Bride of the Tower by Sharon Schulze Read Free Book Online Page A

weary, showed not a whit of compliance. Though she’d been civil, indeed, ’twas clear she’d not simply give in. His pulse quickened in anticipation.
    He smiled, and Lady Julianna’s chin rose, her look of stubbornness growing more pronounced. Though he knew he’d have to work to regain his possessions, there was no reason he couldn’t enjoy the process. He’d always enjoyed a good fight, especially a verbal one.
    And it appeared his warrior lady had every intention of enjoining him in battle.

Chapter Six
    W ill folded his arms and leaned his shoulders back against the wall, more to provoke Lady Julianna, truth be told, than because he needed the wall for support. “If I asked you most politely for my pack and the letters, would you give them to me and allow me to continue on my way?”
    “You’re in no condition to go anywhere at the moment, save back to your pallet,” she said, her tart tone a perfect accompaniment to the fire in her eyes and the faint tinge of color mounting her cheeks. “So I see no reason to return any of your belongings to you just yet.” She stooped to pick up the leather pouch from the floor, her dark hair swinging like a cloak about her and shielding him from her view.
    Will took advantage of the moment to reach forthe dagger he kept tucked in the top of his boot, only to realize that his feet were bare—though even if they’d left his boots on, they weren’t likely to have left a weapon so easily at hand.
    Not that he’d have used it against her, in any case. But as a threat, if necessary…
    Lady Julianna rose, shook her hair out of the way and faced him before he could disguise the movement as anything but what it had been. She tucked the parchment into the bag, closed the flap and swung the strap over her shoulder, giving the pouch a final pat that made the bundle of messages crackle.
    Reaching down to her own boot, she slipped a dagger free. “Were you looking for this?” she asked. She straightened, tossing the dagger and catching it by the hilt with the ease of long practice. “It seems a fine piece,” she mused as she inspected the design etched into the blade. “Well-balanced, and well-used, too, from the look of it.”
    “’Twas habit, nothing more.” Will shrugged and leaned back against the rough plaster as though he hadn’t a care in the world. He needed the wall’s support now, but Lady Julianna didn’t need to know his head had begun to spin so badly he could scarcely stand.She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “Did you really expect I would permit a stranger, even an injured stranger, to remain armed within my walls?” Her amber gaze never leaving his, she bent and returned the knife to her boot.
    He shook his head, regretting it at once; not only did it hurt like the devil, but his vision began to blur around the edges. “’Twould have made no difference either way. I doubt I’d manage to leave here alone, with naught but a blade to protect me.”
    Lady Julianna’s expression went from stern to alarmed in an instant. What had caused the sudden change? he wondered as he pushed away from the wall and spun toward the door.
    His legs folded beneath him; he saw nothing save a blur of brown and white moving his way as he crumpled to the floor.
    Julianna rushed toward Will as soon as she saw his face go white and his body begin to list to the side, but she couldn’t reach him in time to prevent him from dropping to the hard oak planks at her feet. “Sweet Mary save you, you fool!” Sinking to her knees beside him, she gathered him into her arms. “This is becoming a habit I’d rather not repeat.”
    His head lolled against her chest, his mouth much too near her unbound breasts. Sudden suspicion made her shift him away from her none too gently, giving him a poke in the ribs, and scramble back from him.
    What if this was but a ploy to play upon her sympathy, to disarm her and take the letters? He could tie her up and slip from the room without