Beloved by Annette Chaudet Read Free Book Online Page B

Richard thought perhaps the young lady—or rather the fact that she was no longer with Guy—was the problem.
    “Guy, I’m sorry. Is there something I can do?”
    “Yes, I’ll have the next dance with Christina, if that’s all right with you.”
    This odd response surprised Richard. “It’s up to Christina, of course. But I’m sure she’ll be happy to dance with you.”

    It was late afternoon and the weather was warm, but the breeze blowing across the fields outside Arles brought with it the smell of rain. The fertile farmland had once been a marsh from Arles to the Alpilles until it was successfully drained by the good brothers of the Abbey of Montmajour a hundred years earlier.
    As their carriage passed that imposing structure with its twelfth century tower, Christina regarded it with a feeling of warmth borne of memories of many happy summer days spent there with Richard. They’d visited Robert often as children and had climbed that very tower, spending hours together on the sun-warmed, moss-bordered stone at the top, weaving together their hopes and dreams.
    She rested her head against Richard’s shoulder, letting her thoughts take her back to the events of the past four days at Cybelle’s. She was lost in her reverie until she heard her brother mention the word “marry.” Her eyes flew open.
    The three young men were all watching her, expecting some reaction, and they laughed.
    “You see,” Marco said, “Mention matrimony and you immediately have a woman’s total attention.” He was not above teasing his precious little sister, despite his devotion to her.
    Christina felt her skin flush and once again hated herself for being so susceptible to their teasing. She sincerely hoped the day would come when she would outgrow her tendency to scarlet cheeks.
    “Marco, stop teasing! What did you say about marriage?”
    “Only that some of us aren’t as fortunate as Richard here, who picked himself a wife when he was only six years old.”
    Richard laughed. “Actually, I knew that I loved her when I was six, but I wasn’t sure that I was going to marry her until I was nine.” He squeezed Christina’s hand as he said it, letting her know that it was all in fun.
    “Marco, tell me! Did one of the girls at the party catch your eye?”
    “You might say that,” he answered noncommittally. He turned and directed his attention to the passing fields as though the conversation held little interest.
    “Marco…” This was big news and Christina was determined to get to the bottom of it, even if she had to pull a confession from her brother, one word at a time.
    “Calm down, Tina. I haven’t proposed to anyone. I merely mentioned that I was considering calling on Mademoiselle Rouffet.”
    Christina smiled broadly. The object of her brother’s attentions was one of Christina’s favorites among the girls in the area.
    “Oh, Lise will be so pleased! She’s quite fond of you and she’s been so nice to me.”
    “Now, hold on, Tina. I said I was going to call on her, that’s all.” Marco laughed and Richard joined him. A faint smile was the most Guy could manage.
    “What about you, Guy?” Christina asked. “Did anyone special catch your eye?”
    “Sylvie Bret seemed quite taken with you,” Marco added. “In fact, I think I remember seeing the two of you headed for the balcony at some point.”
    Richard tried to catch Marco’s eye, but was too late. He didn’t know why Guy had seemed so volatile these past few days, but he thought it best to let it ride until Guy chose to either work it out himself or to talk about whatever it was that was bothering him.
    Guy’s expression clouded as he remembered Sylvie’s closed eyes and the look on her face as he kissed her throat. He had certainly wiped that lascivious expression off her insipid little face!
    “She’s a slut,” he muttered. That was putting it mildly, he thought.
    “Guy!” Richard’s eyes flashed with anger.
    Guy stared boldly back at