Highland Hellcat (2010) by Mary Wine Read Free Book Online Page B

eager to carry their riders to their destinations as fast as possible. The daylight faded quickly, and the sound of the wind became forlorn.
    It also carried the sound of riders when they entered a narrow valley. The hills rose up on both sides of the road, making the sound echo. Brina suddenly felt unease prickling across her skin. Her father’s men frowned and looked toward the road in front of them. Her father raised his arm to stop them.
    Once the Chattan retainers obeyed, the sound of approaching horses tripled. Brina looked up and felt her eyes widen at the sight of the steep terrain they were in. There was only one road here that led down to the midlands where the large abbey was. The deepening dusk masked the colors of the men who rode toward them, making it impossible to identify them until they were too close to avoid.
    “Hold.”
    Brina flinched, that single word echoing inside her head, for it was spoken in a voice that carried authority.
    “Bad news always does travel faster than anything else.” One of her father’s captains spoke next to her and nodded toward the men coming up the road.
    “There’s young Lindsey himself, and the man is riding hard.”
    Connor Lindsey rode without a saddle. His stallion was a huge coal-black beast. Only a blanket was secured around the middle of its back, and Connor sat confidently atop it.
    More than confidently actually. He looked pleased and was leaning over the neck of the animal to help it move faster. The man appeared half-wild, and his gaze swept over them with a quickness that drove home just how used to assessing others he was.
    “I guess I should no’ be surprised to see ye here so soon.” Robert Chattan spoke slowly while Connor straightened up.
    Brina gasped, the sound an impulse that rose from her chest instantly. It became clear why Connor Lindsey rode such a large stallion. The man was huge. He had golden hair and blue eyes that glittered like ice when they landed on her father.
    “I was intent on riding toward Lindsey land—”
    “Ye’re going the wrong direction.” Connor’s tone was hard, and her father drew in a short breath.
    Robert Chattan held up one thick finger. “After I saw my third daughter settled at the abbey, for it seems that I’ve kept me daughters beneath my roof a bit too long.”
    Connor’s men waited on their laird, silently watching him to see what he would make of her father’s words. Tension filled the air, and Brina shivered. There were more Lindsey retainers, twice as many as her father’s, and their laird glared at her father with eyes full of anger. Her fingers tightened on the leather of the reins, her gaze moving from side to side in an effort to determine the best escape route.
    “We needs discuss Deirdre,” her father announced.
    Connor snorted, and his captains mumbled beneath their breath. But the younger laird held up his hand again, and his men fell silent.
    “Agreed.” But the man didn’t leave the back of his stallion, and that action declared to one and all just how little trust he had for the Chattans.
    The rest of the retainers sat on top of their horses, their expressions forbidding. If the conversation turned ugly, there might be blood on the ground very soon. Their swords were still resting in the sheaths that were tied along their backs, but that could change very quickly.
    “Laird Lindsey, be very sure that it was never my intention to keep this matter from ye.”
    Connor’s eyes narrowed.
    “Do ye expect me to believe that ye would have told me that yer daughter was meeting a lover?”
    “I do.” Robert Chattan sent the two words toward the younger laird without a hint of hesitation. “If ye do nae believe that, we have no reason to be talking any business henceforth, but I’d be sad to hear it.”
    Connor Lindsey snorted again. “I’m a fair bit more than sad at the moment.”
    “But ye are here, and make no mistake, man, I am very happy to see ye riding toward my land to try to