The Highlander's Temptation Read Online Free PDF

scent of wildflowers calmed her, and she could lay in the grass all day and stare up at the clouds.
    No brothers to argue with. No little sister demanding her attention , and no Aunt Fiona fussing over her every move. Out here, all was quiet. Calm. Just Lorna and Mother Earth. She could be herself. Could ride her horse any way she pleased, or lounge on the beach or moors as she was, not concerned for sitting properly nor for the grains of sand or blades of grass stuck in her hair.
    Lorna gazed up at the tranquil sky. A few white puffs of clouds filled the blue, and in the distance a clash of gray clouds advanced. In her estimation, she had about an hour left of peace before a storm broke loose, drenching her in nature’s tears—a situation she would never hear the end of from her aunt, and then from her brothers who would also be pestered by the woman. No lady of consequence would frolic in the rain, nor comport herself in a way that would be considered shameful to her family. Aunt Fiona was filled with ladylike rules of decorum that she expected all the female relations to follow. Lorna tried to follow them most of the time, but then there were those days where she just didn’t care. She wanted to be happy. Being outside made her happy.
    Now, the one thing that she didn’t have in unlimited quantities was patience, and Fiona had already tried her enough on this visit.
    Heather would blame Lorna for no longer being able to go outside unless the sky were free of clouds altogether, and would make certain Lorna paid for not following the rules in Fiona’s presence, for it would mean that they’d both be under more strict scrutiny.
    With a heavy sigh, Lorna sat up and gazed down at the keep, fingers abse ntly toying with the bluebells. To avoid the entire stress one storm could cause her, it would probably be best to vacate the hill now and make way for home. She grabbed a cluster of bluebells and tucked them into the basket she’d brought with her—her excuse for leaving the walls.
    Lorna whistled for Angel, who munched on grass some forty feet away. The dappled white and iron-colored mare’s head bobbed up from the cluster of sweet clover she’d being dining on, to stare at Lorna as if she hoped to have not heard the whistle.
    “The grass here is most sweet, is it not, Angel?” Lorna said with a laugh.
    Her horse nickered, took a few more nibbles, then made her way over. The ground beneath Lorna’s rear rumbled, vibrating. Glancing up at Angel, who was taking her sweet time, fear trickled like ice over her spine. She flattened her hands to ground, feeling the earth tremble. There were only two reasons the ground would pulse as it did—thunder from a storm and thunder from a horse.
    And Angel wasn’t running. In fact, her horse had stopped walking, ears perked as she, too, heard the oncoming rider. Lorna jumped to her feet, basket spilling from her lap. Ignoring the lost flowers, she flicked her gaze all around, trying to pinpoint the riders who had to be gaining on her, but there didn’t appear to be anyone in sight.
    A quick glance at the guards on top of the battlements showed t hey, too, seemed to see someone approaching. They waved frantically toward her. Zounds! They’d be giving her an earful, for convincing them yet again to let her leave without an escort—no matter how many sweet, buttered buns she brought them.
    Not wasting a moment, not even to collect her basket and flowers, she lifted her skirts, running toward her horse, her hair coming loose and whipping every which way as a swift breeze wrapped itself around her. Angel pranced, unsteady on her feet as nerves took over. The mare was good and steady when Lorna needed her for her latest trick, but she was also skittish in the face of danger. A fact, Lorna had only realized on very few occasions. This being one of them.
    Lord, she’d been stupid for coming up here. She should have listened to her aunt. Ugh, she should have listened to her older