How to Seduce a Queen: A Medieval Romance Novel by Stella Marie Alden Read Free Book Online Page B

bucket into the deep hole.
    She crossed her arms over her chest, sat on a nearby bench, and sniffed. “I have naught more to say to you.”
    The bucket banged the sides of the well as he cranked fiercely. The image of the wooden platform with iron chains burned under his eyelids. “What about your funeral pyre? Will you let the priest rebuild it?”
    “He would not dare.” She patted her bow, still slung over her shoulder.
    Damn the woman . So sure of herself. “And how do you think the church shall react to murder of one of its own?”
    “What does it matter?” She scooted her arse up onto the well wall and watched him bathe with cat-like eyes. “I will not recant. God does not exist.”
    Trying to ignore her, Nicholas set down the pail and did his best to wash limbs and face. It’d been years since he’d had to bathe in a well-house. And never with a woman watching. “Can’t you just say so, for the sake of your life?”
    “I’m the daughter of a king. I do not lie.” That lower lip went out again but this time she bit it back.
    “Hmph. There’s no honor in burning to death.” He closed his eyes and scrubbed his chest. Last summer she lay naked on his pallet, and now she was holier-than-thou about falsehoods. She would drive him daft. When she didn’t respond promptly, he glanced up. One giant tear rolled down her face. Christ’s wounds, I’ve hurt her again.
    “There, there, all is not lost, lass.” He stepped back, splashed a full bucket of icy water over his head, and shook like Loki. At least the cold set his aching cock back to a humble stance.
    Smiling sadly at his antics, she said, “I’m afraid even a miracle could not convince me of the existence of a caring God.”
    He chucked her chin and gazed into her green eyes. It would be so easy to kiss that look away. “Give me a fortnight to prove He exists.”
    “You would try to redeem me?” The centers of her eyes stared black with want.
    “Aye.” He would brave all the fires of hell, if need be, to save her.

Chapter 10
    Why does that monk distract me so? Across the tables of the dark hall, he sat with the rest of his kindred. Without hair, Fay should’ve found him less appealing. Instead, it made her want to caress his soft beard, move hands behind his neck, down his back, and touch the forbidden parts of his body.
    Aunt Aggie caught her staring, raised her eyebrows, and smiled. “He’s verra handsome, is he not? Much more so than his half-brother in Scarborough.”
    “I hadn’t noticed.” Fay’s cheeks heated, she speared a piece of mutton, then washed it down with bitter ale. Was she so transparent?
    Chuckling, her aunt chewed the edge of her trencher. “I once heard of a priest who left his orders. He escaped to another land, changed his name, and married.”
    “A grave sin, was it not?” Fay pretended to be uninterested.
    “I suppose, if you believe in such things, which you do not.” Aggie smirked.
    Like iron to a lodestone, Fay glanced up from her stew, and was trapped by the monk’s smile. He raised a brown cup in her direction, and winked. Damnation, he made her lady’s lips weep.
    She slumped into her bench and whispered to her aunt, “I ask you, is that monk-like behavior?”
    “What, dear?” Oh, she was good at this game.
    Fay scowled. “The way he smiles is infuriating. Not at all holy. Sometimes I think he must be Nicholas de Bruce of Scarborough. Don’t you wonder? Haven’t you noticed how his beard comes in red?”
    Aggie shrugged and shouted above the din, “His form is fine to look upon, though.”
    The room went silent for a moment before the orphans broke into fits of hysterics. God’s Blood, her aunt grew deafer by the moment. Sean fumed while the rest of the knights focused on their meal, no doubt hiding their smirks.
    Time to put a stop to this falderal. She glared at each and every one of them. “If you’re all finished laughing at my poor aunt, you may wash your dishes and set up the