Midnight for Morgana by Shirley Martin Read Free Book Online

stone walls. Both women kept their cloaks on, deriving no warmth at all in the frigid hallway.
     
    Hearing voices from the library, Nola stopped short of that room and gestured frantically to Alana to get behind her. Both sisters stood behind the door, where they wouldn’t be seen, and listened with their ears pressed close.
     
    Morgana’s lilting voice reached Nola, and she turned to exchange shocked glances with Alana. They waited a few moments, then hearing no more, both scooted back to the kitchen, and at another abrupt gesture from Nola, Alana followed her outside. Shivering in the cold, Nola spoke quickly, eager to return to the cozy warmth of the kitchen.
     
    “The bitch!” Nola snarled. “Did you hear all that?”
     
    “Of course! You think I’m deaf? But what are we going to do? I’ll be damned if I’m going to cook and clean. We’ll just have to persuade Papa to sell more books to pay for a maid.” Her mouth twisted. “And that’s what he was going to do ‘til that sister of ours said we should learn to do the housework. Huh! She’s crazy. Papa has scads of books he can sell.”
     
    Nola shook her head vigorously and hugged her arms for warmth. “No, I have a better idea.”
     
    Alana’s teeth chattered in the frosty air. “What is it?”
     
    Nola smiled, a crafty look on her face. “Just listen, and I’ll tell you my plan.”
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
     
    As the druid spoke the words that would soon make them man and wife, Morgana slid a glance at her soon-to-be husband. How tall and handsome he looked in his deep green tunic with gold trim on the hem and cuffs of the long sleeves. His dark brown trousers fit him to perfection, revealing well-muscled legs. Aye, he was handsome, but looks meant nothing, and she had no idea what he was really like or how he would treat her, for they had shared but little time together since he had asked her to marry him. She knew she looked her best in her lavender silk gown, her locks secured atop her head with gold pins, velvet slippers hugging her feet.
     
    Here in the spacious parlor, dozens of friends and neighbors crowded the room, the women sitting, the men standing, for they lacked chairs for all who had come to see Morgana wed. They all beamed at her, some of the women wiping tears from their eyes. Springtime flowers scented the room, freesia and hyacinth, their lovely colors blending with the tulips and fern in glass vases. Bright ribbons decorated the room, bows tied to table legs and festooned throughout the parlor, thoughtful touches created by many of the local women. How good it was to have friends and neighbors who cared. Morgana sighed. Soon she would leave all this, all those she’d known for years.
     
    “You may kiss your wife now.” The druid’s words pulled her back to the present and brought home the reality of her new station in life.
     
    A chaste kiss on the mouth revealed nothing of the prince’s true feelings but at least provided reassurance that he didn’t find her repulsive.
     
    At the end of the ceremony, Malcolm approached the couple, a look on his face that blended happiness with regret. “I fear I must leave you now. I truly need to return to the kingdom and resume my duties in helping my father. ‘Tis a shame I can’t stay for the feast, but best I leave now to cover as much distance as possible before nightfall.”
     
    Keir gave him a warm embrace. “Sorry to see you go, dear friend, but I understand.” He looked Morgana’s way. “We both realize you must return.”
     
    “But we will meet again soon, Malcolm,” Morgana said, “an encounter I look forward to.”
     
    With a kiss on Morgana’s cheek and another embrace for the prince, Malcolm left them then, a warm breeze drifting through the room as he opened the door.
     
    After the druid gathered the sacred wedding book and his cloak, he left with final good
     
    wishes for the couple, and soon the sound of retreating hoofbeats were heard in