Read Online The Eternal Highlander by Lynsay Sands, Hannah Howell - Free Book Online

embarrassing to know that others had witnessed the embraces she and Cathal had shared. She was failing miserably in keeping the man at a distance. It was no wonder everyone who spoke to her seemed convinced she would marry Cathal.
    As she started toward the stables, one of the many buildings cluttering the bailey that she intended to inspect very closely, Bridget knew she had to come to some decision about Cathal. Once she had realized how little control she had over her own passions, she had decided to find out everything she could about the MacNachtons. There could yet be some secret to uncover that would cool the heat in her blood. It was becoming clear, however, that everyone kept the secrets of Cambrun very well indeed.
    Inside the stable she found clean hay, some very fine horses, and, of course, darkness. It seemed cruel to keep the animals confined in the dark, but then Bridget lit one of the lanterns kept by the door and looked around. There were several iron-barred openings in the walls of the stables, but someone had closed the outside shutters. After walking deeper into the stables, inspecting the horses, Bridget suddenly felt a presence and understood why the stable was so dark. She tensed as she held the lantern up and slowly looked around, wondering which MacNachton was watching her. It was difficult to control an involuntary gasp when the light from her lantern revealed a pair of gleaming yellow eyes. She had to tell herself, several times, that it was simply the light from the lantern which made those eyes seem to glow before her heartbeat slowed to a more normal pace.
    “Ye dinnae belong here,” said Edmee as she stepped into the arc of light from the lantern.
    “Nay? Why shouldnae I be here?” asked Bridget, feigning ignorance of Edmee’s warning. “I am nay upsetting the horses.”
    “Dinnae play the fool. Ye ken what I mean. Ye should leave Cambrun.”
    “I believe your laird would prefer me to stay.”
    “Och, aye, to help him fulfill his plan to destroy us.”
    “Ah, weel, as I understood it, his plan is to save you, to save the MacNachtons.”
    “We dinnae need saving.” Edmee moved until she was barely a foot away. “To think some weak Outsider could save us is laughable. Cathal should stay to his own. He should turn away from the stain of Outsider blood in his veins and return to the fold. He should seek a wife amongst us, one who can help him find his way back to his true heritage.”
    “And that would be ye, would it?” Bridget realized she loathed the idea of Cathal marrying this woman, or any other woman for that matter. “Yet, if he wished ye for his wife, wouldnae he have chosen ye by now?” Bridget fought the urge to step back from the feral look of fury that tightened the lines of Edmee’s face.
    “He would if ye left. Without ye about, he would give up this mad plan and turn to me.”
    “He wants bairns. As I understand it, there is a verra good chance ye wouldnae give him any.”
    “What do we need those for? Squalling, filthy things.”
    “Without bairns ye will die out, the clan will vanish.” The smile Edmee gave her made Bridget feel distinctly uneasy.
    “Nay, not for a verra long time. There are more years than ye can count left to us ere the lack of bairns becomes a true danger. Tis just his Outsider blood speaking to Cathal, the fear of his own mortality that is the curse of his mother’s blood. Cathal will be dust in his grave ere the rest of us, who are true MacNachtons, need to fear for our end as a clan.”
    Bridget had given up the idea that the MacNachtons were the walking dead, yet Edmee’s sneered words seemed to imply that they might be. Why would the woman speak so scornfully of mortality, implying it was a curse suffered only by Outsiders? Inwardly, she shook her head. Edmee was trying to frighten her. There was life in the MacNachtons. Bridget was sure of that, could sense it. It might not be the sort of life she was accustomed to, but it was