Heart of a Knight by Barbara Samuel Read Free Book Online Page A

the village and in the fields, conversing with the bailiff, or in the forests on a good hunt, than he was with fine ladies, and today was no exception. The lady's guardsmen eyed him none too kindly, and he gave them wide berth. Men oft took his size as a challenge, and he'd no liking of petty contests that proved naught in the end. In time, they would accept him.
    Or not.
    In the late afternoon, after a long talk with the village reeve about the poor milk of several goats, Thomas made his way back to the castle. It was a fine, clear summer day, the air alight with birdsong and a small breeze that rustled the heavy hair on his neck agreeably. He liked this southern landscape far better than the north. The thick forest and meandering river pleased him, as did the wealth in the fields and the neat hedgerows dividing peasant plots around the village. Most of all, he liked the castle on the hill, so grand and well-kept. The curtain wall could stand a good whitewashing, and he wondered if one of the peasant's boon days might be well-spent on the task.
    Ah, but that was not his to decide. Not anymore. As he moved through the thick, cool shadows below the gate tower, he was surprised how that pained him. He'd grown to love Woodell, and in his mind, he contrasted the cold, poor place he'd left with the splendor of the bailey here. An orchard, with cherry and apple trees, took up one corner. A vast herb garden near the kitchens gave off fragrant airs beneath the warm sun, and a small plot of vegetables had begun to yield fine cabbages and onions. Beans climbed the walls in merry abundance. As he strolled through the yard, a buxom girl came out and caught sight of him. Saucily, she grinned and tossed a lock of blonde hair over one shoulder. Mary Gillian. In his broad good mood, it was not hard to let memories of her pink-and-white flesh roll over his senses, and he winked before he climbed the wooden steps to the hall.
    By the saints, he'd known a richness here! Good food, willing women, and fertile land. A man could ask no more.
    He found the hall a lively place, full of bustle and noise as it had not been these long months. He stopped in the doorway, surprised that so few could bring such life to the languishing castle. A youth plucked a psaltery, and two tables had been set out. Even the light seemed brighter.
    At the center, surrounded by several villagers, sat Lady Elizabeth. Thomas could only stare, caught breathless by her beauty once more. She wore a fine, thin gown below a surcoat woven in some magic way, for it caught and tangled with the light in a hundred ways, shifting as she did. He tried not to notice the way it illuminated the shape of her breasts, but being a man, he did, and thought her breasts would be pretty; white and small and neat like the rest of her. Her thick hair, covered only in a transparent veil caught in place by a circlet of gold, fell loose down her back, spilling over the bench and puddling beside her.
    He was overcome with a bout of desperate shyness. How dare he presume to speak with such a lady?
    She caught sight of him. "Lord Thomas!" she called, and gestured easily with one long, slim hand, drawing him into her realm.
    How often had he seen such gestures all about him, while he watched, invisible, from some hidden corner? How often had he imagined he could move boldly forward and claim the clean hand of a lady who would smell of lavender and sweet wine? Now, that hand was extended toward him, and he could not move.
    It was only Alice Bryony who spared him. He felt the gouge of her elbow against his ribs. "Go, you oaf!" she growled behind him.
    Thomas remembered himself. In this hall, tonight, there were no other lords. Though her station far outstripped his own, he must swallow his roughness and serve her as well as he might.
    Mindful of the eyes upon him, he strode across the stone floor as if he belonged there. "My lady," he said, giving a quick, courtly bow.
    She smiled at him. "I would have you