her ruined clothes, she’d apologize to the laundresses and see that they received a few ells of fine woolen cloth for
     their trouble, if she could make her way to where they worked at a wooden trough across the bailey — a next to impossible
     undertaking, considering the throng of kinsmen and servants.
    She bit her lip and glanced round. Some of the garrison men tried to look busy though clearly doing nothing, while others
     gathered in tight, noisy circles, their raised voices and agitation outdone only by the barking of the castle dogs. With the
     exception of her father’s favorite old hounds, Telve and Troddan, every four- legged beast at Eilean Creag raced frantically
     about, scattering chickens, annoying horses, and lending to the general air of madness and mayhem.
    Something was seriously wrong.
    Determined to get to the bottom of it, she started forward, only taking a few steps before Arabella squeezed through the crush
     in front of her. Blocking the way, she reached out and gripped Gelis’s arm.
    “I knew you’d gone to the foreshore.” Arabella’s nose wrinkled at the sight of her mussed and dampened clothes. “You picked
     a fine day to go running about looking like a drowned fishwife.”
    “And you look like a prune with your face all screwed up.” Gelis snatched back her arm. “It
is
a fine day. You won’t believe what —”
    “ ’Tis you who won’t believe what Father has to say to you. He —”
    “You told him about the scrying bowl.” Gelis could feel her face coloring. “Instead of helping Mother stitch pillow coverings,
     you ran off to make trouble for me.”
    “Och, ’tis trouble for you, to be sure, but not of my making.” Arabella grabbed her elbow again and started pulling her forward,
     toward the keep. “A courier arrived while you were out splashing along the lochside. He brought an offer for you and Father
     has agreed. He —”
    “A marriage offer? For me, and not you?” Gelis stopped, shaking her head. “And Father agreed? Ach, I do not believe it.”
    “Right enough ’tis for you. And, nae, I dinna mind. Not at all. Truth is, I would not want such a furor on my shoulders!”
     Arabella looked at her. “Why do you think everyone is in the bailey? They’re hiding from Father’s fury.”
    She jumped aside when one of the castle dogs shot past, chasing two goats. “See? Even the dogs have left the keep, except
     for poor Telve and Troddan. And they’re both cowering in a corner of Father’s solar, looking frightened and with their tails
     between their legs.”
    “I don’t understand.” Gelis swiped at an escaping curl. “You said he agreed.”
    “He did. But that doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.”
    Gelis was too stunned to think straight. “That doesn’t make sense. He’s never greeted such offers with gladness. He wouldn’t
     accept one that makes him so angry