The Raven's Wish by Susan King Read Free Book Online Page B

saw the gleam of its pearl handle.
    "Do not move," she said.
    "What do you want?" Puzzled, mildly amused, he kept still, one leg extended and his foot sure on the cool floor, ready to pounce if need be. His nudity, if it was apparent to her in the darkness, did not seem to bother the girl. She watched him warily, but did not answer.
    He realized that she had not understood his English. He rephrased the question in Gaelic.
    "I came because I owe you an apology," she answered.
    "Frasers apologize with drawn blades, do they?"
    "I meant to give you a warning. But I did not mean to say it so sudden, in the hall." She drew a long breath. "Listen well to me, lawyer. You must leave this place, and quickly."
    Duncan glanced down at the blade of the dirk. "Is this your sweet farewell?"
    "I needed to speak to you. The best way was to be prepared," she answered. Her tone was so simple, so honest, that Duncan almost laughed.
    She intended to be bold, but her hair flowed loose past her shoulders with a warm light of its own. The gentle beauty of her face and hair contrasted with the brave fix of her stance: legs spread, head defiant, dirk gripped in a remarkably steady hand.
    "Fearless," he said, "to come into a man's bedchamber and steal his own blade."
    "I had to speak to you alone, but knew you might mistake me for an enemy in the dark."
    The girl dressed like a man and kept company with a pack of wild Highland youths, he thought, but she was slight, and no match for a grown man a head taller and nearly her weight over again heavier. He leaned forward, and she tightened her grip on the blade.
    "Do you threaten me, Elspeth Fraser?" he asked coldly. "What of the trust between guest and host? In the Highlands, no guest, even an enemy, can come to harm in his host's castle. Murder under trust is a serious crime. I would not do that."
    "Spoken like a long-robed lawyer! I know well the trust of hospitality, and I will not break it. Only listen, and I will go."
    "What is it?"
    "There is great danger for you here."
    He laughed softly. "From a spit of a girl with my own dirk?"
    She took a step toward him, holding the blade. Duncan tensed, ready if she moved again.
    "I will not harm you," she said, "but you must take heed. Be gone at first light. We have no need of Lowlanders here, nor long-robes."
    "I am no Lowlander. And though I am the queen's lieutenant, I am also a Highlander born and bred."
    She narrowed her eyes. "You do not act or dress like a Highland man, though your Gaelic is well spoken. Then go into the Highlands or go south, it is no matter to me. But leave here."
    "I will leave when my task is finished. Now, if your apology and your warning are delivered, let me get back to sleep."
    "Listen to me," she said. "I saw tragedy for you. Leave, and perhaps you will be safe."
    "Tell me what you think you saw today, at the stream."
    She lifted her chin. "I will not speak of what I saw. Just know that you must leave here."
    Duncan sensed his patience fading. "You mentioned death when we were at the stream. If you speak of my death, believe me, girl, you had better say what you mean."
    "Only a fool asks the truth of his own death," she said.
    "I do not believe anyone can foresee a man's death." He narrowed his eyes in sudden suspicion. "You knew that a lawyer would come here. If this is some scheme to scare me away from my duty, it will not work."
    She spoke a soft Gaelic curse and leaned forward. Duncan reached out quickly, so fast that her defense, lifting the dirk, came too late. Grabbing her arms, he flung her down on the bed and fell deliberately on top of her.
    The girl exploded with movement like a shot from a cannon. She kicked out and pushed against his grip with such strength that he could barely hold her down. Squeezing her wrist until she let go of the dirk, he pinioned her hands to the bed, above her head. Twisting fiercely, hair flying, she tried to bite his arm, while her strong, slender legs coaxed a few good bruises from his