A Knight to Desire by Gerri Russell Read Free Book Online Page B

doesn't mean I have to like you, Simon Lockhart. You are still as arrogant and pigheaded as ever." On those words, she disappeared.
    Pigheaded. Him?
    "She's right, you know." Kaden sat up in the pile of straw that had been his bed for the night. He yawned, then stretched.  "Have you always been like this around her?"
    "What do you mean? I'm no different with her than with anyone else."
    Kaden's laughter filled the morning air. He stood, dusting the remnants of the straw from his leather jerkin and breeches. "Watching the two of you is like watching two deer with their horns locked, battling over territory. You're both all muscle and no brains."
    "I resent that."
    Kaden shrugged. "Resent it all you like. It's the truth."
    Simon was surprised by Kaden's words, though he shouldn't have been. Brianna's presence had always set him on edge. Why would today be any different? "What do you suggest?"
    "Let the woman win occasionally. She and her visions are helping us, after all."
    Let her win . She would win most of the time even if he didn't let her, but a part of him still couldn't accept her skill. She was first and foremost a woman. "Come on," Simon said, heading for the door that Brianna had vanished through. The sudden silence was heavenly, but that's not why they were here. They'd come to find Brianna and make use of her dreams. He frowned at her retreating back. Before they began this adventure, however, he had one more stop to make.
    He had to return to Rosslyn Castle. And this time he would speak with her father no matter his excuses. During their journey to Teba, William and John Sinclair had mentioned secret underground catacombs that existed beneath the old chapel at their home. The catacombs would be the perfect place to relocate the treasure. The chapel was close enough to Edinburgh and the Templar brothers who lived there, that they might help protect the artifacts without major disruption to their lives.
    Simon clenched his jaw. Moving the Templar treasure was almost as urgent a task as finding and stopping de la Roche. He had to convince Brianna's father to allow him to use the already excavated tunnels. If not, it might take years to prepare another hiding place as secure as the Sinclair brothers had claimed the catacombs to be.
    And perhaps while he was there he could also help bridge whatever divide had come between Brianna and her father.
    It seemed like the perfect solution.
    He only prayed Brianna would see it that way.
    Of course, he didn't have to tell her.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Brianna tasted fear as the scenery where they headed became familiar. They'd passed many rolling green fields dotted with acacia trees, but at the sound of the River North Esk, the scene resonated in her memory. They came to the top of a rise and she looked down to see the familiar sight of Roslin Glen bathed in late afternoon light. "Simon, where are we heading? I thought you said it was to Crosswick Abbey?"
    "We needed to make one stop first," he replied, bringing his horse alongside hers. "I wish to speak with your father."
    "He won't see you." He won't see anyone . "He went into deep mourning after the loss of his sons."
    "It's been more than a year since they—"
    "Grief resolves in its own time," she snapped. She hadn't meant to snap, but then she hadn't ever meant to come back here either. She glowered at Simon. "You should have told me."
    "Would you have come?" he asked with a lift of his brow.
    "Nay." She'd suffered enough hurt and rejection at her father's hand. She needed no more. 
    He smiled faintly. "That's why I didn't tell you. I need you with me. What I ask of your father is great. I thought perhaps…"
    She laughed. "My presence will only turn my father against your cause." She reined to a stop at the edge of the bridge approaching the castle. "He is more likely to do as you wish without me nearby. I shall wait here."
    His smile faded. "Are you frightened of the man?"
    A heaviness came to her throat and