The Highlander's Triumph Read Online Free PDF Page A

jaw, high cheekbones, arched brows. A day’s growth of dark stubble covered his cheeks and chin and she wanted so badly to scrape her palm over it. Blowing out a breath , she flicked her gaze toward her cold-numbed toes.
    She made a vow not to lie to Brandon. Half-truths and a few missing facts weren’t considered lying. Oui, it was omitting, but not blatantly changing the truth of things.
    “The English king sent me to Ross with a message.” She paused, uncertain of what she should say, how much was too much. “He knew where Ross was, and an escort brought me to Kinterloch.”
    “Did he say how he and Ross communicated?” Brandon stared at her intensely and she guessed he was trying to see how much of what she said was the truth.
    Mariana shook her head. “Nay, he didn’t tell me that.”
    “What was your message?”
    Chewing on her lip, she delayed having to say anything further. How could she tell him the English king sent orders for Wallace to be executed?
    “King Edward sent word of his coming invasion. He also sent orders for…” She blinked away the dryness of her eyes from having stared unblinking at the ground.
    “For Ross to put us down?”
    Mariana’s head flew up, her eyes wide with trepidation as she stared at Brandon. “How did you know?”
    He laughed, but the merriment didn’t quite reach his eyes. Why did she get the feeling he knew a lot more about Ross’ plans than she was led to believe? What all had occurred in the Highlands before she arrived?
    “Ross has been hell bent on destroying us for months. Longshanks despises us. ’Tis not hard to put two and two together.”
    Mariana offered a weak smile. Indeed, she should have known how clever this man was. He would read between the lines of what she said, or fill in the blanks with the things she didn’t say. ’Twould appear Kinterloch was not the first casualty of this war for power.
    A breeze rustled through the trees, making her already unkempt hair flutter into her face. Brandon brushed the errant waves from her forehead, his fingertips lingering on her cheek. His hand was warm, branding a circle where each of his fingers touched. Mariana swallowed, the lump in her throat suddenly the size of a boulder.
    She curled her hands into fists within the soft fabric of her borrowed cloak to keep from reaching up and pressing his hand all the way to her face, if only to feel some connection. A linking on a human, emotional level that she’d never been allowed to explore. Her week with Ross, the months with King Edward, her marriage, none of it was about affection, love. Never did she feel cherished. Only used.
    Te ars stung the backs of her eyes, but she quickly willed them away. She would not cry or let what Fate had dealt her mar this moment, or Brandon’s opinion of her. So, instead, she turned her face away, shunning her needs as she so often did. What reward had she gained for such sacrifice? That was an answer she’d yet to come across. Perhaps life. She was a pawn in a dangerous game. Completely expendable. If she didn’t do their bidding, or betrayed them in any way, those with power over her would take away her breath. Snuff her out without a second thought. There was no reward. She did what she must to survive.
    “ Ross has over two-hundred men with him. He bade me stay at Kinterloch so I could report back to him when you arrived and succumbed to his trap.”
    “Trap?”
    “The fire.”
    Brandon raised a sardonic brow. “Did he not think we could see it?”
    Mariana bit her lip, resisting the urge to laugh bitterly. “I’m not entirely sure he thinks much at all. Perhaps he thought that his armies might catch you by the burn where they waited, but upon seeing Ronan and Julianna, they may have assumed Wallace was not with you. Or they moved too slow to find out for sure. I suppose he assumed you would rush into the village to save the people, and perhaps hoped that your men would succumb as the innocent did.” Her voice