Page 30 of When a Scot Gives His Heart
She barely contained her sigh of relief, which he must have sensed because he sniggered. “I did nae. I’ve been given a new assignment in regard to ye, my pet.”
“How nice for ye,” Marsaili snapped, glancing toward the door. Any minute now, Lorna should be returning, and hopefully, the woman had a weapon. “Why are ye here, then?”
“Well,” he said, scratching at his stubble with the blade of the dagger he held, “I was amazed, then pleased to hear some English knights discussing a lass they were to find for their lord, the Earl of Ulster. It seems the leader of their party, a Godfrey—” A smile twisted his lips. “I believe ye ken him. Actually, I believe ye killed poor Godfrey. I stumbled upon a dead body in the woods when I was making my way back here to retrieve ye.”
“Aye, I killed him,” she lied. “Just as I’ll be killing ye when ye least expect it.”
“I like a lass who’s nae afraid to threaten,” Lucan said in a voice that revealed his fondness for dark deeds. “As I was saying,” he continued, sounding amused with himself, “I overheard them mention the earl was rather eager to have ye brought to him. It seems he’s quite taken with ye. I thought to myself, ‘Lucan, a rich earl would likely pay ye a great sum to bring the wench to him.’ So I killed the English guards, and here I am.”
The matter-of-fact way he spoke of murdering the Earl of Ulster’s men swept icy fear through her. She swallowed, her palms tingling. “So ye came here to take me to the earl, and what? Bargain me away to him?”
“How astute ye are, Marsaili.”
Her mind raced as she contemplated how she would get away. She didn’t see a way, unless Lorna’s return distracted Lucan enough that she could get around him and both she and Lorna could flee. “How did ye manage to get into this castle?” she asked, wishing to delay.
He chuckled. “That,” he said, slowly drawing out his words, “is a story I’m afraid I was paid generously nae ever to repeat. But I’ll tell ye this, my sweet, have a care before ye ever choose one man over another again.”
Marsaili frowned. She had no notion of what Lucan was speaking. “I dunnae—”
Lucan lunged at her, taking her by complete surprise. He clamped a hand over her mouth, turned her face directly to his, and knocked her over the head with the hilt of his dagger so hard that everything went black.
