The Campbell Trilogy Read Online Free PDF Page B

cleared his throat—“captain.”
    Jamie raised a brow, well aware of what he’d been about to say. Henchman was one of the nicer names he was called. “My cousin takes a keen interest in all that happens in Argyll and Bute,” he said pointedly. He drew his finger over the heavy engraving of his goblet. “But there’s also the matter of your daughter.”
    All three men tensed, looking as though they wanted to reach for their swords. The old chief recovered first. His eyes were hard and flat. “Why would my daughter concern you?”
    “I’ve come to see for myself whether the rumors are true.”
    The old man studied him carefully. Jamie watched him struggle with the implications. Although he might not like it, the Lamont was shrewd enough to realize that an alliance with the Campbells—particularly the trusted cousin of the most powerful Campbell of all—could not be summarily dismissed.
    “And she is of interest to you?” the chief asked with surprising calm, though Jamie could see from the whiteness of his knuckles gripping the goblet that he was anything but.
    “Perhaps.” He shrugged noncommittally, pleased that his ruse had worked. The Lamonts were suspicious about the purpose of his visit, but now they were also worried, and some of their focus would be directed on the lass.

Chapter 3

    By midday, Caitrina was restored to her former state of dress, if not her prior good spirits. She’d put the episode in the forest out of her mind as best she could, but the memory of that kiss seemed permanently imprinted on her consciousness, leaving her unsettled.
    She hurried down the stairs toward the great hall, hearing the sounds of revelry, knowing she was late. A fact that was sure to annoy her father. He would undoubtedly interpret her tardiness as another attempt to avoid her “duty.”
    It just wasn’t fair. She was being paraded before a bunch of hungry vultures, and her two brothers, her two
older
brothers, were left alone to do as well they pleased. Malcolm was almost five years her senior and he’d yet to take a wife. While her brothers dallied with every unsuitable lass on Bute, for the last year she’d been forced to fend off the steady stream of suitors who had presented themselves at the castle gate.
    She knew her father thought he was doing what was best for her by forcing the issue of her marriage. He worried that she would grow weary and eventually resent caring for him and her brothers and that they’d kept her too sheltered. She’d never been beyond Bute, except to visit her uncle, the Lamont of Toward. But her father was wrong. She had no desire to go to court—or anywhere else, for that matter. Everything she wanted was right here.
    She loved her family and had no intention of leaving Ascog anytime soon. And certainly not for one of the overbearingoafs who leered at her across the dining table night after night as if she were some prize to be won, or for one of the stammering youths who proclaimed their undying love not five minutes after meeting her. No, Caitrina was quite content where she was. She smiled. Even if she had to reject every man in the Highlands to ensure that it stayed that way.
    This time, however, she wasn’t trying to avoid her suitors by being late; it had taken longer than she thought to bathe and have someone help her with her gown for the second time in one day. Actually, she was rather looking forward to the feast. Even if she didn’t like her father’s ulterior motive—namely to find her a husband—when he’d offered to hold the gathering at Ascog, it was an honor, not to mention exciting. And she could admit to a certain curiosity in discovering the identity of her bold warrior.
    She paused in the stairwell just outside the great hall to catch her breath, sneaking a peek inside. The large, cavernous room was filled to capacity with the colorfully clad clansmen, boisterously celebrating the opening of the games with plenty of the Lamont’s best ale. Although