Once a Bride by Shari Anton Read Free Book Online

forgotten that others stood nearby, and had allowed his mind to wander from his duty. He’d not let it happen again.
    From the doorway strode a grim-faced Marcus, beside him a man-at-arms upon whose forearm perched a peregrine falcon.
    “We have two problems,” Marcus said. “I cannot find Brother Walter. As you suggested, milady, I first looked in the chapel. He is not in his quarters. No one seems to have seen him of late. But that is not the worst of it.” He nodded to the soldier. “Report.”
    The soldier addressed Simon. “We did as you ordered, first searching the trout pond, then Sir John’s other favorite hunting spots. We found no sign of either his lordship or Edgar until about an hour ago.” The soldier glanced at the falcon. “She was tethered in a tree near the old mill, sitting in plain sight, like she were waiting for someone to come get her and bring her home.”
    In the ensuing stunned silence, Roland set his goblet on the table. Surely no one now believed Sir John Hamelin had merely gone hunting. He’d left the falcon in a spot he’d known would be searched, and then fled.
    The earl wouldn’t be pleased, and Roland dreaded being the one to tell him. Still, the man must be told.
    “I will inform Kenworth.” He glanced around at the half-dozen grim-faced knights. “I ask for your pledge to remain in the hall of your own accord.”
    To a man they gave agreement.
    Eloise turned glistening sapphire eyes his way. “We will do naught to give the earl reason to do Lelleford or its people harm. I ask you have a care to do the same.”
    Roland made his way to the accounting room, mindful of both her unnecessary caution and the disturbing sight of Eloise’s unshed tears.
    Nothing in her experience had prepared Eloise for dealing with a peer of the realm in high temper.
    Seated at the dais, with the earl occupying her father’s chair next to her, Eloise struggled to keep her stomach calm. But with Kenworth’s surly disposition and the sickening smell of eel, she was fighting a losing battle. For all he appreciated the effort she’d made to have one of his favorite foods prepared, she might as well have served him thinned stew.
    Then her stomach wouldn’t now be as sour as Kenworth’s mood.
    If being seated next to the churlish earl weren’t bothersome enough, on her other side sat Roland St. Marten. A man whose physical presence made her heart beat a bit faster, a little harder, every time she got too close to him. Not a good reaction at all.
    And right now she was much too close to him, seated on the same bench, mere inches apart. So close his heady male scent almost overpowered the odor of the eel. Almost.
    ’Struth, she’d been glad of Roland’s presence during the long afternoon as the patrols came in and the earl’s knights reported their lack of success. Though she was loathe to admit it, only Roland’s calm manner and firm stance had kept the earl’s wrath under restraint.
    Without question, Lelleford was now firmly controlled by William, earl of Kenworth. His guards manned the gates, with orders to allow no one outside the walls without permission. Neither she nor Lelleford’s knights were allowed out of the great hall because of Kenworth’s fear they might attempt to escape and go to their lord’s aid.
    He’d taken control of the castle, but not by force, and for that Eloise gave thanks to the Lord and, grudgingly, to Roland St. Marten.
    Truly, she should have taken a stronger role in dealing with the earl, not let Roland assume most of the task. Undeniably, the man possessed a core of strength and purpose, cast forth an aura of power mingled with intelligence. While Roland used courtly manners, she didn’t doubt he, too, would be dangerous if crossed. The man certainly hadn’t hesitated to draw his sword against the earl’s knights in defense of Simon, a good sign.
    Still, she’d accepted his assistance too easily. So, too, to her way of thinking, did Lelleford’s knights