The Renegade's Heart Read Free Page B

and
forgotten,” Murdoch Seton said, a surprising hostility in his tone.
“I will speak to the laird and tell him of it myself.” His gaze
danced over the tower and Isabella withdrew slightly, fearing that
he would spot her.
    There was something about him that held her
gaze, though, a vitality that was uncommon among men.
    “I will send word to my laird and you will
wait.”
    “I will not be deterred from this mission,”
the knight said with a determination that was surprising. “I have
but a message to deliver, and no man of integrity would turn such a
missive aside.”
    “But...” It was clear to Isabella that the
gatekeeper did not trust this Murdoch Seton.
    Why? Did he know of him? Or did he simply
dislike the man’s imperious manner? Isabella drew back the shutter
a little more. It seemed almost that the knight expected to be
refused or turned aside. Why?
    “I see you do not send word and perhaps you
do not mean to,” the knight said with impatience. “I will take word
of my arrival to the laird myself.”
    The gatekeeper obviously protested, but this
Murdoch Seton dismounted, casting the reins of his steed to his
partner. He made to push past the gatekeeper’s spear, and Isabella
saw that he was both tall and muscular. There must have been
purpose in his gaze, for the gatekeeper took a step back. He kept
the spear lowered, though.
    “You will not enter this hall armed!” he
declared.
    Murdoch cast a wry smile at his companion,
then unbuckled his belt and scabbard. Instead of surrendering it to
the gatekeeper, he handed it to his companion, then stepped close
to the gatekeeper.
    Isabella leaned out the window to hear his
words.
    “I leave both steed and sword in the custody
of my companion. Should he be divested of them in my absence, or
should he not be here when I return, I shall take word to the king
of the treachery that has claimed Kinfairlie.” Then he pushed aside
the spear with a gloved fingertip and marched toward the
portal.
    Isabella’s mouth dropped open. He threatened
the gatekeeper? But he was the one who sought admission. Why was he
so resolved?
    The gatekeeper turned and looked after the
knight, his astonishment clear. The older man, the companion of the
knight, appeared to be amused.
    Why did the knight assume his message would
be refused?
    Isabella had to know.
    She spun and ran for the door, thinking she
would listen in the great hall as the knight made his argument. She
flung open the door, but there was no sign of Elizabeth. Isabella
had no sooner concluded that her sister must have descended to the
great hall when she heard boots on the stairs, approaching quickly.
It sounded as if a man took the stairs two or even three at a time.
She might have retreated but the dark–haired knight crested the top
of the stairs.
    He slowed his pace to consider her. His eyes,
Isabella could now see, were a clear and deep blue and he was
ruggedly handsome. Even though she was tall, he was taller. He
strode toward her with such care that she thought of a wolf hunting
its prey. His gaze was unswerving and a crooked smile lifted one
corner of his mouth.
    Isabella felt hot, right to her toes.
    “The maiden from the window,” he murmured and
the appreciation in his low voice made Isabella flush. “Yet more
curious than I imagined.”
    “While you, sir, are more bold than might be
expected.”
    He smiled outright then, the expression
softening his features in a most attractive way. Isabella could not
avert her gaze. Indeed, it seemed she could not breathe.
    “Sir!” Anthony shouted from lower on the
stairs. “Sir, I must insist upon speaking first to the laird of
your presence.” The old castellan could be heard huffing as he
climbed the stairs behind the new arrival.
    Isabella would not be daunted by this knight.
She straightened, aware that Anthony would hear whatsoever she
said. “I understand that you are Murdoch Seton,” she said crisply.
“I, for one, would not keep you from delivering