Trouble with a Highland Bride Read Online Free

some steam, then take her outside for the cold night air.”
    Gwyn closed her eyes a moment but could not erase the picture of the limp little girl. “I shall look around the castle courtyard. Mayhap there is a new bush that has been overlooked.”
    “Be safe,” whispered Isabelle, leaving Gwyn to wonder if she guessed what she was about to do.
    Gwyn nodded and strode out of the hut with long strides. None of the Campbells were of short stature, and despite being one of the youngest sisters of fifteen siblings, she was taller than any of her older sisters. She knew that she shouldn’t do what she was about to do, but she also knew she had to try. She snuck into David’s private chamber, where he kept the ring of keys. She prayed she was in luck and was relieved to find the ring hanging on a peg behind a tapestry, where she had seen Isabelle put it once.
    She walked sedately across the courtyard to avoid suspicion. The side gate was rarely used since the main gate was all that anyone needed. Mostly concealed from view, the side gate led nowhere, except to precisely where Gwyn wanted to go—an area of trees and brush…and elder bushes.
    First, she had to unlock a heavy wooden door which opened into a little-used storage room, the dust indicating it had not been occupied in years. On the far side was an iron gate with a thick metal lattice, forming metal squares through which she could see a dark expanse—the black corridor to the outside. She had to try several keys before she found the one that turned the lock. She muscled the heavy gate open while it protested the movement with a loud squawk. She put the torch she was carrying on a wall mount; she did not want to take a light into the forest to alert anyone of her whereabouts. She needed to rely on stealth and speed to get what was needed and return to the castle before anyone discovered she was attempting such a thing.
    She pulled the gate shut behind her and locked it. It would not do to leave it unlocked during a siege. She may be foolhardy, but she certainly wasn’t a fool. She continued down a long passage, the light growing dim as she reached the second locked gate, this one solid iron. She tried a few keys and again got lucky as this lock turned also.
    Opening the door a crack, she scanned the dark forest in the dim light of the sliver moon. An elder bush was not twenty feet from the gate. This should be a simple, quick job. She would grab the plant and run back to the castle. No one would ever know.
    She pushed the heavy door and it swung open without a noise. She set the lock so that when she ran back to the castle all she had to do was close the door and it would lock automatically. She sprinted up a small hill, toward the elder bush. She reached the bush and cut off several branches with her dirk. She had done it. She smiled with her success. The little girl would be saved.
    She turned to run back to the castle, but the sharp snap of a breaking twig made her freeze. She spun around and a tall man stood before her, his face concealed by a silver helm. His armor marked him a knight—his surcoat marked him an Englishman.
    ***
    Jack flattened himself behind a tree trunk and took a hesitant peek. A young woman opened the small iron door and crept stealthily into the forest. He could not believe his luck. What would his uncles say when he delivered the castle to them? All he had to do was capture her, secure the key to the castle, and return with his soldiers to take the castle by surprise. If done well, they could capture the castle with a minimum of bloodshed and that would be the end of it.
    He smiled at how his uncles would have to acknowledge his worth—and then leave him alone. And not kill him. All of which would be a decided benefit.
    He crept closer, careful to avoid the sharp spikes he had left on the ground. He realized the woman was rather young, probably a few years younger than himself. He stopped for a moment to watch her. She had long, straight