Highlander Betrayed (Guardians of the Targe) by Laurin Wittig Read Free Book Online

dear da must have been from the feckless English side,” Nicholas said, cocking his head as if considering an interesting bug. “ ’Tis a pity your mum had not the good sense to turn him and his money away before they made a great lout like you.” Nicholas waited, still trying to see the man’s eyes for some clue as to whether he was about to get run through with a claymore, or had interpreted the insult as the test it seemed to be.
    “He’ll do,” the bear said to the chief and stepped back from Nicholas.
    “Perhaps.” The chief stared at him hard, as if weighing the truth in each word one by one and Nicholas realized how shrewd the man was. He’d let the bear goad Nicholas while he’d watched his reactions, judged him. “Where are you bound for?” he asked at last.
    Nicholas looked over at the castle, then back to the man standing in front of him. “Here, if you will allow it. I have been traveling for a long time. It would be nice to bide a while in one place. Perhaps someone here will ken something of my home.”
    Once more he could almost see Kenneth measuring his words for lies but since it was all truth, though not all of the truth, there were no lies to be found. At length he glanced at the bear and they nodded slightly to each other without exchanging a single word.
    “You can bide a short while here,” the chief said.
    Nicholas let out a slow breath and smiled but the chief’s glower got darker.
    “I said a short while, and you’ll have to work for your keep.”
    “Of course.” Nicholas knew there was more to come. No man invited strangers into the midst of his home so easily.
    “We’ve been the winter without news of the world,” the chief said, “and now it appears we have need of men to clear the wall.”
    “What do you ken of walls and their construction?” the bear asked Nicholas.
    Nicholas looked over his shoulder at the rubble field and shrugged. “I know how to run away from them when they fall.” A grudging splatter of chuckles ran through the two otherwise silent men. “Other than that, I’ve seen them built a time or two but know little of the ways of doing it.”
    “Do you have enough muscles to do more than run?” the bear asked.
    “Enough to take you down, auld man.” Nicholas grinned at him, playing the game the bear seemed to enjoy. “I have done a bit of labor in my life. I can help clear the rubble but I will be of no use building it back.” Of course he wouldn’t be here long enough to build it back anyway, but they needn’t know that.
    “Hmph,” the chief scowled at him. “You shall work with Uilliam here.” He jerked his thumb toward the bear. “The faster we can get the rubble moved, the faster we can rebuild the wall. You do not mind hard work, do you?”
    Nicholas shook his head, but he was still trying to find the catch in the invitation, for he was sure there was one.
    “And you’ll not be leaving his sight”—the chief leaned his head toward Uilliam.
    “Or Duncan’s,” Uilliam interrupted, echoing the chief’s gesture by jerking his thumb at the younger of the other two men. Nicholas judged Duncan to be about his own age of a score and five or possibly a little less. His brown hair whipped about his face, making it difficult to judge either his temperament or his precise age.
    “Or Duncan’s sight for any reason,” the chief finished.
    And there it was—the catch. He’d found a way into the castle but he wouldn’t have free run of it. It was good enough for the moment. Once he’d had the time to gain the trust of these men, the rest would fall into place.
    The chief stepped toward Nicholas until his craggy face blocked out everything else.
    “You ken that I’m granting you hospitality, aye?” He poked a sharp finger in Nicholas’s chest. “And with it my protection? In case your Sassenach father did not explain your responsibilities in sucha situation, let me. You will bring no harm to anyone within this castle while you