Mistaken for a Lady by Carol Townend Read Free Book Online

said nothing, leaving Tristan to wonder what was in her mind.
    â€˜Francesca, once I had the news, I rode as swiftly as I could. I ought to tell you that even if we leave tomorrow, even if we travel lightly and ride like the wind, we might not reach Fontaine in time.’
    â€˜We should leave at first light.’ Her face was drawn and pale.
    â€˜I need sleep, Francesca. As does Bastian.’
    â€˜Bastian?’
    â€˜My squire. Rest assured though, we shall leave in the morning.’
    â€˜Thank you.’
    â€˜We will travel light. And fast.’
    â€˜I understand.’
    * * *
    Francesca sat on the edge of the bed, watching Tristan devour the bread and meat a servant had brought up. She was curious about the differences between the man she had married and the man she saw before her.
    He had altered in some as yet indefinable way, that much was plain. It had been two years. He had known battle, faced death. He had seen friends slain. And he had also, or so she had heard, become quite the courtier. There was a disturbing edginess to him and she wasn’t sure she liked it—a hardness that she hadn’t noticed before. Had he always been this way? Had love—no, it had surely been lust that had flared between them, not love—had lust blinded her to his true nature? She didn’t love him, she couldn’t. To love someone you had to know them and it was becoming painfully clear that she didn’t know Tristan at all.
    It wasn’t going to be easy sleeping with him. Did he really expect her to join him in bed?
    â€˜Tristan?’
    He looked up from his meal, a handsome stranger with blue eyes that were hard as sapphires. ‘Aye?’
    â€˜We don’t have to share this chamber. I could quite easily bed down in the solar with the other ladies.’
    He tore a chunk off the bread and frowned at some cheese on a platter. ‘We stay together.’
    â€˜Why? Because I am not a lady?’
    He narrowed his eyes on her and for a moment she thought she had disconcerted him. Then she realised her mistake—he hadn’t expected to be questioned. Doubtless his men obeyed him in a trice. No one would dare question Lord Tristan le Beau, Comte des Iles.
    â€˜Don’t be ridiculous.’
    â€˜Tristan, I assume we are to seek an annulment. If it is unseemly for a man and woman to lie together when they are not wed, surely it is unseemly for a man and woman to lie together when they are planning on dissolving their marriage?’
    His expression hardened. ‘We stay together.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜I want to know where you are. I want to know what you are doing.’
    She frowned. ‘Even at night, when I am sleeping?’
    â€˜Even then.’
    â€˜You don’t trust me, why? Tristan, please tell me what’s wrong.’
    A muscle flickered in his jaw. He didn’t answer, he simply turned his attention to the food, leaving Francesca to her thoughts. Clearly, the kiss he had given her was an aberration. An annulment was obviously what he wanted, she had to free him so he could make a proper marriage. The pity was that he had kissed her before he had told her his reasons for coming to find her. Her foolish heart had soared, for a wild moment she had thought he’d come for her.
    What a simpleton, to allow a kiss to affect her so, she should have known better. She shook her head, she must not let him upset her. Particularly when she was planning to move on with her life. It was a pity he’d kissed her though, that kiss merely proved that she was a fool if she thought she’d find it easy to marry someone else.
    Tristan had come to escort her to Fontaine because Count Myrrdin was dying. That was what mattered. He would take her to Brittany and after that they would part.
    Saints, in the past hour so much had changed. Count Myrrdin was dying and by Tristan’s account he might not be alive when they reached him. A lump formed in her