Medieval Ever After by Kathryn Le Veque, Keira Montclair, Emma Prince, Barbara Devlin Read Free Book Online Page B

head, still averting her eyes. “From the nuns of Jedburgh? I doubt it.”
    He laughed again and she dared to look at him. He had a magnificent smile with big white teeth and a huge dimple in his left cheek. In fact, his entire face lit up when he smiled, changing his features dramatically. She was mesmerized.
    “Well,” he rubbed his cheeks as his smile faded. “You had better become used to flattery. I have a feeling it will not be the last time you hear it from my lips.”
    She continued to grin modestly, feeling his heated gaze upon her. Somewhat giddy, she went over to the bed and tossed aside the tartan in the quest to find her shoes.
    “Have you broken your fast yet, my lord?” she was trying to slip her shoes on with quivering hands. The man had completely unnerved her with his glorious smile and sweet words. “I shall find the kitchen and procure some food.”
    He shook his head. “Unnecessary,” he told her. “I have come to take you to the hall. There is food aplenty there.”
    Shoes on her feet, she faced him. As he watched, the smile faded from her face. She suddenly looked quite upset as if the entire world had just come crashing down on her. His brow furrowed, wondering about the sudden change of mood, when she spoke. The first words out of her mouth explained everything.
    “The hall…,” she swallowed and groped for words. “Would… would you please tell me where my mother is? How is she?”
    His smile faded as well. He knew the question would come but he wished it hadn’t. He was enjoying the first pleasant conversation they had ever had and didn’t want to spoil the mood. Still, there was no use in avoiding the inevitable. She had to know the truth.
    He sighed faintly. “Your mother is with God,” he murmured. “There was nothing I could do for her.”
    The tears welled as he watched. “She is dead?”
    “She is. I am sorry.”
    “Was… was she dead when you returned to her?”
    Stephen thought of the gored corpse and how her father had held it and wept. “She was,” his voice was soft and low. “She is no longer in pain, my lady. She is at peace.”
    Joselyn turned away, struggling not to sob out loud, but it was beyond her control. Covering her face with a hand, she wept deeply.
    Stephen watched her heaving shoulders, feeling badly that he had brought such terrible news. Truth be told, he had brought her the new garments and other luxuries before she awoke, hoping to soften the blow. He was not as heartless as she had accused him of being and he didn’t want her to think he was made of stone. It was no way to start a marriage. Moreover, there was more bad news to come.
    “Your father and the rest of your clan were removed from Berwick before dawn,” he reasoned that he might as well tell her all of it so she could grieve for everything all at once. “They are being escorted to Alnwick Castle where they will be held for trial. Your mother’s body remains here for burial.”
    She wept as if her heart was broken. “You sent my father away?”
    Stephen drew in a long, deep breath. “He is the king’s prisoner, my lady. There was nothing else to do with him.”
    “Please,” she went to him, her hands folded in front of her in a pleading gesture. “Please bring him back and I swear he will not cause any trouble. My father is old and unwell. I am afraid… afraid that confinement in the vault will only lead to his death. It will surely kill him.”
    Stephen was not without sympathy. “I cannot grant your request, lady,” he said softly. “Your father is a prisoner of the king and only the king can make that decision.”
    Tears dripped from her chin and onto the cranberry colored wool. “First my brothers, then my mother…,” she was growing increasingly hysterical as she once again turned away from him. “And now my father is gone. My family is destroyed. I have no one left.”
    Stephen didn’t know what to say to that. She had every right to be distraught. Not knowing