True Love Brides 02 - The Highlander’s Curse Read Online Free PDF Page B

ideas and concerns. In that he found relief, for this holding was different from the last: the people of Seton Manor were contented.
    Even so, there were more of them than he had expected. Perhaps a hundred souls were gathered within the walls ahead of him, a group that far outnumbered him and could easily overpower him if they turned against him.
    Like the last time.
    And she would witness his humiliation.
    Dampness gathered on Garrett’s palms as the whisper of voices grew louder and more numerous. Their thoughts echoed in his own: their anger, their fear, their passion, their demands all resonating within his own mind. The chorus seemed to feed itself, multiplying in volume with every step he took.
    Garrett rounded a bend in the road, his mouth dry, and was assaulted by another burst in volume. With proximity, the press of the thoughts of others grew stronger, and he wondered how he could endure it. Already, the cacophony made it hard to place one foot in front of the other and to maintain the grasp of his own thoughts. It was all too easy to recall his last humiliation.
    She would see if he failed, and his chance of salvation would be lost forever.
    Even as he bolstered his own resolve, Garrett paused in the road. He could see the silhouette of the manor against the night sky and the sentries’ torches burning brightly in the night. He could hear the guards talking to each other, hear them audibly over even the tumult in his thoughts. He felt sweat bead on his temples, slide down his spine, yet he walked onward. His teeth were gritted, his fists clenched. The chattering grew louder and louder, a cacophony fit to drive him to madness.
    He had to do it. He had to make it there.
    He thought of the maiden, of the serenity of her thoughts and the prize he might win if he earned her hand. Surely this ordeal was worth enduring.
    Garrett walked onward, his body stiffening as he fought against the voices. And in his weakness, doubt took hold of him. The boldness that he had found in her sweet kiss ebbed away and faded, like a tan beneath winter’s light. He began to stagger.
    What would be achieved by his appearance in the hall, if he was so snared in his curse? He would not be able to speak to his maiden, not when he was like this. He would not be able to answer her family’s questions. They would all think him mad or simple. He would be laughed out of the hall, if not worse, and she would be disappointed. That slim opportunity would be cast to the winds, sacrificed forever.
    He would lose her before he even had a chance to win her.
    He had already lost one opportunity, thanks to his curse.
    The gates were close, the one guard looking toward him.
    It could cost him everything to approach her like this.
    Nay, he had to draw her back into the woods. He had to court her away from other people. He had to win her heart before he met her family, for then she could fight for what they both desired.
    Garrett thought of the perfect solution, just as the guard raised a hand.
    The pelt. He would wait until the pelt was cured. He would send it to her as a gift, and she would seek him out. He would meet her in the glade again, apologize, win her trust and love.
    And then, with her hand in his, he would conquer this most daunting challenge.
    “Hoy, there!” shouted one guard, and the other turned to look.
    Garrett plunged back into the protective shadows of the forest. He sensed the second guard’s confusion.
    “Who do you hail?” demanded the second guard.
    “There was someone approaching. I am certain of it.”
    The second guard laughed. “And he has vanished into thin air, as quickly as that?” He laughed again. “Do not think you can convince me to jump at shadows on this night, just to see yourself amused. I am not so readily misled as that.”
    But Garrett heard the first guard’s uncertainty and knew he would not forget what he had seen very soon. It was hard to care, though, for each step into the forest quieted the chaos