Read Online The Capture of Highland Desire (The Mac Coinnach Brothers) by Kella McKinnon - Free Book Online Page A

had been raised to believe it was her duty… that she would be coming home .  Maybe she should have run instead, hid herself away in some small town, and lived out her life as peacefully and normally as possible.  But in reality, she was far from normal, and it didn’t seem that she was destined to have a normal life, either.  She had always felt, even as a child, that there was something she was waiting for, someplace else she needed to be.  She had never been able to settle down and just live .  She sighed, completely confused and desperately needing some time alone to think.   
                  “I only went for a walk Uncle Leon”, she said as evenly as she could, then watched as his lips pressed together in a tight white line. 
    “Ye ken yer no’ to leave the castle alone.  Ye’re too important to this clan.”
                  And that was the scariest part, because that’s all anyone would tell her about why she was here.  Or why she had been sent away in the first place.  She was important.  That could mean anything at all!  They could be planning to marry her off to some old laird for a political alliance, or they could even be preparing to use her in some arcane ritual sacrifice to provide protection of the clan, not that she’d ever heard of such a thing, but she wasn’t exactly high up in the ranks of magic, either.  She just didn’t know.  More and more, escape was looking like a passably good option. But when?  How? It was something she needed to seriously think about.  But first she could use some more basic information.
                  “Why, Uncle?” she asked boldly.  “ Please tell me why I was brought back… why now?  What am I supposed to do that’s so important?”
                  He frowned at her in mild disapproval, but his tone gentled significantly.  At least he had stopped shouting.  “Hush lass, we were always going to bring ye back.  It was a verra bad time, when we sent ye away.  Things are better now, and ye are safe here.  Home.”
                  His eyes shifted away from her as he spoke.  He wasn’t telling the truth, or at least not the whole truth.  That much was obvious.  “But I need to know…”
                  “Ye dinna need to ken anything beyond what ye are told.  Now go and dress for dinner.  We have important guests this evening.”
                  She frowned at that.  “Dinner isn’t for at least five more hours.”
                  He waved her away with his hand as he turned to go.  “Aye, well entertain yerself in yer chamber.  I have work to do.”  After a few steps, he paused to look back at her.  “And lass, dinna leave the castle.  No’ without my permission.  It’s no’ safe.”
                  Pressing her lips together, Allia forced a small and impudent curtsy and turned to go to her room, a new strategy already forming in her mind.  Play along.  Wait for your chance .  Pretend nothing is wrong, and that you don’t mind being oppressed and kept in the dark about your own life.  She rolled her eyes at that.   But any show of rebellion might just make him hold tighter .
                  By the time she reached the door to her chamber, Edith and Bridget had appeared from somewhere and the two maids had fallen into step behind her.  She sighed.  Could she never be alone here?  She had an escape to plan.  After she had calmed down, though, she began to enjoy their company, even though she suspected Leon had sent them to keep an eye on her.  The girls sat with her and patiently showed her how to embroider, a skill she had never learned, but which she didn’t mind because it was kind of like art.  A picture made in thread.  She began work on a rose for practice, the tiny stitches and idle chatter absorbing her attention and occupying her mind until the sunlight at the window began to