The Border Lord by Sophia James

Author:Sophia James
Language: ron
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance/Historical
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2008-06-29T21:00:00+00:00

‘Do you know this dog, Lizzie? Is he from the keep?’

‘In that condition? Nay, he is a stray and should be put down before he harms someone.’

His deep growl made them both jump, but the dog did not move after them. Rather it stopped and waited. Grace got the distinct impression of an animal at the very end of its strength, abandoned and at the mercy of others. There was much in this animal that she felt herself and the want to help it welled.

‘Can you return t-to the castle and get a rope, Lizzie?’

‘Ye mean to keep it?’

‘I mean to h-help it.’

‘Ye willna go nearer? If it bites ye and no one is here…’

‘I won’t touch it, now b-be quick.’

When the maid had gone and the silence again resettled, Grace sat, tucking her skirts between her legs and leaving the material so that she could rise quickly and run if the need arose.

But the animal sat still, very still, neither looking away, nor tending to its wounds, and the dull buzz of flies around the blood was all that could be heard on the air. Even the wind seemed lessened.

‘You look like you need some love,’ she said finally and his ears pricked against the sound. There was a considerable notch out of one of them and the other did not quite stand straight. ‘I could help you if you w-would let me?’ Her fingers reached out and he did not pull away. Encouraged, she lent further forwards and when her fingers touched his fur, he only turned his head slightly.

He didn’t have the softness of a pet, but the pelt of a dog who had been through some hard times. She smiled as he butted his nose against the heel of her hand before stiffening, the hackles of his fur rising proud along the skeletal ridge of his spine.

Startled, Grace scrambled up. Lachlan stood there, and the growl of the animal echoed threateningly.

Suddenly she knew just exactly who this dog reminded her of.

‘I instructed you not to leave the castle without a guard.’

‘I could n-not find one of your s-soldiers and Lizzie was w-with me.’

The frown on his forehead deepened, but he did not pursue the argument, instead looking down at the dog.

‘I f-found him in the bushes. He’s w-wounded.’

‘A leg-hold trap by the looks.’ Putting out his hand, he moved forwards. ‘Animals who are wounded can be unpredictable.’ Grace saw how he shielded her with his body. As unpredictable as he was!

She watched as he slipped the rope around the dog’s neck, the line of his fingers checking for other injuries.

‘He’s some sort of a bloodhound and probably a hunter. Not a pure breed though, for you can see that in the shape of his ears.’

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