A Lily on the Heath 4 by Colleen Gleason Read Free Book Online Page A

for he feared what she might see in his eyes. And yet, his thoughts flew to that secret desire, long tamped away and nearly forgotten until only yesterday. Mad. You are mad to even think of it.
    “Yes indeed. Is that not why you are here? At court? To find a wife? That’s what you said last evening.” Her voice was amused—until she looked down and saw that he’d taken her bishop. “A pox on you, Mal! I had plans for that holy man!”
    He couldn’t hold back a rumbling chuckle. “Well, then, mayhap you should put your attention on the game in the stead of my business, Lady Judith.”
    “But I vow I could help you with your business,” she told him, chewing on a fingernail as she looked at the board. “I am well-acquainted with all the ladies at court, and many others. I have been known to help make many a match of them. And I could,” she added, looking up at him even as her face was angled toward the board, “help you determine which would be worthy of a man such as you.”
    Mal was caught for a moment by those blue eyes, soft and warm and smiling. A man such as you . Something inside him creaked pleasantly.
    “After all,” she continued, looking back down, thank the Blessed Lord, and grasping the head of her queen, “you are Warwick. You control near as much land in England as my cousin Gavin Mal Verne and Lord Salisbury, and you have the wealth to go with it. As well, you are quite a skilled warrior, as was evident in the yard this morrow, and would surely be able to defend any threat to you or your wife. And then there is the matter of the unfortunate young man named Rike.”
    “Rike?” he said after a beat of a moment, comprehension catching up with his thoughts.
    “Aye. I saw you speaking with him, working with him. It was very kind of you, Mal—my lord. And you appeared to have done so with tact and care, so as not to mortify the poor boy. Check.”
    Mal’s attention whipped back down to the game. How the bloody rood had she done that? Well, ’twas no matter. He could easily maneuver himself out of that threat and continue on. He shifted a pawn and replied, “The boy’s barely a squire and won’t make it to knighthood without some guidance. He’s as like to fall on his own sword than use it to defend himself.”
    “I saw him too, and, ah, well…Mal, I was going to approach you and suggest the very thing. But you had already done so.” She was looking at him again with those warm eyes, only a game-board distance away.
    “Because he reminded you of me, when I was such an age?” he asked, not quite able to keep a tinge of bitterness from his voice.  
    “Mayhap some trifle bit,” she replied carelessly, sliding her knight into place with a grand gesture. “But most of all because of who you’d become. Check, sirrah!”
    “You hardly know who I’ve become,” he retorted, swiftly moving his king out of danger.
    “’Tis true…but even as we sit here, I learn more of you. And all the ladies are asking about you, too, my lord; do you not allow yourself to think otherwise. Any new face at court—particularly one as pleasing as yours—will garner such interest. Because we are old friends, though, I wish only for the best for you. And therefore, ’tis my intent to drive you clear from certain potential wives…such as….” She leaned over the table, her face coming so close that he could see that the single, dainty freckle on her eyelid was amber and not brown, “Gladys of Darvington and Winifred d’Alsineaux.” Judith’s voice had dropped to a husky whisper, and she held his gaze with hers. “Keep yourself far from them, my lord, I beg of you, and you will be much happier.” She grinned then as her hand swooped down and snatched up his queen, replacing it with her knight. She looked up at him with dancing, triumphant eyes.
    He nodded gravely, reaching for the board. “Thank you very much for the warning, my lady. Check… mate .”
    Her eyes popped wide and she nearly burst