Plead Forgiveness: Betrayed Twice (Loyalty Series) Read Free

brutal,
ruthless conviction. She had witnessed Gavin slaughter her countrymen, giving
evidence to the tales spun about him as the ‘Spawn of Satan.’
    Unlike any other
female, Ella saw through all the brutal stories told and retold throughout
Scotland and England. She saw the real Gavin. A man plagued by his father’s
sins, but possessed a heart and soul as pure as her own. He had never seen his
older brother look more at peace, more content, more determined than when he
held her in his arms.
    Paen believed that
he had witnessed the moment they fell in love, when their two souls recognized
each other and merged as one. However, great difficulty and more pain lay on
the horizon for Gavin and Ella. He could feel it in his bones and stood
helpless against it.

 
    4
    Leif, the lone
occupant of the stable yard, filled the water troughs when Paen arrived. He
silently made his way into the stables and the sight that greeted him tore at
his heart.
    Ella stood with
her head bent to Apollo’s, gently stroking his neck and whispering inaudible
words to her beloved friend. Paen assumed she spoke of her grievances. He soon
realized his mistake when he moved closer. Ella whispered prayers for her
family and their safety, as well as Gavin and his men.
    While he waited
for her to finish her prayers, he remained hidden from her sight. Alas, Arth
discovered his presence and jumped up to greet him. At the same moment, Leif
entered the stable and then raised his eyebrows in Paen’s direction.
    Leif broke the
silence the way all children do, with complete ignorance to the true nature of
her discontent.
    “Good Morning,
Milady! Do ye wish to go riding? I can saddle-” Paen halted the lad’s words
with a swift cuff to the back of his head.
    Paen rolled his
eyes at the stupidity of Leif’s statement. Ella would be sore from losing her
maidenhead last eve, and had no wish to endure a painful ride.
    Attempting to
change the topic of conversation away from riding, Paen said, “Lady Ella, my
thanks for yer efforts with Righ. I wish to learn and continue the training
that ye have started with him. He is a magnificent animal, but his previous
master abused him severely.”
    “How long did his
previous master have him?”
    “I dinna ken, but
suspect not long,” he replied and saw her piqued interest. “On the way to the
Highland fair, a local clan captured and sold him to a rich merchant on opening
day. The merchant boasted to all who listened that he could break the wild
horse within three days. After the first day of witnessing his methods, I snuck
into his tent and persuaded him to sell the horse to me.”
    “And your methods
of persuasion were?”
    Paen grinned at
how perceptive she is, and then answered, “A blade to his throat made him quite
willing to sell Righ.”
    His ruggedly
handsome face transformed with that smile, dramatically lessening his usual
surly demeanor. Ella smirked in approval.
    “You should have
taken a whip to his backside, but a blade to the throat is still good.”
    Amusement
flickered in Paen’s eyes when he met her gaze. “’Tis good to see that ye dinna
lose yer spirit.” Stupidity is contagious, he thought the moment he said the
words.
    Her eyes instantly
darkened like angry thunderclouds when she asked, “Did you know of your
brother’s plan to force me to wed?”
    “Aye,” he said
without expression or hesitation.
    The knowledge
twisted and turned inside her chest as she spat, “Then the devil can take you,
too.”
    When she tried to
stomp past him, Paen stepped into her path and waited for her to look up. When
he saw her angry glare, he said, “Anybody can become angry-that is easy, but to
be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time
and for the right purpose, and in the right way-that is not within everybody’s
power and is nae easy.”
    The tenderness in
his expression surprised her, as did the recognizable quote. “Aristotle.”
    He nodded.
    “He has