The Key Read Online Free PDF

tabletop and snapped, “Ye'll no be acursin' like that, Seonaid! Do ye do so again I'll
     wash yer mouth out with soap meself.”
    Unimpressed, she rolled her eyes at this threat and laughed. “ Tis no good usin' such
     threats with me, me true-sworn brother. 'Tis far too late to be atryin' to change me ways
     and amakin' me into a lady like yer wife.” She glanced toward Iliana with distaste. “She's
     a puny lass. Prissy as the day is long, too. I doona ken how ye'll be aputtin' up with
     'er.”
    “Well, 'tis good 'tis not yer problem then, isna it?”Duncanmuttered, following her gaze.
    “Aye. Tis well and good. Howbeit, as I said, I be thinkin' 'tis well past time the beddin'
     began. C'mon, Aelfread.”
    Grinning widely, the smaller woman nodded and hurried after Seonaid as she crossed the
     room toward the head table. Duncan had eaten his meal at that table, seated next to his
     bride, but once that chore was finished he had abandoned it in favor of getting
     rip-roaring drunk with his men, something he now concluded was impossible since he still
     felt as sober as an English virgin. Now he watched blankly as his sister moved toward the
     space he had abandoned, his mind slow to grasp her intentions. That was his first hint
     that the ale had been affecting him after all. His second hint came when he lunged to his
     feet to catch her back and found himself sprawled upon the floor, having tripped over the
     bench he sat on.
    By the time Allistair and the other men had raised him back to his feet, razzing him all
     the while, 'twas too late. Seonaid and Aelfread were dragging his wife to the stairs. She
     looked a little less than willing, but his sister and cousin looked quite unconcerned by
     this lack as they hauled her along by the arms.
    “I can dress myself, thank you very much,” Iliana offered the protest again, but Lady
     Seonaid had been ignoring her since dragging her up to the room. Since before that even,
     she thought with exasperation, her gaze sliding to the much smaller redhead who was now
     rifling through her once neatly packed chests.
    When the two women had appeared at her side at the table announcing 'twas time for the
     bedding, Iliana had stilled, panic rising up in her. In an attempt to delay, she had
     claimed that she was still thirsty, but Duncan's sister and her tiny cousin had not even
     seemed to hear the excuse. Grabbing her arms, they had tugged her from her seat and headed
     for the stairs, dragging her protesting form behind.
    Once in the room, the door had been slammed shut and the little one had stalled to ransack
     her chests, while Seonaid had concentrated her attention on “helping” Iliana out of her
     gown... Completely uncaring of the fact that Iliana did not wish her “help!”
    A gasp drew her exasperated smuggles to a halt and Iliana glanced toward the smaller woman
     as Aelfread slowly raised a sheer white tunic from one of the chests. Something squeezed
     tight around Iliana's heart as she peered at that gown Her mother had had it made special
     for her and presented it to Iliana to put in her chest for her wedding night. At the time,
     they had both thought it perfect for a first night for husband and bride. But then, they
     had thought she would at leastlike the man she would marry. They had never imagined
     circumstances like this.
    Her teeth clamping together with a snap, Iliana glanced furiously toward Ebba, who had
     been cowering uselessly in the comer of the room since their arrival. 'That will not do.
     Ebba, fetch my cream gown."
    The maid hesitated, then moved cautiously forward, sorting through the clothes Aelfread
     had strewn on the floor until she came across the thick, warm gown in question. One that
     left everything to the imagination.
    Lady Seonaid, of course, ignored her wishes in this as well. “Nay, ye'll wear the white
     gown,” she announced, continuing to tug Iliana's clothes from her body. “Bring