Free Her Highlander's Promise by B. J. Scott Page A

but I canna stand by and see you marry Allan. Not without a fight. Lord Cameron loves you, and I would wager you feel the same about him. You deserve to be happy. It is what your parents would have wanted.” Isla squared her shoulders and looked Laurel in the eye. “I also believe the mistress has gotten away with murder far too long. It is time she paid for her crimes.”
    “How, pray tell, do you expect that to happen? It is my word against hers. Once Allan and I are wed, she will have even more power than she does now, which is exactly what she wants.”
    “Would one of you ladies like to fill me in on what you’re talking about,” Blair asked.
    “If you dinna tell him, I will,” Isla said.
    “I canna fight you both.” Laurel released a heavy sigh. “I have reason to believe Deirdre poisoned my parents—that neither of their deaths was due to illness as suspected.”
    Blair’s face blanched and his expression turned solemn. “Poisoned? What led you to that conclusion? These are serious changes and if proved true, all the more reason for me to get you out of here this night.”
    “That is the reason I must remain,” Laurel replied adamantly. “If I were to leave, my cousin would hunt us down, likely claim you absconded with me against my will and would have half the cut-throats and brigands in Scotland looking for us before dawn. In the meantime, she might take her anger out on those I care about. I dinna want that on my head.”
    Laurel proceeded to tell him what she’d told Isla earlier and expressed her concerns that Angus, Isla, and others she held dear would pay the price for her defiance. By the time she’d finished, her shoulders had slumped and tears streamed down her cheeks. “So you see, without proof, we have nothing.”
    He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into an embrace, pressing his lips to her brow. “Then we must prove her guilty of these heinous crimes and see her punished,” Blair replied.
    “How?” Laurel sniffled and rested her cheek against his chest, comforted by the sound of his heart.
    “If you could find her mother’s maid, Elise, and convince her to come forth, there might be a chance.”
    “Where might I find her?”
    “She disappeared the night my mother died and no one has seen her since. She left behind her mother and son, who at the time was a squire to Murray. No one knows for certain why, but there has always been speculation.” Laurel shook her head. “There is no use. I don’t know where she went or if she is even still alive.”
    “She resides in Kilmorack, a small village outside Inverness,” Isla said.
    “How do you know?” Puzzled by the news, Laurel waited for her friend to answer.
    “My mother and Elise’s mother are friends. One day, she told my mam in secret that her daughter was forced to leave, but sends her coin when she can from Kilmorack.”
    “I know it well. Kilmorack is a good day’s ride and then some. If I am going to find Elise and bring her back, I must be on my way.”
    Laurel clutched his tunic. “Nay. It is too dangerous.”
    “I am in more danger if I tarry and someone finds me in your chamber. Murray would have me gelded and then tossed in the dungeon,” he said, chuckling. “If I go now, and travel through the night, I can put a good bit of distance between here and my destination.”
    Laurel knew he was right, but she hated to see him leave. Being snuggled in his strong embrace felt right, like he’d been made to hold her. But if she had any chance of proving her suspicions, she had to let him go.
    Easing her grip on his garment, she peered up at him and smiled. “I know you must go. Godspeed. I will pray for your safe journey and fast return.”
    As she went to move away, he hauled her against his chest, lowered his head, and captured her lips. For a moment, all thought and worry dissipated into a fog of ecstasy. His warm, soft lips moved over hers in a way that made her swoon, his tongue searching the