Free Seducing the Laird by Lauren Marrero

would know I helped you."
    "I fear the worst is yet to come from Langthorne. I cannot allow you to travel the border unescorted and I cannot spare the men to safely see you home. You must be patient."
    "My fate is not your concern. I absolve you of all responsibility. Please let me go."
    "I told you I cannot," Cairn snapped. The brittle edge of his voice warned her not to test his patience or she might find herself gagged again. He was under tremendous pressure with the sudden death of his father, taking over the clan, Gundy’s betrayal, their desperate flight and a sleepless night.
    "Do you think Lord Gundy will attack you?" she asked hesitantly.
    "Gundy imprisoned me for a reason. Yet he gained nothing from the endeavor. I fear he will try again for whatever he is after. I must be prepared."
    "What do you think he desires from you?"
    "I do not know. Perhaps he sought revenge for years of raiding across our border. Mayhap he is merely mad. How well did you know him?"
    "Not very well. I was chambermaid to his late wife. It was not a love match."
    "Only a saint could love that jackal," broke in Andreu. "I heard his wife came from France. Is that true?
    "Indeed. Milady Fleurie de Moy was arranged to marry Lord Gundy during the signing of the Peace of Etaples ten years ago."
    Andreu immediately let out a rapid string of French profanity at how a Norman must suffer unhappy matrimony to an English cur.
    "Milady taught me some French before she passed," Verena said innocently. "But I do not understand all of your words."
    "Never mind that," said Andreu. "What my brother said is the truth. You have nothing to fear while you are in Scotland."
    "Why are those trees so close to the castle?" Verena asked to change the subject. "The forests around Langthorne are cleared for at least a mile in all directions."
    "That ancient forest is said to be protected by spirits," Cairn replied. "Despite the cold no one dares cut wood from those trees. My grandfather, the Old Lord, was buried there in a mound in honor of our Norse ancestors. You’ll find my clan is extremely superstitious and most agree that a forest full of vengeful spirits is more fearsome than corporeal enemies."
    "A burial mound? I have never heard of such a thing."
    "It is not a Christian practice. The church excommunicated him for his wild, stubborn ways, but instead of repenting my grandfather decided to benefit from his reputation. None dared meet him on a battlefield for fear that their souls as well as their lives would be taken."
    In preparing for this assignment she had heard many tales of the Old Lord that were as fantastic as they were improbable. According to legend he murdered his wife for putting too much garlic in his food, could kill a man with a single look and picked his teeth with the bones of children. She didn’t believe most of that foolishness and judging from Cairn’s dismissive tone neither did he . Yet there was a wicked pleasure in repeating the frightening tales.
    "We also talk of your grandfather in Langthorne. Were the stories true?"
    "No one knows. My grandfather didn’t confide in his family or the priest and took his secrets to the grave. The clan was suffering under a terrible famine and he conjured a vast treasure to save us. My clan may be pious, but they know better than to question such good fortune."
    "So the treasure does exist!"
    Cairn let out a dry laugh.
    "I do not know where the Old Lord found the money. He probably sold off some family trinkets. These stories are made up only to frighten children."
    "But if it were true …"
    "If the McPhersons had a treasure things would be different, but I’ll not sell my soul to obtain it."
    According to legend the Old Lord made a pact with the devil and was granted the wealth and power to save his clan, but some people like Lord Gundy suspected a different explanation. Centuries ago the Romans established a silver mine on land now belonging to the McPhersons. The mine had long since yielded its