Lady Meriwyn's Punishment by Renee Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

lads,” she heard Sir Conrad say in a jolly voice to Hunwald and Henic. Right. He believed she'd be standing naked in the corner waiting for him. She glared as the door opened and he came through.
    He may not have noticed at supper, but he was not a fool now. “What is it, Meriwyn?” he asked, a cautious look on his face.
    “You may stand in the corner yourself to see how you like it, but I will not be treated that way!”
    “What's happened that has you upset?” he asked.
    Stubbornness made her loathe to explain her temper. “Never you mind,” she snapped. “And don't worry-- I won't stay here to offend. I'll be sleeping with the serfs, as you suggested.” She headed for the door, but he blocked her path, folding his arms across his chest and looking as immovable as an ox.
    “Nay. You'll sleep where I tell you to sleep, Meriwyn,” he said quietly. “Why are you so angry?”
    She darted quickly around him but he caught her arm as she passed. She twisted around in his grasp.
    “Meriwyn-- stop! I'll hurt you.”
    She turned and glared at him. “Aye, you have no problem hurting me, do you?” she hissed.
    He released her arm as if stunned by her words. “Nay, I meant else I'd hurt you--” he said, but she was already headed out the door.
     
    He did not call after her, nor did he ask the lads to stop her. He wasn't about to create a scene in the castle that would set tongues to wagging. He followed with swift, long strides and did not grab her when he reached her side. “That wasn't what I meant and you know it,” he said in a low voice, matching his strides to hers.
    She spared him a quick glance. “I know nothing,” she said coldly. She skipped down the steps and through the Great Hall. He made his face look perfectly calm as he followed. She reached the front doors of the castle and said, “open, please,” to the guards.
    They looked past her for his confirmation. He nodded reluctantly. The doors swung open and she barreled out into the chilly night air. He doubted she knew where she was going. She followed the wall of the castle to the end and turned when it did. Here, where no one would see them, he closed the distance between them and caught her around the waist. Not unexpectedly, she struggled wildly against him. “Stop,” he said calmly and firmly. He said nothing more and did not move at all, simply held her until her limbs stopped flailing and she sagged in his arms, panting for breath.
    He could not think what had changed her so drastically. He prayed it was not that her thoughts had twisted around her punishment. But it seemed like more than that. “What did I do?” he asked softly, turning her in his arms to face him.
    She stared at him defiance and weariness battling in her face. “How could you?” she said in a voice that cracked. Tears began to spill down her face. He wiped them.
    “What did I do?” he asked again.
    “You made a fool of me in front of Anna,” she said, her entire jaw trembling with emotion.
    Understanding swept him, though he was confounded by her level of distress. “Meriwyn,” he crooned. “Meriwyn, no. I'm so sorry. I did not mean to...embarrass you.”
    She lifted her wet lashes to gaze at him, her lower lip thrust forward.
    “I did not wish her to resent you, thinking you had told me after you promised to keep it a secret. But if I had known how upsetting you would find it, I never would have spoken.”
    The lower lip became more pronounced and he wanted to smile at her adorable pout, but he refrained.
    “How will she ever accept my authority if she knows I'm reprimanded in the same manner she is?”
    “Meriwyn, we're all reprimanded in the same way as others who are both above and beneath us. Everyone answers to someone around here, save the king, who answers to God. The squires and the pages know I answer to the prince and it does not weaken my authority with them. Knowing I am your master does not mean that Anna does not need to heed you.”
    The