Page 40 of Desire's Ransom
He caught their chins in his hands. “You’re not traitors, are you, lads?” he crooned. “Poor things, you’re just half-starved.”
“Ballocks!” she protested. Her hounds ate better than she did.
He clucked his tongue. “Your mistress probably feeds you nothing but nuts and berries.”
“Nuts and…” she echoed. “That’s ridiculous.”
He grinned. Obviously, he was teasing her.
Then he swiveled on his haunches toward his men. “Are you going to roost all day in the trees?” he asked them. “Or are any of you brave enough to meet these ferocious beasts?” He ruffled the hounds’ heads again, and they wagged their tails in delight.
His men climbed reluctantly out of the trees. As they cautiously approached, her gaze flitted uncertainly between them. She hated being unarmed against five hulking knights.
“I have no coin,” she warned them. “So if ye’re hopin’ to rob me, ye’re out o’ luck.”
“I’m not interested in your coin,” he told her. “As I said, I just need your help. And I’m willing to pay for it.”
“What do ye want?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
Her breath caught. But she didn’t dare let her alarm show. As casually as possible, she asked, “Who?”
“A young woman.”
She gulped. So it was true. Her father had hired foreign mercenaries to hunt for her. She cursed herself for not taking her own advice, for not staying hidden in the forest. If these knights dragged her back to the tower house…
“She ran into the woods three days ago,” he added, “and has been missing ever since.”
Temair blinked. She let out a shuddering breath of relief. “Threedaysago?”
“Aye.”
The rest of his men had come up now. None of them were interested in tangling with her hounds again. But to her aggravation, the dogs seemed content to sit beside the knight anyway, nosing at his hands and enjoying his companionable scratches.
“This woman,” Temair asked. “What does she look like?”
The knight furrowed his brows. “Small. Dark. Wild.”
“That’s all?”
“I’m afraid so.”
She need not have worried. That description fit about half of Eire. And small? These men were obviously searching for someone else.
On the other hand, all five men had seen Temair’s face clearly now. They could easily take her description back to her father. If her correct age and her raven-black hair didn’t convince Cormac his daughter was alive and well in the woods, her gray eyes would.
She had to find a way to keep these men away from theclannchieftain.
She perused the other knights. Despite being spooked by her hounds, they were a formidable group. Tall. Strong. Tough. With broad shoulders and heavy swords.
She was unarmed and alone. She couldn’t very well overpower them and force them to stay in the forest.
Maybe there was another way.
