Samantha James by My Cherished Enemy Read Free Book Online Page B

you of all that you hold dear—"
    "I will do anything you ask, my lord! I beg of you, spare me! I have no wish to die. Please, milord..."
    Guy was suddenly furious. There was no triumph in watching Richard grovel, trembling in fear for his life. Did he have no honor? No pride?
    "Your lands are mine even now," he said flatly. 'You were granted these lands during King Stephen's rule. Now that Henry is on the throne you have been ordered to relinquish your title."
    Richard looked stunned. Sir Hugh stepped forward with the king's document. Richard gazed at it numbly.
    Guy smiled grimly. "Henry is aware that you dared to attack the vassal of an absent crusader. That is why he has seen fit to forfeit Ashbury and all your other possessions to me."
    Kathryn's head began to spin. Ashbury... in the hands of this devil-knight. For an instant she thought she would faint. She made a choked sound deep in her throat, dimly aware that the earl spoke once more.
    "As for your punishment. . ."
    Richard staggered to his feet. "Henry has stripped me of my lands! Is that not enough?"
    The earl's jaw tensed. His eyes were cutting. They shone like glittering steel. "Not," he said through clenched teeth, "for what you did. That is why the king has seen fit to leave your fate in my hands."
    Richard's shoulders sagged defeatedly. "And what is my punishment to be?"
    "I have not yet decided," the earl said coldly. "Until that time you will not leave this chamber. You may content yourself with the knowledge that I allow you to spend your last days in comfort— and not in the dungeon." He spun around and strode from the room. Hugh motioned to Kathryn. She stepped past her uncle without sparing him another glance.
    She stopped short out in the hallway. The earl stood there, arms folded across his chest.
    Kathryn did not wait for him to speak. "Is there to be a guard outside my door as well?" She couldn't hide her bitterness, nor did she wish to.
    Something flickered across his face, something that made her think she wounded him. But it was gone in the blink of an eye. In its stead was the cold merciless knight she had seen thus far.
    "Not unless you give me reason," he replied coolly. "But bear in mind, lady, that if you do, I'll not hesitate to throw you in the dungeon with your lover." He glanced at his friend. "Hugh, see the lady to her chamber. I'll take the others and meet you where we entered."
    Kathryn wasn't sure which infuriated her more—his mocking smile or the fact that he considered her no threat. She marched off in the direction of her chamber, leaving Sir Hugh no choice but to follow behind.
    Her temper had cooled by the time she reached her door. She paused and glanced across the passage where Elizabeth slept. "I must wake my sister and tell her what has happened." She spoke the words with difficulty.
    Hugh touched her shoulder gently. This had been a blow to her, he suddenly realized. He had thought to hate her. After all, she was Richard's kin. Yet he could not. She had had no part in her uncle's treachery. And now she looked almost. . . beaten.
    She looked up at his unexpected touch. "I see in your eyes," he said softly, "that you think the earl has been hard and cruel. Believe me when I say—"
    " 'Tis not that," Kathryn said quickly, shaking her head.
    "What then?"
    "Have you . .. have you ever lost your home, Sir Hugh? Your lands?"
    Hugh's smile was crooked. "Nay, for I have never possessed my own lands. My father had a small manor in Sussex, but I am naught but the third son. The manor went to my eldest brother upon his death." He gazed up at the arching stone walls. "Nor was it so grand as this."
    She looked away, her expression pained. "I hated it when my father died," she said tonelessly. "Elizabeth and I were born here, as our father and father before him. Richard is my father's bastard brother, but he did not grow to manhood here. When Father died four years ago, Richard ran to King Stephen and pleaded for Ashbury, when it