AMAZON KINDLE VERSION A Siberian Werewolf In London EDITED 3 9 2012 by Caryn Moya Block Read Free Book Online Page B

floor.
    Melisande felt a flash of jealousy. She watched Lady Ashtown drape herself over Grigori's arm as if she owned him. Then she led him down the marble-floored hall into the depths of the home. A sudden image of a spider with a fly came to mind. Melisande hurried after the pair, wondering if Grigori would need rescuing in the near future. Not that he deserved it the way he flirted with Lady Ashtown.
    Grigori was her fiancé after all, even though he hadn’t asked her to marry him. He had told her his people already considered them married. How dare he charm Lady Ashtown and allow her to lead him away? Melisande was the one here to give Lady Ashtown her expertise, not Grigori. And why did that woman always call her Sandy?
    Melisande hurried after them, thinking how irritating she found the whole experience. They turned a corner into a large room with twelve-foot-high walls, where brilliantly colored tapestries hung on every surface.
    Melisande was immediately transfixed. This was why she was here. This was what she had waited for. She set her kit down and walked over to gaze at the nearest tapestry. Pictured in the woven threads was a group of knights with drawn swords, riding into battle on horseback. The work was striking, the colors bright with each figure woven in detail so fine you could almost feel the wind blowing through the horses’ tails and hear the crash of armor hitting armor.
    Moving forward, Melisande approached the next piece on the wall. It showed a group of musicians playing for dinner guests seated in front of them. Melisande thought real silver and gold threads had been used for weaving the trim on the ladies' sleeves and the lords’ necklines. She leaned in closer to get a better look.
    Grigori had paused and turned as Melisande entered the room. She had immediately become fixated with the tapestries on the walls. Her face was alight with pleasure, and her eyes shown with joy. Melisande loved her work.
    But there appeared to be more going on. Grigori frowned. The hairs on his arms were rising, and he swore he felt eddies of psychic power flowing through the air. Was Melisande's psychic gift linked to her work? He moved closer to her but couldn't figure out what she was doing to cause his reaction.
    Lady Ashtown seemed oblivious to everything and continued her speech about rescuing old textiles, and how important her work was to the future. Grigori watched as she noticed Melisande's attention was on the tapestries and not on her. He saw a slight flash of irritation cross Lady Ashtown’s features, but she recovered quickly and, calling for them to follow, led their small group out of the hall and into a library.
    This room was thickly carpeted with a huge desk situated in the middle. Bookshelves filled with books of every color and size lined most of the walls. Grigori breathed deeply, enjoying the scents of ink on paper and old leather. His fingers itched to pick up one of the old tomes and discover its secrets.
    "This is the piece I need you to look at, Sandy,” Lady Ashtown said.
    Both Melisande and Grigori turned to look at the small tapestry hanging on the wall over the fireplace mantle shelf. Because the walls were mostly filled with books and the tapestry was small, it seemed lost in the jumble. Grigori thought the tapestry looked out of place in the library and would be better displayed on a plain white wall at eye level, but didn’t comment.
    The tapestry pictured a knight receiving a favor from his lady before he rode to battle. On closer inspection, Grigori decided he liked the style of the work. The knight looked adoringly at his lady, as she offered him a shy smile while handing him the token.
    "I'll need to have it brought down, Lady Ashtown. I need to be able to examine it more closely,” Melisande explained.
    "Of course. I'll have Elden arrange to have it placed on the table for your assessment. Would you care for tea while we wait?" Lady Ashtown asked.
    Grigori sensed the flash of