Taming the Wild Highlander 04 Read Free Page A

saw."
    " So we go without your da's permission?"
    " He wished me gone. Out of his sight. We will find my brothers and my da can do whatever he wishes to do with the scullery maid. 'Twill be none of my concern."
    Yet it would be. Even thinking he would be with that hateful woman where her dear sweet mother once had lain with her father made her heart shrivel.
    " I…already spoke to two of the guards. Seumas is coming with us, through no fault of my own," Una warned.
    Alarmed, Edana glanced at Una as they crossed the inner bailey to reach the stables. "You said he wouldna let you go."
    " I thought so. But he wanted to come, knowing we would go anyway. He overheard me talking to the other guard. Seumas said he believed you."
    " Good. Then let's be on our way." Mayhap she could convince her brothers, if she could rescue them, to talk their father out of his folly. Though she would not tell them she had seen him naked with the scullery maid.
    ***
    Standing in his older brother's solar at Craigly Castle, Angus MacNeill stared at James in disbelief. Aye, James was laird of their clan and he could set any task before him and Angus would be obliged and honored to carry it out. Normally. But this time, Angus was desperately trying to come up with another solution to the problem. His brother's angular jaw was set as he sat at his table, and Angus was certain he wouldn't be able to change his mind. Not when he looked that determined.
    Their cousin , Niall, as much a brother to Angus and the rest of his brothers, was quietly waiting near the doorway to see what would happen next, not about to get himself tasked with such an assignment. He had a slighter build, not as muscular as Angus and his three brothers, but he had the same quick wit and smile, his dark hair much curlier, his eyes a darker brown. Gunnolf, their Norseman friend, blond with sharp blue eyes and sturdy features that said Viking warrior, was leaning against the wall, wearing a smirk.
    " I canna see why Edana's own brothers wouldna be the ones to fetch the wee lass home," Angus said.
    His dark gaze on Angus, James shook his head. "Her da sent her brothers on an errand, and they willna be returning for a fortnight. In the interim, you would reach their lands sooner than they would."
    " Surely Tibold has other clansmen he could send to retrieve her, who are in the area and could find her more quickly." Angus would stick his life on the line to protect a beautiful young woman. But the time it would take to travel to the chief's lands, in Angus's estimation, placed the lass at greater peril.
    " She needs…special care," James said.
    Angus frowned at his brother, knowing fair well the special care he m entioned. Angus was certain forcing her to return home would mean tangling with the lassie—and that would not be a good thing. Not that he didn't want to see her again—he did, but under better circumstances. He just didn't want his family to know how much so. Nor did he want to upset her in any way.
    Even her name meant fiery, and she had a temper to match. He'd never been able to banish her from his thoughts since that fateful day when she'd proved she was one of the fae. Her dark brown hair had a reddish cast to it, and that made her look all the more wild when she became angered. She had bewitched him from the very beginning.
    " Why did she run off?" Angus asked.
    " Her da didna say."
    " Did he no' know?" Angus asked, suspecting it had something to do with her fae abilities.
    " He just sent a messenger, Angus. The lad only told me what her da requested of me."
    Angus had a few adventures under his belt, and many more that he wa s interested in enjoying, but this one bothered him more than he wished to say. Niall was excited about going on more adventures also—now that he wasn't tagging along with Dougald, which invariably meant a stay in a dark, dank dungeon—except he also looked reluctant, wary.
    Gunnolf was ready for any adventure, even if it landed him in a dungeon.