Taming the Wild Highlander 04 Read Free

them she'd found their father naked in bed with another woman? Her body grew hot with humiliation.
    " I canna tell them," Una said, packing the rest of what they'd need on their journey, evidently suspecting the same as Edana—her father wouldn't do anything and they would be forced to leave with a small escort without his consent. "He is your da and you saw him with her, no' me."
    " Do you think I could tell my brothers that I had spied my da and Zeneva in bed together naked?" Edana whispered.
    Una 's mouth dropped open. "God's wounds. In truth?"
    Edana took a deep breath and nodded. She thought Una had realized…
    " I thought they would have been covered up. Mayhap wearing something. Naught at all?"
    " The covers were down around their ankles." Edana felt her face warm, but Una's face blushed in color, too.
    " You shouldna have seen that."
    " Aye," Edana said. "'Tis my fondest wish I hadna. Are you ready?"
    " Aye. Should your talk with your da prove useless, I will have to ensure we ask two of the guards who wouldna tell my da of our mission, or we willna be going anywhere."
    ***
    Later that morning, Edana joined her father at the high table to break their fast, having an awful time meeting his eye. Though he seemed to be suffering from the same condition. Had that horrible woman told him Edana had seen them naked together? Her whole body felt it was on fire, she was so mortified.
    Her father was speaking to one of his men, ignoring her. She touched his arm to get his attention. She couldn 't wait for the meal to end to tell him what her brother had said to her.
    Glowering, her father turned cold blues eyes on her, his dark brown brows pinched together.
    " Da, I need to let you know what Kayne told me," Edana said, attempting to keep her voice steady.
    " Is that why you sneaked into my chamber this morn?" he asked, his voice angry, but low.
    He knew . Zeneva, the witch, had told him.
    " Never enter my chamber without my permission again," he growled low for her hearing only.
    She wanted to crawl under the table, yet she tried to bolster herself with the notion she 'd embarrassed her father by catching him with Zeneva in his bed and that he hadn't wanted her to know. Now he didn't have any idea how to deal with her concerning the whole horrible matter.
    Despite telling herself that, she felt her eyes fill with tears . If she stayed a moment longer, those same tears would be flowing down her cheeks. He'd always adored her—or so he had acted—because she was his only daughter.
    When her mother was alive, he 'd had enough love for them both. Now that her mother was gone, she assumed another woman would take her mother's place and Edana would no longer matter to him.
    Feeling guilty, ashamed, and unworthy, s he dropped her gaze, which instantly made the tears begin to roll down her face. "May I be excused?" she asked, her voice soft, choked, as she refused to look at her father.
    " Aye, go," he snapped, as if he wished never to see her again.
    She quickly left her chair and headed out of the great hall. If she could have done so, she would have obliged him. Una jumped up from the bench she was sharing with others at one of the lower tables and hurried after her.
    " You didna get his permission, did you?" Una asked gently, as she redirected Edana from the spiral stairs to her chamber, and out the door of the keep instead, heading straight for the stable.
    " Nay. He knew I saw him with Zeneva. The woman told him."
    Una sighed. "I knew that witch would. I was watching you the whole time, saw your da speak to you, and witnessed your reaction. He was angry."
    " Aye, and he had every right to be."
    " You have always gone to your father's chamber if there is a great need. He has always welcomed you to speak with him no matter the time of day or night. Even if he chose not to believe what you had to say."
    " No longer. He said I am never to enter his chamber again without his permission. Though I would never wish to after what I