Trouble with a Highland Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

eyes. “You were one of the mounted party come to parlay.”
    “I was there only to rescue the poor folk that were caught in the valley when ye marched in,” defended Gwyn. “There were children playing in the fields.”
    “Rescue them from what? It was not as if we would slaughter innocents in our path,” argued Lockton.
    “Dinna try to deny it. I saw a scout trying to attack a young lass. And ye attacked me yerself!”
    Lockton opened his mouth as if to argue, then shook his head and leaned against the wall. “I did not intend to hurt you. I only wanted the key to the gate.”
    “Ye dinna intend to hurt me? Look at me!” Gwyn motioned down her gown. It was dirty and torn. In truth, she had done worse to her gowns and she cared little for it, but it was the principle of the thing. It was one thing to get dirty herself. It was another to be knocked down by an English knight—even if he was undeniably attractive.
    “The gown looks fine,” said Lockton.
    “Are ye daft? Look at these stains? How am I to explain to Isabelle I ruined another gown?” She stepped closer to show him the damage.
    “Naught but a little dirt, it will brush right off.”
    “This is a tear!” Gwyn held out the injured gown.
    “Where?”
    “Here!” Gwyn stepped up to the gate so he could see. He bent over as if to look, then quick as a snake reached though the bars and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against the gate. He thrust his other hand in her pocket and pulled something out, releasing her before she could even think to scream.
    “Ha!” He held his hand aloft, grasping the sprig of elder. His triumphant grin vanished when he realized what he had. “That is not the key.”
    “Oh, no! I need that,” cried Gwyn, suddenly remembering why she was outside to begin with.
    “Give me the key to the far gate and I’ll give you the twig,” said Lockton, his eyes gleaming at her with intensity.
    Gwyn’s heart twisted with the sudden remembrance of the urgency of her mission, the reason she had braved going outside in the first place. If she lost the elder branch now, everything she had done would be for nothing. “I canna give ye the key. But please, I do need the plant.”
    “And I truly need out of here, with my knife if you please.”
    “Here, take yer knife. I’m no thief.” Gwyn threw the golden knife through the bars of the gate, and it landed with a soft thud on the packed-dirt floor. “Now ye give me the elder twig.”
    “What I need is the key. I promise to let myself out and leave it on the ground. All I want to do now is return to my camp.” Lockton’s eyes were open and honest. But she knew she could not give their enemy the keys to the castle, even if he did look like an angel from heaven above.
    Gwyn’s mind spun trying to figure out how to get the plant from the knight’s hand. In desperation, she turned to the truth. “I need the elder branch to make a medicine, a tincture for a wee lass wi’ the croup. She struggles with every breath. That twig ye hold may be the only thing that can save her.”
    Lockton’s lips tightened into a thin line. “And it was on an errand of mercy that you were outside that castle?”
    Gwyn nodded.
    The knight held the elder twig out through the bars of the gate. Gwyn took a step forward but hesitated. He had tricked her once before.
    “And what is yer demand in return?” she asked.
    “If your mission is one of mercy for an innocent, then as an honest knight, I am honor bound to support your efforts. I ask you for nothing.” His eyes were strong and deep, pulling her closer.
    She stepped toward him, swallowing on a dry throat. She stopped just outside of his reach. Could she trust him? No, definitely not. But she would do it anyway. She took one more step, snatched the elder branch from his hand, and jumped back to safety. She spun to leave, reached the wooden door, and paused, turning back.
    “Thank ye. I dinna expect chivalry from a Sassenach. Ye surprise