Tempted by the Highland Warrior Read Free Page B

Trinette dropped to the ground, her
sightless eyes staring back at him.
    Marguerite doubled over in horror, sickened by what she’d just
witnessed. Dear God have mercy. Had she not seen it
with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. The earl knew Trinette was her maid yet he’d murdered her, simply because
she’d been in the way.
    Panic flooded through her lungs and Marguerite fought for
breath. The truth was staring her in the face—she had to leave Cairnross or else
be entrapped by a monster.
    ‘Please,’ she begged, searching for the right Gaelic words,
‘help me get to my father.’ She reached down and picked up the fallen bundle of
clothing, trying not to think about Trinette. The maid had been her only
companion from France and it broke her heart to imagine how alone she was
now.
    The Scottish warrior caught her hand and drew her outside the
fortress, away from the fighting. Marguerite followed him, hoping she hadn’t
made a mistake in this decision. But what else could she do?
    This was her only choice, no matter how terrifying it was. The
man led her to a group of waiting horses where she secured her bundle. She moved
with numb motions, letting her mind fall into nothingness. If she tried to think
of anything beyond the simple task before her, she’d start to weep.
    Behind her, the fortress blazed with fire, the scent of
destruction darkening the air. She rested her hands upon a brown mare, trying
not to think of what would happen to her now.
    Then another Scot strode towards them. His dark hair hung to
his shoulders and a long claymore was strapped to his back. Fury and disbelief
raged in his eyes. ‘Bram, what in God’s name have you done? She’s not coming
with us.’
    He spoke Gaelic, likely to keep her from understanding his
words. Marguerite shrank back and stared at her hands, pretending she wasn’t
eavesdropping. Her fingers shook, but she waited for the men to make their own
decision.
    ‘We can’t leave her there,’ Bram argued. Her rescuer stared
back into the face of the other man in open defiance.
    ‘She’s one of them,’ the first snapped. ‘And if you bring her,
Cairnross’s men will follow her to Glen Arrin.’
    She could see the doubts forming in her rescuer’s eyes. If she
didn’t say something, he might leave her here.
    ‘No,’ Marguerite interrupted, using Gaelic to reveal that she’d
understood every word. She had to leave, at all costs. Searching for a way to
convince the other man, she offered, ‘If you send word to my father, he’ll come
for me and you will be rewarded.’
    ‘And just who is your father?’ he demanded.
    Marguerite sent him a cool stare. ‘Guy de Montpierre, the Duc
D’Avignois.’
    Although she’d never before evoked the power of her father’s
rank, she saw that it indeed made a difference with the first man. His face grew
intrigued, as if to wonder how he could use her.
    She didn’t care. As long as he helped her escape from Cairnross
and summoned her father, she would ensure that he was rewarded for his
assistance.
    ‘I am Marguerite de Montpierre,’ she continued, sending him a
regal nod. ‘I was betrothed to Lord Cairnross.’ Distaste filled her mouth at his
very name.
    ‘You may have our protection until your father arrives,’ the
first man agreed. ‘But you’d best pray that Cairnross doesn’t find you.’
    She didn’t doubt that at all. If the earl learned that she’d
conspired with the enemy to escape, she might share in Trinette’s fate.
Silently, Marguerite uttered a prayer for the woman’s soul.
    Bram boosted her onto the saddle, and she arranged her skirts
around the bundle of clothes she’d brought. Her hands shook as she gripped the
saddle, wondering if she was making a mistake to go off with strangers. She
didn’t know these men at all, nor was there any reason to trust them.
    But thus far they’d behaved honourably. Their leader hadn’t
been pleased with the idea of bringing her with them, but he’d