A Promise Given Read Free Page B

brow climbed high. "Ah," Margaret said smoothly.
"But would you wish another husband for me?"
    "Indeed, I've never even thought of such a thing," Sabrina admitted. "This
marriage has been arranged for nearly as long as I can remember."
    "Yes," Margaret murmured. "Yes, I do suppose there is little point in
speculating. The men I'm acquainted with are either clansmen, married, already
betrothed, or a trifle too young."
    Sabrina's mind had already sped straight to Jamie.
    A pang of guilt nipped at her, for she regretted that Margaret's choice of
husband had never been her own to make. Mayhap it was selfish of her, but she
was eternally grateful that Papa had not made similar efforts to see his
youngest daughter betrothed. Yet for the first time she was given to wonder if
Margaret loved Ian…
    It was much later when she was at last able to slip away. Her steps carried
her down a little-used dirt pathway that wound away from the keep, to a glade
hidden deep in the forest, a place she had always treasured as her own. There
was never anyone about to disturb her musings, and it was here that she had come
when she tired of Papa's roars of disapproval.
    The day's last spears of sunlight burst rich and golden through the boughs of
fir trees which arched overhead. At the center of her haven was an oval-shaped
pool of clear, glistening water. Feathery-rimmed ferns grew thick and abundant
near the pool's edge.
    The keep seemed a world away. Sabrina sat in the sweetly scented grass and
hugged herself in mounting excitement. Margaret would soon be married; the
prospect of telling Jamie they might wed sooner than even she had hoped filled
her with happiness. She had tamed the wicked ways of her youth and there was no
reason for Papa to refuse. No doubt he would count himself well rid of her.
    A smile curved the softness of her lips as one small skipper slid off her
foot, followed by its mate. Sabrina wiggled her toes delightedly, loving the
coolness of the grass against the soles of her feet; she'd always hated the
constraint of footwear. Suddenly feeling free and carefree as she never could in
the company of others, she loosened her plait and ran small, slender fingers
through thick, wavy skeins of amber-gold.
    A butterfly skipped across the width of the pond. The surface of the pool was
smooth as a bed of freshly fallen snow; the waters glistened invitingly, and she
was all at once conscious of the grime of the day's efforts heavy upon her
body.
    Her fingers crept to the laces of her bodice. Dainty white teeth caught at
the flesh of her lower lip. High above, birds perched in the branches chattered
to each other. A rabbit scurried through the grass alongside her.
    There was no one to see. No one to care. Besides, it wasn't as if she'd never
done so before…
    Bowing to the lure of temptation, she tugged the hem of her gown high and
over her head. A moment later she dove naked into the pool from a narrow, rocky
ledge. She gasped at the coolness of the water against her flesh, but she
welcomed it wholeheartedly, for the day had been unseasonably warm for
spring.
    She broke the surface of the water with a breathless little laugh. God, but
she loved this place! Here, there was no one to chide her, no one to watch with
disapproving eyes, no one to tell her what she should or should not do. Here she
was free as never before.
    She dove in yet again. Three strokes took her toward the shore. Finding her
footing on the sandy bottom, she stood, squeezing the water from her hair.
Twisting it into a long rope, she flung it over one bare shoulder, her gaze idly
skimming the glade.
    Then all at once a strangled cry wedged in her throat. Sheer panic clutched
her heart. Alas, she had made a terrible, terrible mistake…!
    For she was not alone at all.
Chapter 2
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    The chieftain of the clan MacGregor was in the prime of manhood, with muscles
hewn like a massive oak tree. Like his father, he stood tall as the