Song of the Highlands: The Cambels (The Medieval Highlanders) by K.E. Saxon Page A

of the soldiers. Her heart, already
pounding hard in her chest, began to race e’er faster, tripping and
skipping the further below they went.
    Her uncle paused and Morgana barely missed
running into him. He took a lit torch from its sconce before
continuing on his trek, ne’er saying another word to her.
    She could hear the harsh breathing of the
priest at her back. ‘Twas clear the man was growing winded from
their long march to her doom.
    At last, her uncle came to a standstill
directly outside a door with a bar across it and a lock the size of
the man’s head in its iron latch.
    * * *
    “Where has your father taken Morgana?” Guy
de Burgh asked, sitting down next to Vika at table as she broke her
fast in the great hall a bit later.
    Vika swallowed back the waspish, jealous
reply before it tripped off her tongue, instead giving him a sad
look and shaking her head. With a slight shrug, she said, “I know
not.”
    “ ‘Tis rumored that he’s put her in the
dungeon, with the felons. If that be the case, we must get her from
there forthwith.”
    Vika looked at her hand and rubbed the nail
of her middle finger with the pad of her thumb. “I think, if ‘tis
true that she’s in the dungeon, that my father would keep her
locked in a chamber by herself, not in with the others there.” She
lifted her gaze to Guy’s. “Besides, ‘twould only cause my father to
be more angered—at me, and my cousin—were we to attempt such a
feat.”
    “Help me find her, at least. I must see how
she fares. We can either bribe the guard, or you can distract him
with your beauty and wiles. Either way, I care not.”
    “Why care you so much about my cousin?
Surely you’ve heard, as have I these past hours, that my father has
denied her a dowry because of her conduct with Robert MacVie.” She
lifted her brow in speculation. “Unless...do you want her as lover,
mayhap? After Robert?”
    Guy’s teeth ground together. Vika was the
exact opposite, it seemed, of her cousin. The lady was selfish to a
fault, ne’er doing anything unless it might serve her own
interests. Even with regard to her cousin, for whom, ‘twas clear to
all, she deeply cared.
    The truth was, he liked Morgana. In fact,
these past sennights, as he’d gotten to know her, he had come to
the decision to give her his troth. He had no need for a wealthy
alliance; he had plenty of his own. But he did need an heir. And,
since he had destroyed his chance to wed the one woman to whom he
could have— had, in fact—given his heart; a lady such as
Morgana, whom he liked well, seemed the perfect solution.
    “I intend to give her my troth.”
    Vika turned a bit more toward him, her eyes
narrowing as she rested her forearm on the table. There was an edge
to her voice when she said, “You do know, my father intends her to
wed Robert, her seducer, to take the taint off the family
name.”
    She leaned forward and said softly, “If ‘tis
a wife you seek, I’ve a need for a husband now that my own dear
departed’s nephew has taken possession of the family’s holding.
And, unlike my cousin, I can bring a great fortune with me.” She
ran her finger down the front of his tunic in direct line to his
groin. “We could meet after supper and practice a bit of amorous
sparring, if you wish to...” Her tongue darted out the corner of
her mouth in reaction to what her finger found, then she said with
a purr, “... discover how we get on...?”
    Guy grabbed hold of her hand and, not
gently, placed it back on the table. “I think not.”
    Vika felt angry heat rise to her cheeks, but
she sat back and gave Guy a bored smile. With a shrug, she said,
“As you wish.” ‘Twas not as if she’d been in the least serious
about wedding him, in any case, but a mutual seduction? Well, that
was another matter, entirely. She took a breath and added, “As far
as my aiding you with my cousin, I think not.” She rose to
her feet and, with a demure courtesy, turned and walked from the
great