The Lady and the Falconer Read Online Free PDF

a run, her brown hair flapping behind her as the animal picked up speed. He heard Graham mutter a curse, then the man raced toward the stables. A second later, the noble was riding out of the castle after her. Logan watched as she disappeared down the road to the village, his stomach churning with dread and frustration. He knew Peter must have felt these same dark emotions as he’d watched him ride out of the castle. Logan set his shoulders, steeling himself against the twisting of his stomach. His jaw clenched so tight that his teeth ached. He had no time to be worrying about some impetuous woman. He had to find his brother.
    But how was he going to do that when his only link to Peter was riding out of the castle?
     
     
    ***
     
     
    The nerve of that falconer, Solace thought for the hundredth time, trying to stop me from coming to Dorothy’s aid. She knelt beside the small pallet Dorothy was lying on and smoothed the woman’s dark hair away from her sweaty face. Poor Dorothy tossed her head from side to side, as if she were denying the fact that it hurt so badly, groaning as she moved. Solace cast a glance at the only other occupant in the room, the midwife Agnes. Her wrinkled face was puckered in concentration as she waited between Dorothy’s spread legs.
    A pounding at the door jarred Solace. Is Barclay’s army here already? she wondered. But the voice that came from behind the door was not Barclay’s, nor that of any other man to be concerned with. “They’re coming!” Graham hollered from the other side of the wooden door.
    Solace dipped a cloth into the basin of water beside the bed and dabbed the woman’s forehead, whispering, “Don’t worry, Dorothy. Everything will be fine.”
    Another pounding sounded at the door. “Lady Solace!” Graham cried out again.
    “Agnes?” Solace implored, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
    “Not long now,” the old woman answered in an excited voice. “I can see the head.”
    “Solace!” Graham shouted again.
    Solace cast an annoyed glance at the door before squeezing Dorothy’s hand and saying, “I’ll be right back.”
    “Don’t take long, dear,” Agnes cautioned.
    Solace rushed to the cottage door and threw it open. Graham stood before Solace with his fist raised as though he were going to pound on the wood again. His hazel eyes were filled with desperation and anger. Behind him, the street was vacant and grim, pale moonlight bathing thatch-roofed homes and wooden storefronts in a bleak light. Solace frowned at the sliver of moon. How had so much time slipped away? she wondered.
    “They’re almost here,” Graham exclaimed. “I’m sick of standing here waiting for you. You’ve been inside all day.”
    “The labor’s taking longer than it should,” Solace explained.
    “One of the guards passed and told me Barclay was just outside the town. They’ll start burning the village any minute! We have to go!”
    “I can’t leave Dorothy,” Solace insisted.
    A flush of redness swelled into Graham’s cheeks. “Well, I’m not staying! I won’t give up my life just for some peasant and her whelp!”
    Calm settled over Solace, and a fierce protectiveness filled her. “Then go. No one ever called you a brave man, Graham.”
    Graham’s teeth clenched, and his hand tightened to a fist. “If you weren’t a woman, I’d drive my sword through you.”
    “I don’t think you’d have the courage,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing.
    Graham turned his back on her and headed for the horses.
    “Hook the horse to the wagon!” Solace called after him. She cursed her free-speaking tongue as she closed the door. She could have gotten him to stay with sweet words and a stroking of that enormous ego. But she despised his weakness and cowardice. Couldn’t he see how frightened she truly was? Yet even though she was scared, she could not leave this helpless woman alone in the throes of childbirth. Not even with Barclay and his army descending on