A Knight With Grace: Book 1 of the Assassin Knights Series by Laurel O'Donnell Read Free Book Online Page A

shook his head. “Just that if I were taking the woman I loved away...”
    She straightened and corrected him by declaring, “He was my friend.”
    “Pardons. If I were taking my friend away, I would go to a place that had no connection to me. If someone was trying to find you, home would be the first place to look. Next, any relations. Aunts, cousins. Seems suspicious to me, that’s all. Why would he bring you to the first place he knew they would look?”
    Grace scowled. She stared down at her slippered feet. “Perhaps he didn’t know they were going to search here. His father died a long time ago. He said he left this cottage to him.”
    “He grew up here.”
    Grace nodded. “Yes. But he had not been here for some time.” She scowled and raised her gaze to him. “You shouldn’t belittle a dead man. It is dishonorable.”
    “I am not belittling him. I am simply pointing out facts. Once I found out his name, Sir Curtis Mortain, he was easy to find. You were easy to find.”
    Easy to find, her mind repeated. Curtis would never have wanted her to be found! This was to be their home. They had talked about the garden and... Why would he bring her to his family home? Doubt plagued her and this made her angry. “Your logic doesn’t make sense. Curtis had nowhere else to go. This was a good choice. I mean... why would Curtis have wanted my father to find me? He would have been thrown in the dungeon!”
    William’s gaze shifted to the rabbit. He cut off a piece of meat with his dagger and handed it to her. “You said you paid him. How much?”
    She stared at the rabbit he offered, her anger outweighing her hunger. Curtis would never have brought her here if he knew her father would find them! Would he? “It doesn’t matter.”
    William lowered the rabbit. “But it does. He was a young knight. If you had paid him enough, he wouldn’t need you. Maybe he only wanted the coin.”
    His words made her re-think her recent time with Curtis. Every time they had stopped, Curtis had left her. Almost as if he were anxious to be away from her. What had he been doing? She swallowed down the uncertainty, but it had already snaked a path into her mind. Sadness filled her. Had he really deceived her? “He said we would live here.”
    William’s gaze moved slowly over her. “You should consider yourself lucky, Lady Grace. He could have simply killed you.”
    Shock rocked her. “Curtis was honorable,” she defended vehemently. “He would never have hurt me! We were friends!” It couldn’t be! William was just trying to confuse her. She had thought that perchance Curtis might come to love her someday. But more nagging thoughts came to her, more questions. Curtis had never kissed her. He had not even tried! Stunned at the realization, she turned and slowly made her way back into the cottage.

    William combed down Hellfire, speaking to him in soft tones. His horse had been his only one true friend through all of this. And they were both getting older. The horse tossed his head and William patted him on the nose. “She just needs time.” He cast a glance at the opening to the cottage. Lady Grace had not emerged since earlier that morn, although he had heard her moving about. She must be thirsty, if not hungry. He was glad she ate a loaf of bread. Perhaps he had been too harsh, too early. After all, the man she had paid to take her away just died. Died. William shook his head as he moved to put the brush back into his saddle bag. Curtis had been brash and reckless attacking a trained knight. But William had not wanted him to die. After the brutal fighting in Jerusalem, he had made a vow never to kill again. And he hadn’t. Sir Curtis had fallen on his own dagger after a less than honorable attack.
    Grace’s accusation that he had killed Curtis pierced him like a dagger. While he knew he had not killed the young knight, the fact she believed he did was enough to tighten his chest in despair. He had wanted to shout at her that