The Lady and the Falconer Read Online Free PDF Page B

her castle.
    Barclay had picked their most vulnerable time to attack -- while her father was away at Parliament, planning to conquer the French with King Richard and leaving her stepmother in charge of Castle Fulton. It just didn’t make sense, Solace thought. Why was Barclay attacking Fulton? They had never done anything to him. He had never been an ally, but he had never been an enemy either. She wondered what he hoped to gain by laying siege to Castle Fulton. Did he need the lands? Were his crops failing?
    A scream from the room behind her jolted her back to reality, and she rushed to Dorothy’s side. She grabbed the cloth from the bedside and dabbed the woman’s forehead, turning to look at Agnes. That woman’s wise old eyes were centered on the new life about to be born. Solace wanted Agnes to leave and seek the safety of the castle. As she opened her mouth to tell her so, Dorothy’s cry rent the air and Solace turned to whisper soothing words to her.
    It wasn’t long afterward that the first cry of life resounded in the room.
    “Get them ready to move,” Solace whispered hurriedly to Agnes. “I’m going to check on the wagon.”
    As soon as Solace stepped from the building into the night, the strong scent of smoke stung her nose.
    Barclay was in the village!
    She spotted the wagon and horse tethered near the side of the house and gave a brief prayer of thanks to God that Graham had not left them stranded. She whirled toward the house to find Agnes helping Dorothy from the building. Dorothy clutched a small baby girl wrapped in blankets tightly to her bosom as she hurried from the cottage. Solace grabbed Dorothy’s arm, helping her into the back of the wagon. She turned to assist Agnes, but the woman was already easing herself into the cart.
    Solace ran to the front of the wagon and climbed in, lashing the horse, driving him down the vacant street toward the castle. She gripped the reins tightly, wishing desperately that some of the soldiers or mercenaries had accompanied her, but she had left in such a hurry the only one who knew she had gone was Graham... and that falconer. If handsome looks were bravery, she would be as safe as a kitten curled up beside a roaring hearth.
    The wagon hit a bump and Solace was almost knocked from her seat, but she held onto the reins with two hands and drove the horse on with a snap of her wrists. She quickly glanced over her shoulder into the back of the wagon to see Dorothy holding the baby to her breast, shielding the infant from the rough ride as best she could.
    Smoke from the burning village swirled around Solace, blown by the fierce winds. The gusts whipped her hair wildly about her. She turned around to face the road, wishing she could make out the welcoming sight of an open drawbridge, but she was still too far away to see in the darkness. Her heart pounded in her chest. She had to make it. If not for her own sake, then at least for the sake of the mother and her newborn babe.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Logan paced the battlements, just as his father must have done all those years ago. He clenched and unclenched his hands. Graham had returned a few moments ago and announced that Solace was still in the village. Where the hell was she? Logan wondered. Around him, soldiers looked for Barclay’s troops, but his gaze swept the road before the castle for a glimpse of the girl. In the far distance, a line of fire preceded the attacking army, a line that grew hotter and brighter as the torch-wielding warriors moved closer. Even the falcon at his shoulder constantly shifted position, darting its head this way and that, its large brown eyes wide and alert.
    Lady Alissa stood at the walls not far from him. He heard her mutter soft curses beneath her breath. Her hair was hidden by a red-horned headdress, which made her look like the devil himself. Her eyes were narrowed with anger, her hands balled.
    Had father been that angry with me? The thought entered Logan’s mind unbidden. He