By Honor Bound by Helen A Rosburg Read Free Book Online Page B

adoring child. From the beginning she had followed him around like a puppy. Having been an only child for the first twelve years of his life, he had feared her near-constant presence would be annoying. But he had discovered just the opposite. As she had emerged from her grief and her personality blossomed, he had found her enchanting. Her naïveté combined with quick wit, intelligence, and down-to-earth honesty brought a light and laughter into his life he had never known from his loving but hardworking, solid parents. He loved them dearly, but Honneure was, well … Honneure . He had missed her badly. He couldn’t wait to see her.

    The sun seemed to rest upon the treetops of Chenonceau’s surrounding park. Honneure walked out onto the lane and looked north down the long gravel drive. She could have sworn she heard hoofbeats. She squinted. There was movement … There was!
    “Philippe?” she called. “Philippe!”
    He heard her voice first and then saw the lissome form, arms waving, at the top of the drive. Chenonceau, welcoming, rose behind her.
    “I’m riding ahead, Claud,” Philippe announced needlessly as he put his heels to his horse. The white mare sprang into a gallop.
    Was it possible he had grown more handsome in the space of a few weeks? His skin was tanned from days of riding in the sun, and when he grinned at her his perfect teeth seemed even whiter. His wind-tussled curls had grown long and touched the tops of his broad, muscular shoulders. The shadow of a beard crept from his finely chiseled jaw to the high, sharp ridge of his cheekbones. He rode his mount lightly, perfectly balanced, graceful, and at ease in the saddle. She loved him.
    “Philippe!”
    He threw himself from the saddle and into her embrace. She smelled like summer.
    His arms went about her waist, and he lifted her from her feet, hugging her tightly. “Little sister … I’ve missed you.”
    “And I’ve missed you. Now put me down so I can look at you!”
    Philippe did as he was bid, holding her at arm’s length as they studied one another.
    “You’ve grown prettier, I swear,” he said, and pushed a wave of hair from her forehead. With the tip of a finger he traced the natural rose blush of one cheek.
    “You’re probably right,” she replied. “Because you seem to have grown more handsome, too. Or maybe we just look better because we’re glad to see each other.”
    Philippe laughed. “That’s certainty true. All the way home from Vienna, I’ve thought of little else than seeing you.”
    “Oh, really? Only on the way home?” Honneure feigned a pout. “Why not in Vienna? Were there too many other pretty faces to think about?”
    “Dozens … hundreds,” he teased.
    Honneure felt the edges of her smile begin to slip. They always teased one another this way. So why all of a sudden did she feel so strange?
    The alien mood was quickly dispelled as Claud pulled up in the wagon. She greeted him but ignored his mumbled response and the way his small, pale eyes devoured her body.
    Gay once more, Honneure helped to put away the horses. Earlier in the day she and Paul had readied stalls for the new arrivals. There was fresh bedding, hay, and water. She admired the animals as Claud and Philippe wiped them down and put them away. Honneure herself took care of the filly as the young one did not seem so skittish in her presence. By the time they emerged from the stables, the sun had disappeared below the tree line and only a rapidly fading halo of light remained.
    “Thanks for your help on the trip, Claud,” Philippe said and clapped the stout youth on the back. “Go on home. I’m sure your father is waiting.”
    “I just hope my dinner is waiting,” Claud retorted. With a last furtive glance in Honneure’s direction, he crossed the lane to his father’s house.
    “Speaking of dinner, brother dear, I’ve fixed your favorite.”
    “Rabbit?”
    “Rabbit.”
    “I’ll race you.”
    It was a favorite game, though she never