Ransom by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page B

in your side.” After making the comment, he burst into laughter.
    Ramsey shook his head. “Do you know, Gideon, all this time I believed that when I challenged you for the position of laird, I beat you fairly.”
    Gideon instantly sobered. “But you did beat me fairly.”
    â€œAre you certain you didn’t let me win just so you wouldn’t have to deal with Bridgid KirkConnell?”
    Gideon laughed again. “Perhaps,” he said. “I’ll admit I like being in her presence, for she’s a beautiful woman and a true delight to observe. She has a spirit few other women possess. She’s quite . . . passionate . . . but alas, she’s also as stubborn as a Buchanan. I’m glad now she turned me down, for I have no wish to marry such a difficult woman.”
    â€œHow is it that I have had to deny three proposals on this woman’s behalf while I have been laird but I have yet to meet her?”
    â€œShe sent her refusals from her uncle’s home in Carnwath. I specifically remember telling you that I had given her permission to help her aunt with the new bairn. They, too, are here at the festival.”
    â€œIf you told me, I’ve forgotten,” he said. “I do remember her rejections though. She always sent back the same message.”
    â€œI’ve a feeling she’ll say those very words today and Dunstan will join the rapidly growing ranks of the brokenhearted.”
    â€œMy father is to blame for this nuisance duty I’m now saddled with because he was the one who gave his promise to Bridgid’s father that she could choose her husband. It’s unthinkable to me that she alone will decide her future.”
    â€œYou don’t have a choice in the matter,” Gideon said. “You must honor your father’s word. Bridgid’s father was a noble warrior, and he was on his deathbed when he forged this promise. I wonder if he knew how stubborn his daughter was going to be.”
    Ramsey stood and then suggested Gideon call Bridgid inside. “And stop grinning,” he ordered. “This is an important matter to Dunstan, and we shall treat it as such. Who knows? She may say yes to his proposal.”
    â€œAye, and it might rain pigs this afternoon,” Gideondrawled as he folded back the flap of the tent. He hesitated, turned back to his laird, and in a soft voice asked, “Have you ever had your head turned by a lady?”
    The question exasperated Ramsey. “No, I haven’t.”
    â€œThen I’d brace myself if I were you. I swear your head’s going to spin.”
    A moment later, Gideon’s prediction almost came true, as Bridgid KirkConnell walked into the tent and literally knocked the wind out of her laird. She was an astonishingly pretty young lady, with fair skin, sparkling eyes, and sinfully curly, long honey-colored hair that floated beyond her shoulders. Her gentle curves were in all the right places, and Ramsey was surprised that there had been only eight proposals.
    She made a curtsy, smiled ever so sweetly up at him, and said, “Good day to you, Laird Ramsey.”
    He bowed. “So we meet at last, Bridgid KirkConnell. I’ve had to break the hearts of several suitors on your behalf without benefit of knowing why those good men were so anxious to wed such an obstinate woman. Now I understand the reason my soldiers are so persistent.”
    Her smile vanished. “But we have met before.”
    He shook his head. “I assure you that if I had met you, I would not have forgotten.”
    â€œBut it’s true, we did meet,” she insisted. “And I remember our encounter as though it had taken place just yesterday. You had come home for your cousin’s wedding. While my parents were attending the celebration, I decided to go swimming in the lake beyond the glen. You fished me out.”
    He clasped his hands behind his back and tried to concentrate on