Page 78 (1/1)

"King Jah "Yes"

"Why?"

She could feel his body tense behind her "Because he said I was his own captive hawk, and it was true He controlled me for fifteen years as surely as a falconer controls his bird"

"My God, what did he do to you?" she whispered, horrified at the icy depths in his voice when he spoke of his service The Hawk controlled by another? Incomprehensible But if the threat of destruction of Dalkeith, his s had been held over his head? The threat of killing the hundreds of his clanspeople? What would the noble Hawk have done to prevent that?

The answer ca, wise, ethical husband would have done whatever he had to do Any other man the Haould have si of Scotland Not without having his clan’s existence co’s army Same result, no choice A sentence of fifteen years, all because of a scorned and spoiled king

"Can’t you just accept me as I am now, lass? It’s over I’uish that she froze His words threw her off balance; it was soht have said herself if confronted with her past by someone she cared for Her husband understood pain, and perhaps shae and condemn a person for a dark past? If she were honest with herself, she would even point out that her past had been the result of her own naive mistakes, where his painful ordeal had been one he’d been forced to endure to keep safe his clan and his family

She wanted to touch and heal the man who sat so stiffly away froin This ’s whore, whatever that was, because he’d wanted to; that fact went a long way toward easing her , she wanted to understand this fierce, proud man To brush away the shadows in his beautiful dark eyes She jerked swiftly when she felt silk graze her jaw

"No! Don’t put the hood back on me Please"

Hawk ignored her protests, and she sighed as he retied the cords

"Will you just tell ’ er?

"I stepped back, lass I gave you what no other iven you I allowed you the time to choose me of your oill But it see Choose me, you will And when you do, there will be no other man’s nahs, no other man’s face in your mind’s eye"

"But--" She wanted to knohy her time had so suddenly run out What had made him snap?

"No buts No more words, lass, unless you would have me bind your mouth as well From this time forward you see without the benefit of those beautiful, lying eyes Perhaps I’ht see true with your inner vision Then again, perhaps not But your first lesson is that what I look like has nothing to do ho I a to do ho I am When you finally see ain"

They arrived in Uster shortly after dawn Pushing his horse hard through the night, Hawk turned a two-day journey into less than one

He guided her into the laird’s residence, past the gawking staff, up the stairs and to the bedrooer, pushed her to the bed, locking the door behind him as he left

The instant Adrienne’s hands were free she ripped off the silken hood She’d been prepared to shred it into tiny silken tatters but realized he’d probably just use so else if she destroyed it Besides, she h of a battle on her hands trying to face her own eranted her s inside her Dear heaven, but he was angry with her Just what he was angry about she wasn’t certain, but her resolve was still true In the face of his fury, her soldiers had not changed their minds They all stood proudly on the Hawk’s side, and she ith them to a man

He planned to seduce her callously? To open her inner vision to him?

He didn’t need to know that it had already been opened, and that she sha

The Haalked slowly through the streets of Uster It was nearly deserted at this late hour, only those of courage, abject stupidity, or evil intent walked the streets late at night when a heavy fog was roiling in He wondered into which category he fell