Highland Brides 04 - Lion Heart Read Free

half-brother wasn’t exactly burly. A simple, polite inquiry would likely have gotten them a simple, polite response.
    It was true that they were in strange woodlands and possibly enemy territory, but it didn’t seem very likely they would get where they were going without daring to ask where they were.
    The crude maps they had been given were useless. Following them precisely had led them to the edge of a steep cliff, and the implication might have been clear to Elizabet if she wasn’t so certain her father had sent them on this journey for their betterment, not to their demise.
    His new wife, on the other hand, Elizabet wasn’t quite so certain about. Were dear Margaret to have her way, all of her father’s children would disappear from the face of the earth forever. And just to be certain Elizabet and John were the first to go and stay gone, she had sent her brother Tomas along to see the task done. She had insisted vehemently that Tomas accompany their party, and Elizabet was certain Margaret had done so to be sure that Elizabet and John would be safely out of her way forever. It had been made quite clear to Elizabet that Margaret did not appreciate them in her home.
    Elizabet didn’t like her.
    There was something about her dear stepmother’s demeanor that seemed a bit deceitful—although why her father seemed so blind to it Elizabet didn’t know. Margaret was beautiful, to be sure, but her eyes lacked any warmth. Alas, her father was old, and Elizabet supposed he was grateful enough to have a wife so young no matter that she might be a shrew.
    Men were silly creatures.
    Jesu, but she never wanted to be attached to one. If Piers would be so kind, he’d simply allow her to keep her dowry and spare her the misery of finding her a husband.
    By the rood, these men who traveled with her were a perfect example of male stupidity. Of the four sent to escort them, all were of fairly equal standing, and none seemed the least inclined to follow the other. Not even Tomas seemed able to quell their endless bickering. If her brother John had been a little older and perhaps more confident in himself, he might have taken matters into his own hands and dared to make his own decisions as his father’s heir. As it was, they were each intent upon following his own direction, and John was helpless to lead them.
    No wonder they were lost.
    Well, Elizabet had nearly had her fill of them all. In fact, she was tempted to seize John’s sword from his scabbard and force them all to follow her. She was wholly unaccustomed to standing meekly aside whilst men bickered amongst themselves like old women.
    Her mother had not taught her to be a damsel in distress. Nay, the men her mother had known had been strong men of stature, accustomed to giving orders, but her mother, in her own way, had been as strong as they were. She had been well educated, intelligent and full of mettle. As a result, Elizabet had little patience for feeble people of any gender.
    Where were those doddering fools anyway?
    They had all dashed into the woods to relieve themselves, her brother included, and the hound had gone missing right behind them. None, as yet, had returned, and Elizabet was growing impatient with the wait.
    She rose, brushing herself off. “Harpy!” she called out, craving the comfort of her hound’s presence.
    If the truth be known, she didn’t particularly like it much that Harpy had attached herself to John. Finicky animal! It was her dog, not his and she loathed to be petty about the matter, but it was the only thing she had left of her mother, aside from the crucifix she wore on her girdle.
    She started into the woods, calling after the wayward dog.
    Although Elizabet could hear the men’s voices nearby, she couldn’t see them. If Harpy were with them, the dog would surely have heard her calling by now so she must have wandered farther away, she reasoned. If Elizabet waited for those babbling men to return before setting out to search for