The Lady and the Knight (Highland Brides) Read Online Free PDF Page A

maid was with me, and a small retinue of guards." He looked as if he would speak, but she rushed on, committed to this fanciful tale that might save her life and that of the babe she'd vowed to protect. "We were attacked by brigands. Mayhap even the same band that killed those women of whom you speak. That is the truth. I swear it." She sobbed again.
    Thomas squirmed in the security of his pouch. "I swear it!" she repeated and fell to her knees to drop her face into her hands and cry.
    Minutes ticked by. She continued to sob, softly, not trying to stem the flow, but thinking, planning.
    Looking between her spread fingers, she watched him sheath his sword. His legs were covered in dark hose and his feet in high, leather boots. Nearby there was a rock the size of her fist. If he didn't believe her story, she would slam it into his knee and pray for strength.
    He cleared his throat. She watched his feet shift slightly, as if he were uncomfortable with her tears.
    He cleared his throat again. "Were they all killed?" His tone was still gruff, but there was uncertainty in it now.
    "I dunna think so. My maid, Shona..." Not Shona! She shouldn't have used her cousin's name, for if this man knew of Caroline and the bairn, mayhap he knew something of her family, too. But it was too late to change her words now. "Shona's mount came up lame. We had to stop. Twas just afore dusk two days since when we were attacked. There were so many of them. They were all around us. I canna..." She hiccuped. Behind him was a hill. She would have a better chance against his greater bulk if she ran uphill, especially if his knee was broken. But that was a last resort. "I canna blame the guards for running off."
    His fists tightened again. "Your guards left you?"
    Glancing up, she saw his scar dance as his mouth quirked. But the insanity had left his eyes.
    "They tried to fight. Edward, poor Edward fell, and then I... I'm so ashamed..."
    "What happened?" His tone was flat, his expression inscrutable.
    "I grabbed John and hid in the woods. I told myself..." Hiccup. "I told myself I had to save my child, but... But I know twas pure cowardice. And in the face of such bravery."
    "Bravery?"
    "Shona! Always so clever she is... was," she corrected softly. "She led them away from us."
    He waited in silence.
    "My steed was the faster. She had the best chance of leading the brigands afield if she rode Reul."
    "She took your horse?" His voice was deep as he tried to assimilate her garbled story.
    "Aye. And she hasn't returned. I'm so afraid for her. She may be dead or worse." Glancing up at his face, she grasped his sleeve. "Could ye... Could ye go find her?"
    "Lady, I—"
    "Please. My father is not a poor man." She stared up at him from her knees. It was a long ways up. "He will pay. Wee John loved her. She's so selfless and—"
    "Aye." He scanned the clearing again, then whistled softly—one long note and one short. "She has probably selflessly sold your steed by now and is living well off the proceeds as you and your babe perish in the woods."
    She raised her chin slightly as she wiped the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand.
    "Shona would do no such thing."
    He stared at her as he cradled his wounded arm against his chest. "And you are all kindness and caring."
    "I must go find her." She hoped with all her might that he would believe her and let her go, because the chances of breaking his knee before he killed her were slim.
    But in a moment he had caught her arm and dragged her to her feet, leaving the rock well out of reach.
    "You'll do no such thing," he insisted.

Chapter 2
    The woman called Bernadette tugged, trying to break free of Boden's grip on her arm. He supposed she had some right to fear him. After all, he had threatened her life. But the death craze was fading now. Reality was settling in, dulling the memories of the horrors he had seen in the woods.
    She'd had nothing to do with Caroline's death. Or so she said. And though he may be a