Keeper of my Heart by Laura Landon Read Free Book Online Page B

So—
    Her gift warned her of the danger at the same moment his large hand clamped around her arm, jerking her away from the railing. She tried to run but he threw her into the air as if she weighed nothing, her arm nearly pulled from her shoulder. With a loud growl, he dragged her behind him, his fingers pinching into her tender flesh as he stormed down the long hallway. His strides were so long she could barely keep up with him, her feet stumbling on the uneven steps, her knees scraping against the rough stones.
    Once she managed a look at the ferocious scowl on his face. Her stomach lurched from fear. When they reached the far tower where she and her mother lived, he kicked open the door with his foot and dragged her through the opening. Her mother stood in the middle of the room, waiting. Her gift had obviously warned her of the danger too.
    “I told you to keep the brat up here and not let her out,” he roared with a bellow that hurt her ears.
    Màiri’s mother lifted her daughter from the floor and held her close. “She is not an animal to be locked away, Ewan. And neither am I.”
    Her father took a menacing step nearer and lifted his hand as if to strike her. He stopped in mid air. “And what are you? A witch? A sorceress? I certainly do na want you for my wife. It is na natural to be able to tell a lie from the truth just by hearing words, or tell when something bad will happen before it occurs.”
    “I cannot tell when something will happen, Ewan. The gift only warns me after it has already occurred.”
    “That is not a gift. That is the devil dwelling in you. You are cursed and I am cursed for marrying you.”
    “It is not a curse. It is a gift.”
    “It is a curse, and it lives in your daughter as well.”
    “She is your daughter too.”
    “Nay! She was spawned by the devil. Just look at her. Look at her eyes, as green as the devil’s. Would that I were brave enough to rid myself of the both of you. I have been cursed since the day I took you as my wife.”
    “Your lies and your immorality are your curse, Ewan. You think yourself cursed because your falsehoods are an open book to me. You think me bewitched because you cannot hide your licentious pursuits from me.”
    “Enough! Would that I had never set eyes on you. Would that I could find a way to be rid of you.”
    “You can. Send us to live with the sisters at the convent. I will petition for an annulment and you will be free to marry as you will.”
    “I canna and you know it. The church would never allow it.”
    “The church will,” she pleaded, stepping closer to him. Màiri followed, clinging to her mother’s skirts, even though she was scared to death of the formidable man who was her father.
    “It is your own superstitious nature that will na let you,” her mother continued. “You are so convinced I am in league with the devil that you think you will bring down the wrath of Hades if you turn me away.”
    “You are! And your father kept your curse hidden from me until I had already wed you. He was just as desperate to rid himself of you as I.”
    “Nay. He did not think you would ever discover it.”
    “But you could not wait to punish me with your curse.”
    “Nay. I could take your lies na longer. Every word that came from your deceitful mouth was a falsehood. I could na turn a blind eye to your lies and your cruelty and your women. You are the one who is evil, Ewan. You are the one the devil has within his grasp. When you take your final breath in this life, the devil will be standing at your bedside to take your soul to Hades with him.”
    “Nay!”
    The MacBride raised his hand in the air and brought it down hard across his wife’s face. He raised it again and again and struck her on the shoulders and her back until she fell to the floor.
    Màiri pushed against her father with all her might, fighting and kicking and hitting, but her small fists were useless against such a big brute. Finally, in a desperate attempt to protect