Winning the Highlander's Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

hand.  Would not she be safer with her king and cousin Matilda?  Particularly when they had no idea what had happened to Anice’s staff members.
    “She wishes to leave at once, but His Grace says no.  She will leave on the morrow with you as His Grace has said.”  The steward scuttled back inside the keep.
    Malcolm glanced at his brothers, who both smiled at him.
    Dougald shook his head, the knowing look on his face, annoying Malcolm.  “I have told you, the lady is a handful.”
    “Aye, that she is.”  A soft, warm, curvaceous handful.  When he’d had his arms wrapped around her soft body, all he could think of was how fortunate the laird would be who gained her hand in marriage.  His neck muscles strained with tension.  So why did this thought stir him into wanting to do battle when he desired instead an English bride?
    *  *  *
    Anice stared out the window, watching Laird MacNeill pace across the inner bailey.  Was he bothered that he had upset her so?  Or did he worry he’d lost favor with the king?
    Mai placed her hand on her shoulder, her touch warm and comforting like her mother’s had been when she was a child.  “Milady, the king’s physician bade you stay in bed.”
    “I am fine, Mai.  I dinna need to lie down.”
    Mai peeked out the window.  “I told ye to leave the Highlander well enough alone.  Look what he did to you!  Frightened you half to death.  Me, too, if anybody has a care.”
    Swallowing hard, Anice rubbed her chilled skin.  “Did my staff run off because they have stolen my funds?  Or have they been disposed of for some sinister reason?  I must know what happened to them and why.  Their families must be overcome with grief.  Why cannot His Grace let me leave now?”
    Queen Matilda cleared her throat as she walked into the chambers.  “Because the king’s physician says you shall stay.  Why are you up and about?  You are to be resting in bed.”
    Anice quickly curtsied.  “I am no’ tired, beg your pardon, Your Grace.  Why did Your Grace not tell me what happened already?”
    “I did not know until right before the meal.”
    “Was everything he said true?  Laird MacNeill, I mean.  That he and his brothers will replace my staff?”
    “Until you are wed, aye.”
    Anice narrowed her eyes.  “And who is to be chosen for me?  An English laird?”
    “A Norman lord.  Baron Harold de Fontenot will be visiting you once you return.  He is the king’s most fervent choice because he is loyal to His Grace.  He hopes that you will look on the gentleman favorably.”
    Had Anice any choice?  She doubted it.
    “I have to say, my cousin, I spoke to His Grace about permitting you to return to your castle because of how homesick you are.  You should not have tried to leave here on your own.  English nobles will think you are a wild Scotswoman, unruly and unmanageable.  Rumors are circulating you even climbed out the keep window.  Of course, you would not have done anything so foolish as that.  ‘Tis a wonder what stories idle tongues will forge next.”
    Anice fought speaking in her defense, pursed her lips, and kept her mouth closed.
    “There is this matter of the curse, but of course only the truly superstitious believe in it.”
    Did her cousin have to bring that up?  Even though she fought believing it herself, she sometimes wondered—
    “I must admit, Anice, I admire you for not succumbing to the charms of my husband.  Any woman in your place would not have done so.  For that reason, I spoke on your behalf.”
    Anice smiled, grateful for her assistance, and glad to know that Henry’s actions had not gone unnoticed by Matilda.  “Thanks be to thee, Your Grace.”  She curtseyed deeply.
    Matilda poked her nose out the window.  “His Grace is sending the MacNeill brothers to fill your staff in the interim and escort you home.”
    “Why?  Should I no’ make this decision about my staff?”  Anice couldn’t help the dismay coating her