Read Online Highland Daydreams by April Holthaus - Free Book Online

owe her my life and fer that, I am helping the lass. That is all.”
    “I dinna mean any disrespect. If ye need safe passage I can have me men send a message to the Campbells on yer behalf. Take what supplies ye need,” Stephen offered. “We have been friends a long time, Bram, and I will help ye, but if it comes to war, I will no’ be a part of it.”
    Bram nodded. “I thank ye fer yer hospitality. When I return home, I will make sure my brother pays ye in kind.”
    Stephen gave him a grim look before responding.
    “Take the road to the west and then north through the woods. The English troops have been spotted to the west. Ye should nay have any trouble if ye keep off the road.”
    “Thank ye.”
    Stephen bid him farewell and walked back inside the keep. Bram turned and headed in the opposite direction towards the casemate. There he found weapons, armor and a few logs of peat. Marg, one of the servants, came in and gave him extra clothing, a blanket, and food. Once he’d stored the supplies in the saddle bags, he left to head back to Dumfries.
     

     
    Lara swirled the remaining wine in her cup before taking another sip. The taste of cloves and nutmeg lingered on her lips. It reminded her of her mother, Elsa. Elsa drank heavily and favored the wine. As much as Lara carried with her fond memories of her mother, she only remembered her mother’s unexplained sadness towards the end. She was a woman who could never be pleased, and would always fight and argue with Lara’s father, though Lara never knew why. On the night she passed, she had summoned Lara to her bed chamber. She spoke of mishaps and regrets but Lara did not understand any of it and by the time the fever came she was talking nonsense. Lara forced her thoughts back to the present, finished her cup of mulled wine, and returned to the market.
    As she made her way through the carts of beautiful fabrics, she ran her hand across the rolls of silk and lace. Lara had missed the gowns and riding dresses she was forced to leave behind at Castle Foley when she fled. She was grateful that Rowena had given her a gown to wear, as her gown had been so badly damaged. But she couldn’t help thinking to herself that the wool fabric made her sweat more than a farmer working in the blistering sun.
    As she admired the linen and lace, Lara saw from the corner of her eye someone following her. It was the woman who Bram had spoken to earlier. Her conspicuous behavior made it hard for Lara to ignore. Slowly, the woman approached.
    “Good day to you, my lady. Tis good fortune that our paths have crossed. I know what is in your future,” the woman said.
    The woman spoke with a French accent. Lara eyed her curiously.
    “My future? And how do ye ken of such things?” Lara asked.
    “Follow me into my tent and I can show you,” she said grabbing onto Lara’s upper arm and escorting her into a large tent with dark red linen walls.
    “Ye are nay a merchant?” Lara asked as she vividly recalled her standing next to one of the carts in the market.
    “Of sorts,” the woman replied.
    Inside the tent was a small round table with two chairs sitting opposite each other. In the middle of the table were small stones with bizarre markings and a small stack of thick pieces of paper with painted pictures of exotic and unusual designs. Lara was hesitant for a moment but accepted the chair when the woman offered for her to sit.
    “Ye are a gypsy!” Lara exclaimed, her voice louder than it had been before.
    The woman laughed at Lara’s reaction.
    “I am a woman of many talents. Telling futures is just one of them.”
    Lara squinted her eyes in skepticism and waited for the woman to speak. She was curious as to how the woman would perform such a task, for no one, even Lara, could not know her future. She decided that this sort of activity was made for a good jest or wishful thinking but did not for a fleeting moment believe that this woman could predict the future.
    Patiently, she sat