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

from her seat. “Nay! You did not!” But as she looked frantically at the board, her hand hovering from place to place as if to find some move to free her from the trap, her lips pursed in acceptance. “Fie! You are fortunate, my lord, for my very next move would have been to put an end to you myself.”
    “I am well aware of that,” he replied, entertained by how quickly her mood had changed from earnest advice to mischief to irritation. “Nevertheless, you are a formidable opponent, my lady.”
    “As are you, my lord.” He detected the bit of a pout in her tone and he couldn’t completely smother a smile. “Laugh at me all you wish,” she told him tartly, “but I vow our next meeting will finish quite differently!”
    “I dare not laugh at you, Lady Judith,” he told her, doing just that—and was surprised with himself for doing so. And surprised that he had not taken her words as an opportunity to take his leave—for there was no reason to stay now that the game was finished. He was eager to be on his way. Yet, he did not rise. “Did you not beg me to play with you in order to offer you a better challenge than your last opponents?”
    “Mmph.” She made a comical expression, then reached to pluck the last slice of apple from his tray. “Now that I have told you whom to avoid, my lord, mayhap you should tell me what you seek in a wife. Surely she must be beautiful and come with a large dowry chest or a fief of her own…but what more do you seek? Shall she have hair the color of honey or eyes as green as the heath-grass?”
    “I care not the color of her hair or eyes,” he replied impatiently. “’Tis of no import to me. I care not whether she is homely or comely. But she must be modest and biddable. And she must know how to manage an estate, for I need a good chatelaine to oversee the household.” Beatrice of Delbring, whose estate was only two days’ ride from Warwick, met all of those requirements. And she would be a good mother to Violet, for, as a cousin of Sarah’s, she’d oft visited Warwick. But…there were other options here at court.
    “Aye,” Judith said, nodding sagely. “The Warwick holdings are vast, and you must oft travel between them.”
    “Not so oft as one might suppose,” he replied. “There is much to keep me occupied at Warwick Castle, and I have long-serving, trustworthy castellans at my other holdings. In sooth, I prefer not to leave Warwick at all. ’Tis where I belong, my home. I would never have come here had I not been in sore need of a wife, and permission from the king to take one.” Mal closed his mouth at that point, astonished that he’d spoken so many words—and to a woman—and at the same time discomfited by the raw honesty of the contents of his speech.  
    He looked up at Judith to see what her reaction would be to his bluntness. Her expression had turned sober. Even a little sad. “Aye. ’Tis difficult to be away from one’s home.”
    Something in her tone prompted him to ask, “Have you not been to Lilyfare as of late?”
    Judith laughed, but it was humor tinged with bitterness. “Nay, my lord. I’ve not been to my lands for six years. The queen has made this court my home, and I fear I will never see the green heath of Lilyfare until I am buried there. If perchance the queen will even allow that .” She laughed again, but he heard the strain beneath the lightness.
    “I am sorry for that, my lady. But surely there are benefits to being in the confidence of the queen?” Malcolm could hardly fathom what benefits might overweigh the comfort and privacy of home, but he was doing his best to be gallant.
    “Oh, aye, I mustn’t sound like I’m unhappy. I’m truly not,” Judith replied brightly. “There is always entertainment here and people to talk with—and play chess with,” she added with a sassy, more genuine smile. “And her majesty has been very good to me on many occasions.”
    “And surely you have done aught for her, my lady,