Free Trouble with a Highland Bride by Amanda Forester

got to. David meant to punish you, not banish you forever. Who is this?”
    “Isabelle, we need to speak with David. Could you get him?” asked Gwyn. She could not hide the anxiety in her voice. What were they going to say when they found out she had been harboring an English knight for the past two days?
    Isabelle narrowed her eyes, staring first at Gwyn, then Jack.
    “Have I met you before?” she asked.
    Jack nodded his head. “Years ago. I was but a child. I am Jack Lockton, your cousin.”
    Silence. If Isabelle was surprised, she held her tongue until she was able to speak in a measured tone. “Greetings, Jack, it has been a long time. I shall fetch my husband. I am sure there will be much to speak about.” She pinned Gwyn with a look so fierce, Gwyn winced. She was in for it now.
    Isabelle spun and left the room, closing the door behind her.
    Gwyn slid onto a bench before an oak table. “David might truly banish me this time.”
    Jack sat beside her. “Wherever you go, I will go too.” His eyes were honest and true.
    Gwyn smiled. The calm she had felt in the chapel had melted away, but in Jack’s eyes it was restored. “Faith, hope, and love,” she whispered.
    “I hope love will rule the day,” Jack whispered back.
    David Campbell stormed into the room, his eyes blazing. He was a large man, tall and broad. His eyes swept from Gwyn to Jack, his jaw clenched. He slammed the door shut behind him. Gwyn and Jack stood in his presence. No one spoke and the silence seemed to stretch on forever.
    “Gwyn,” David finally said through gritted teeth. “Isabelle told me ye wish to introduce me to someone.”
    “Aye.” Gwyn wished her voice had not come out as a squeak. “May I present Isabelle’s cousin, Sir John Lockton.”
    “And to what do I owe the pleasure of ye visiting us today?” asked David with false politeness. He advanced on Jack with a look of death.
    “I have come to visit my fair cousin,” said Jack with remarkable poise for a lad about to be slaughtered. “And to negotiate with you regarding the return of this castle to English control.”
    “Admirable. And how have ye come to visit me today?” David’s voice rose.
    “’Twas my fault,” began Gwyn, but Jack cut her off.
    “I confess I came to this castle with the intent to breach the side gate and take it by force. Instead, I was met by your sister, who single-handedly captured me and convinced me to see the wisdom of negotiations. I am indebted to her.”
    David stood before them and crossed his massive arms across his chest. Gwyn was glad a table stood between them.
    “I swear, Gwyn, I dinna ken what to do wi’ ye. How could ye let in an Englishman? Are ye daft? Is he the only one?” David spoke to her in Gaelic.
    “Aye, only one. I dinna mean any harm,” Gwyn answered in kind.
    “Ye ne’er do. But ye ne’er think about what ye do. Ye’re always where ye ought no’ to be. Do ye have any idea what he could have done? He could have killed ye and then murdered the rest of us in our sleep!” David gestured wildly with his hands.
    “The fault is mine,” repeated Jack in English. “You will not harm her.”
    Gwyn realized that since Jack could not understand their words, he must have mistaken David’s gestures for threats, a plausible conclusion given David’s anger and size. Of course, her brother, though tempted to strangle her, would never actually harm her, but Jack did not know that. And he would risk himself to defend her.
    David noted it too and stopped yelling at her to stare at Jack. He cocked his head a bit to the side as if seeing him in a new light.
    “Sit down, Sir John.” David returned to speaking English. “I will hear yer proposal. Gywn, ye may return to the ladies’ solar.”
    “With your permission, I would like her to stay,” said Jack. His voice was strained but determined. “What I have to propose affects her.”
    Gwyn’s heart fluttered. What could he mean? She glanced at David, and he