Read Online Captured by the Pirate Laird by Amy Jarecki - Free Book Online

something?”
    “Thomas
Wharton—the Baron of Wharton after his attack on Scotland at Solway Moss.”
    Norman
blanched. “Christ, Calum. Wharton? Do ye ken what he’ll do if he discovers it’s
us who’ve absconded with his wife?”
    “Aye—no
more than if the English learn it’s us who’ve plundered their ship.” Calum’s
fists moved to his hips. “How much do ye think we should ask for her?”
    John
leaned in and kept his voice low. “Too much and he’ll hunt us down for sure. Too
little and he’ll no’ take us seriously.”
    “A
thousand pounds.” Calum looked between the two men. Both frowned but neither
objected. “A thousand pounds it is. I’ll write the note. John ye’ll leave on
the morrow. In Urquhart plaid, no one south of Inverness will tie ye with the
MacLeods.”
    John
nodded. A pang of guilt crept up Calum’s nape. He knew John wanted to tarry
longer with his new wife, but love would have to wait. Cousin and loyal friend,
John would swim the frigid Sound of Raasay and back if Calum asked. As an
Urquhart, he was the best man for the job—and they all just might return Lady
Anne to her life without getting their necks stretched on English gallows.
    Friar
Patrick MacSween pushed his way into the hall, the hemp rope wrapped around his
portly waist swinging against his brown robe. “Praise the good Lord ye’ve
returned in one piece.”
    Calum
smiled at the healer not only of souls, but the friar had a good knowledge of
herbs as well. “I couldn’t very well leave ye alone to twist the minds of me kinsfolk.”
    “Ye
heathen lad.” The big man pulled Calum into a welcoming bear hug. “And how are
things with the English?”
    “They’re
down one ship and its cargo.” Calum nodded toward John and Norman. “We’ll have
to start refitting the Flying Swan as
soon as she’s offloaded—cannot take a chance on having it spotted by English
spies.”
    “Are
there any new medicines in the hold?”
    “If
there are, I’ll wager ye’ll sniff them out.”
    The
friar was always anxious to find any new remedies from the south. With ships
traveling to and from the West Indies, new herbs and medicines were coming to
England all the time. It could take years before they made it to Scotland and
even longer to reach the Hebrides. The Flying
Swan was a Godsend for the entire clan.
    Calum
took John up to the solitude of the solar and penned a missive. Since
discovering Lady Anne’s identity, he’d carefully considered how he would make
the transfer. There was no way he could invite Lord Wharton into Scotland, and
yet traveling to England was fraught with danger. In the end, Calum chose
Carlisle. A small border town, he could slip into the area rather easily. The
problem would be getting out.
    Wharton
was a snake. Calum had no doubt the baron would be well armed. Calum would need
to receive the ransom first and then deliver Lady Anne. His mood darkened as if
the grim reaper had walked across his soul. He dreaded the thought of releasing
Anne into the hands of Lord Wharton. If she could have married any other
Englishman, it would have been preferable. And if the marriage decree had not
been executed, he would consider laying claim to her himself. But Calum would never take another man’s bride, even a
man as vile as the baron.
    He
folded the missive and dribbled a blob of red wax and sealed it with a blank. “Take
this to Edinburgh. Have a runner pay an Englishman to deliver it to Wharton.”
    “Have
ye decided how ye’ll do it?” John asked.
    “Aye.”
Calum handed him the note. “But I’ll keep it to meself until your return.”
    John
clamped his mouth shut and gave a quick nod. Calum hated to be tight-lipped,
but the less his quartermaster knew when he traveled to Edinburgh, the better.
Calum placed his hand on John’s shoulder. “I can trust only you with this. Ye
are closer to me than my own brother.”
    “I’ll
leave at dawn.”
    “Good.
Now go find that bonny wife of