A Noble Deception (The Douglas Clan) Read Free Page B

lone bay gelding housed within and the figure stooped beneath it. The rhythmic melody of a hoof pick scraping against an iron shoe was the only sound to be heard.
    It was this peaceful atmosphere that greeted William Hay, Earl of Erroll, as he stepped into the doorway across the path of the grey daylight.
    “Lachlan, ye’ve a visitor .” His cultured voice echoed off the low, slatted wood walls.
    Lachlan Ramsay’s gelding whickered at the noise, and pulled its front hoof from its master’s hand. A puff of steam emitted from the animal’s snout, condensing against the sharp chill in the late winter air. Rather than fighting, Lachlan let the leg go and stroked his bay’s thigh reassuringly. When the beast settled, he peered around its rump to determine the source of the voice.
    T he Earl of Erroll peered back at Lachlan, a look of pure distaste on his noble face.
    “I shall never understand why ye insist on doing that yerself,” he stated, nodding at the dung-coated scraper which Lachlan held in his hand. “Yer squire should be doing that for ye.”
    Lachlan chuck led. Lifting the bay’s hoof again, he resumed his scraping. “There’s a great many foul tasks I leave to my squire, my Lord. This task I keep to myself. My mount and I, we have a bond. One which I nurture so that he willna fail me in battle.”
    “He hasna failed ye yet .”
    “I havena let a squire near him yet.” Finished with the hoof, Lachlan focussed on the Earl. “I have a visitor, ye say?”
    “Ye have. He waits for ye in my private chamber.”
    “If I may, my Lord, why have ye come to fetch me yerself? Dinna mistake me I am flattered, but why not send a servant for me?”
    “ I wasna doing anything so important that I couldna deliver the message to my best knight in person. Besides, yer visitor is of great power and wealth. I were obliged to see his summons safely delivered.”
    Lord Erroll’s statement, infused as it was with a playful sense of mystery, piqued Lachlan’s curiosity. He raised a dark eyebrow inquiringly.
    “’Tis Edward Douglas, Earl of Albermarle,” Lord Erroll explained.
    “The Earl of Albermarle is here to visit me , my Lord?”
    “Aye, I could hardly believe it myself, but ‘tis so. I’ve seen it wi’ my own eyes. Do wash yer hands before ye come, though. I’d wager ye’d no’ want to bring the smell of horse shite wi’ ye when ye meet him.”
    Lachlan released the gelding’s hoof, and whispered a kind, gentle word to the animal, which responded with another steamy snort. Then he stepped out of the stall into the long, central corridor, and bent to the bucket of water that his squire had placed there less than a quarter of an hour ago. Already the liquid, which had been searing hot when the lad had delivered it, was uncomfortably chilled; it stung Lachlan’s chapped hands, and he was forced to make quick work of removing the offending muck from his fingers and under his nails. When he was finished, he shook off the excess ice water, and followed the earl out of the stables and over the grounds to the castle.
    Overhead the sun had broken through the slate of cloud, and patches of golden light streamed onto the snow-covered hills below. A frigid wind stirred, biting at Lachlan’s cheeks and the tip of his nose. He pulled the upper swath of his plaid over his black hair and around his face so that only his dark eyes could be seen.
    I nside Slains Castle the cold did not recede. Nobles, knights and servants alike were bundled in all manner of garments as they wandered the corridors on their way to and from heated chambers.
    When they reached Lord Erroll’s private chamber , a guard posted outside the room opened the door. Lord Erroll stepped through first, followed by Lachlan.
    Indeed, as Lord Erroll had announced, Lord Albermarle of Kinross waited within. He was seated at a centre table of imported Scandinavian ash wood—a luxury Lord Erroll could well afford. A pewter goblet was clutched in the visiting