Read Online Sins of the Highlander by Connie Mason - Free Book Online Page B

eyes. Then he wouldn’t care if they tore him to pieces. He’d have had his moment.
    That’s what Lachlan would have done if their positions were reversed.
    Drummond kicked his horse into a canter to close the distance between him and Stewart.
    “We’re gaining on them.” Alistair folded the rosy sleeve with care and squirreled it away in his sporran along with all the other bits of silk they’d collected. “I can feel it.”
    “Aye, but I’m wondering if it isna too easy. The girl is leaving so many clues, we may be playing right into the fiend’s hands,” Drummond said, giving his black beard a thoughtful tug. “I’m thinking we ought to call in the support of our allies. The MacLaren’s sins aren’t just against us, ye ken.”
    “I dinna follow, unless ye mean Elspeth. He’s besmirched my daughter’s honor more than ours.” Stewart continued toward the forest, looking for another scrap of silk. “Who better than her father and betrothed to defend her?”
    “The MacLaren has acted against the queen’s wishes by interrupting the wedding,” Drummond said. “Mad Rob invited us to collect Elspeth at Caisteal Dubh at month’s end. Wouldn’t ye like to see his face when we arrive there flanked by the queen’s own guard? After all, there’s some that would say what he’s done rises to the level of treason.”
    The possibility of his enemy dying a traitor’s death gave Lachlan a warm glow of satisfaction.
    “No, I canna think of that,” Stewart said. “We have to find Elspeth now. Her mother willna be satisfied to wait. Not even on the queen’s pleasure. We must press on.”
    But before they could, a riderless black stallion came careening out of the woods. Drummond recognized the beast as Mad Rob’s and spurred his mount into pursuit. After half a mile, he pulled even with the stallion and grasped its reins long enough to yank it to a halt.
    The MacLaren’s horse was flecked with foam and nearly blown. Otherwise, Lachlan knew he’d never have been able to catch it.
    Stewart rode up to him. “Holy God, he’s covered with blood.”
    The horse’s flanks were caked with dried splotches, and an open gash sent a rivulet of fresh red down his long leg. Stewart met Drummond’s gaze. Neither man had to say it aloud.
    Rob MacLaren and his captive had been attacked by a pack of wolves, and the fact that they were no longer on horseback did not bode well.
    “We have to press on, Lachlan,” Stewart said softly, his tone grim. “I have to know what befell her. Whatever we may find.”
    “Aye,” Drummond agreed, handing off the stallion’s reins to one of his men. May as well ring the one bright spot from this damnable turn. Lachlan was getting a prime stud from the deal. “Take Roald with ye, Seamus, and see the beast home to my stable. Tend his hurts if he’ll let ye.”
    His men hurried to loop a pair of ropes over the stallion’s neck to insure he couldn’t break away from them once he regained his wind. Lachlan didn’t have to remind them he’d take the failure out of their hides if they lost this exceptional bit of horseflesh.
    That settles the question of going home now , Lachlan thought with resignation.
    Alistair Stewart had already turned around toward the woods to continue the search for his daughter. But Lachlan could see he’d lost hope. His shoulders sagged like a man destined for the rack.
    ***
    “Ow!” Elspeth hopped one-legged toward a fallen log and plopped down on it, holding her velvet-wrapped foot. The increasingly soggy and ragged cloth was no match for thorns. She plucked a long, vicious one from her heel. “I dinna think I can go on like this.”
    “’Tis no’ much farther, lass,” Rob said, looking as pale and tired as she felt.
    “But I’m hungry and thirsty and I could lie down in the grass right now and sleep for a week,” she said, eyeing a flat spot alongside the game trail. Their fitful few hours of rest in the cave wasn’t nearly adequate for the