dragon archives 02 - pursued by a dragon by linda k hopkins Read Free Book Online Page A

whoring with other women? Will it bring you comfort when he spends the night over drinks with friends instead of with you? Will it bring you contentment in your old age when you sit at a fire alone, with only dry numbers to keep you company? Because that is what your future holds.”
    Cathryn winced as Favian flung out each question. She turned around slowly, desperately trying to find an adequate reply, but she was alone in the room, the door already swinging closed. Dropping down to her knees, she sunk onto the floor, allowing the tears she had been holding back to fall onto the cold stone floor.
     

Chapter 9 
    The only thing still preventing Cathryn from starting her tour was the unsettled spring weather. Traveling with a convoy of wagons and other equipage over rough country lanes was hazardous even when the weather was fine, so traveling when the lanes were still mired down in mud was a foolish risk. And faced with the certainty that there would be times they would have to camp under the stars, Cathryn was prepared to wait for more clement weather. But the wait was trying, and even Father could see that she was growing short-tempered.
    “I think we are nearing the end of the wet weather,” Father assured her one clear morning. “I’m sure things will have settled in the next week or two.” Cathryn clamped her teeth together in frustration, glancing out the window as she did so. Through the open shutters she could hear the sounds of the market — a riotous racket where it seemed like all manner of life were competing against each other to make themselves heard — roosters, geese, lambs and pigs lamenting their sorry plights as merchants and sellers yelled out the natures of their wares. Making a quick decision, she gave her father a smile before slipping out the door of his study. Pausing only to fetch her purse and swing a cloak around her shoulders, she made her way out onto the street, following the din to the market.
    Once there, Cathryn meandered through the tightly packed stalls of merchandise, twisting adroitly to avoid being knocked over by carefree children and determined shoppers. She paused at a merchant who had a table of polished stones. There was one that caught her eye — a clear, translucent disc of dark orange.
    “That would be amber, Mistress,” said the merchant, observing her interest. “Brought from far distant lands, traversing hundreds of miles. It can be yours for ten silver coins.”
    “Ten silver coins? That’s too dear for me,” Cathryn said.
    “Ah, but for you Mistress, I will sell it for only eight silver coins. That is a bargain you will not see again.”
    “You are too kind, Master,” she said. “But I’m afraid I must decline.” She laid the stone down on the table, smiling to herself when the man spoke again.
    “Did I say eight coins, Mistress? I meant seven, yours for only seven.”
    “Hmm, only seven?” She lifted the amber once more, prepared to examine it more closely, when a voice sounded softly in her ear behind her.
    “Cathryn?”
    For just an instant, Cathryn felt the sun stand still in its travels through the heavens as her heart started to pound. Carefully replacing the disc on the cloth, she turned around to face the man who would not give her peace.
    “Master Drake,” she said, with a very slight nod. “We meet again.”
    “Yes.” He stared down at her for a moment, his eyes searching her face, before turning his shoulder and gesturing to a woman standing behind him. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than Favian, and Cathryn guessed her to be in her early forties. And although her coloring was dark, she had the same sapphire-blue eyes as Favian.
    “Mistress Cathryn, I would like to introduce my mother, Margaret Drake.”
    “Madame Drake,” Cathryn said, quickly adjusting her mental musings on the woman’s age as she dropped a shallow curtsey.
    The woman smiled, reaching out to take Cathryn’s hand in her own.
    “It is a pleasure to