The Bold Heart (The Highland Heather and Hearts Scottish Romance Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

in astonishment.
    When Robert still didn’t move, Merry lost her temper. She had little time for games. Annoyed, she snapped, “Suffer from a lack of a backbone, do ye? Is that why ye think to ignore me?”
    He looked at her then, his mouth parting slightly in surprise as one of the dice-playing fellows sprang hotly to his feet and drew his sword.
    But Merry was quicker.
    Whirling behind him, she pressed the blade of her dirk against the man’s throat before he’d scarcely managed to stand.
    There was a stunned silence, one in which Merry could hear the man’s panicked breathing mingled with the pounding of her own heart.
    And then Robert chuckled in approval. “You’re a bold fellow!”
    Merry met his gaze with an unwavering glare of her own. “I dinna have the time to play games,” she scolded harshly. “I’ve come to do business and pay ye right well for your services.”
    His smile broadened, revealing yellowed teeth. “I like to test the mettle of a man, you see,” he said with a shrug. And then pointing to the man quavering under the tip of Merry’s dirk, he added, “Let the fool free.”
    After a moment, she let the man go with a shove and sheathed her dirk.
    “A pox on your knavish soul,” the dice-playing man muttered as he slunk into the shadows amidst the amused snickering of his companions.
    “Hulda says you wish to enter the dungeon,” Robert said without preamble. “Now is a dangerous time for such things. You would do better to wait—”
    “I canna wait,” Merry interrupted. “I must enter, and I must bring others with me as I leave.”
    He eyed her speculatively, and then said, “Three Rose Nobles. No less.”
    “’Tis no more than highway robbery!” Merry snapped, outraged. Within her cloak, she hefted her money pouch, knowing she had scarce but ten shillings left in it.
    Robert saw her hesitation. “Then a good day, young sir,” he said, turning back to the dice game.
    Merry frowned, frustrated. She had no more coin, but she had the silver filigreed saddle—Ruan’s gift. Parting from it would be painful but worth the cause.
    Adopting a brash tone, she tossed her money pouch at the man. “This coin and a fine-tooled saddle with silver tracings,” she said. “A saddle fit for a nobleman. ‘Tis worth a small fortune.”
    Catching the pouch, he tilted his head speculatively to one side, and then shaking the coins into the palm of his hand, counted them swiftly. His eyes lit.
    Knowing that he was going to agree, she added quickly, “And ye must supply two caskets of Rhennish wine and send them to distract the guards this very day. I canna wait.”
    “Now?” he asked, astonished. “You’re mad. Night would—”
    “Nay, ‘twill not be expected now.” She shook her head with certainty. “There are fewer guards now, are there not?”
    “Because ‘tis madness to escape in the broad light of day,” he snorted, scratching his stubbly chin. “And there’s hangings this evening ...” At that, his eyes narrowed shrewdly.
    “They’ll be expecting an attack on the way to Hairibee,” Merry answered his unspoken question. “Not afore, at the castle.”
    His frown deepened and his gaze lost focus. After a moment, he gave a small laugh. “Mayhap ‘twill work. I’ve never known a guard to turn down the chance to swill the Rhennish juice.”
    Merry nodded, forcing a calm smile.
    “Forsooth, but you Scottish folk are touched in the head. ’Tis folly to try such a thing, but I’ll send the wine. I know just the men who won’t be able to resist it. Yes, I’ll see you in, and get you out the gate. After that, you’re on your own,” he said, shaking his head in outright admiration. “You certainly are a bold fellow.”
    “Then I’ll return with the saddle within the hour,” Merry said, rising to her feet.
    It all happened quickly after that, and by the time she’d returned, she’d found Robert true to his word. The wine had been sent, and he was ready, sitting in a