Read Online The Intended by May McGoldrick - Free Book Online

whereupon the falconer
picked up several pieces of the meat to feed to the falcons. “Nay,
Evan. Not today, but I thank you. Working about in the garden has
wearied me dreadfully. Perhaps tomorrow,” she said with a smile,
taking the wide-eyed Mary by the elbow and steering her back out
the gate.
    “What are you up to, Jaime Macpherson?” Mary
breathed, trying to keep up with her cousin’s quick pace. The gate
to the garden lay directly before them. A pair of grooms sprinted
down the lane in the direction of the stables, crossing the women’s
path. The young men were clearly in a hurry.
    “Mary, don’t leave my side.” Jaime stopped
with her hand on the gate and looked into her cousin’s face. “No
matter what Edward says, you mustn’t leave me alone with him.
Promise me.”
    “What’s wrong? You’ve never been afraid of
being left alone with him before!” Seeing the quick turning away of
Jaime’s eyes and the hands that hurriedly yanked open the gate,
Mary reached out and caught her cousin’s arm. “Jaime?”
    Coloring, Jaime turned slightly and shook her
head. Then, looking directly into her cousin’s eyes, she asked,
“Please, Mary. Don’t leave my side.”
    The blonde-haired beauty paused, and then
nodded hesitantly. Jaime turned and moved through the gate, but
Mary held back a moment, staring after her cousin’s retreating
figure, before following her into the gardens.
    Once safely within the carefully manicured
space, Jaime slowed down, leading Mary into the center of a
close-cropped, knot-like design of herbs. Shielding her eyes with
her hand against the rays of the descending sun, she scanned the
far side of the enclosure for any sign of Edward. By a path leading
to the orchards, where a half-dozen gardeners were working, she saw
one of them straighten up as a giant of a man came into view. The
others stood quickly, bowing deferentially, and Jaime’s gaze
focused on the figure. She watched as Edward said something to the
gardener.
    Taking Mary by the arm, Jaime moved quickly
to a circular, grass-covered bench and sat her cousin on it,
putting them in the full view of the gardener. In less than a
moment, the man’s eyes turned in their direction, and Jaime saw the
gardener’s finger point toward them. Whirling around, Jaime
pretended to be unaware of Edward’s presence, staring instead at
the carefully clipped design that surrounded them. So far so good,
she thought with relief.
    “Don’t look at him, Mary,” she commanded. A
pair of swallows flitted across the garden in front of them, and
Jaime forced herself to watch them for a moment until they
disappeared up and over the ivy-covered way at the far end of the
enclosure.
    Mary’s voice, like that of a stern tutor,
broke into the silence. “Jaime, don’t ask me to lie to him about
your whereabouts this afternoon! I don’t like to lie. I can’t lie.
By Saint Agnes, he is coming this way!” Her voice registered her
alarm. “Perhaps it would be better if I should go...”
    Jaime plunked herself down beside her cousin
and took hold of Mary’s hand with a forceful grip. Edward must be
getting fairly close to them. “Just sit here beside me,” she said
quietly but firmly. “You won’t have to say anything, at all.”
    “But, Jaime, what happens if he asks me
something?” the younger woman asked under her breath. “What should
I say?”
    “Just follow my lead. Think of this as a
game, for heaven’s sake.” Jaime paused and looked into Mary’s
troubled face. “Mary, I’m just not prepared to be alone with him
right now. But neither you nor I have done anything wrong. So
please get that guilty expression off your face.”
    “I’ll try,” Mary responded, nodding
resignedly. “But I just don’t understand what’s come over you.”
    Jaime looked away. How could Mary understand?
Jaime herself couldn’t understand, and frankly, that irked her
somewhat. True, she was not married to Edward. They were not even
betrothed...yet.