The Falcon and the Flower by Virginia Henley Read Free Book Online Page A

been kept too innocent for this world, child. You think a king would cavil at the stain of murder on his soul? There’s never been one yet who has! How many deaths lie at the door of the bastard William the Conqueror, or for that matter Richard Coeur de Lion? How many bodies paved the road to Jerusalem and back? Not only the bodies of the enemy, I might point out. Nay, child, it comes with the territory of kingship.”
    Jasmine gazed with unseeing eyes at the red strawberries. “Will I go to court?” she whispered.
    Estelle looked at her grandaughter long and hard, then said slowly, “I think perhaps you will.”

Chapter 4
    Falcon de Burgh became a little uneasy as his troop reached their destination. He was loath to receive bad news about the king, and truth to tell, he was more than a little apprehensive about meeting Ela and Isobel. Salisbury Castle, however, was another matter. The vast wooded hills and meadows belonging to the castle were rich with cattle and sheep. The castle itself with its Norman keep was fashioned entirely of stone. The rooms were enormous, with high-vaulted beamed ceilings rising to a full second story, all topped by towers and crenelated parapets. It was a massive fortress, enclosing bailey, courtyard, stables, and numerous outbuildings within a thick stone wall.
    There were a dairy and stillrooms, a spring shed and a buttery, laundry, outdoor kitchens, and baths. Salisbury had its own blacksmith’s forge and armory as well as tiltyards and gardens.
    Walters, the steward and castellan of Salisbury, had obviously been told to expect de Burgh for in less than an hour he had taken charge of the produce and cattle brought from Berkley and Castle Combe, had shown the men-at-arms a fresh meadow by a stream where they could set up their tents, had settled Falcon’s knights into the knights’ quarters, and had shown young Lord de Burgh into the great hall where he was warmly greeted by William.
    Instead of turning him over to a servant to show him his chamber, William put him into the tender care of his daughter Isobel. Falcon was startled at how lovely the girl was. All along he had been harboring a suspicion that William’s daughters might be ugly or, at the very least,plain. The young woman who smiled warmly at him had expressive dark eyes that showed humor. Her hair was obviously dark, but it was seductively hidden beneath a wimple, and when his eyes dropped lower to frankly assess her figure, he did not find it wanting in any way. Though Isobel was tall for a female, she still had to tilt up her head to look the dark knight in the face. As she led the way to an upper chamber, his eyes were fixed upon the swell of her buttocks as they gently swayed up the stairs. After she ushered him into a luxurious chamber she said, “Father insists upon you having his room while you stay with us. Please don’t protest, I assure you it pleases him to do this for you.” She smiled at him, assessing him as openly as he had her, and she more than liked what she saw.
    “Demoiselle, you are too kind. What can I say?” He bowed formally to her before looking about him. The floor was covered by a silken carpet, the walls by rich colorful tapestries, and the huge bed by thick furs. A massive wardrobe covered one wall, and the far wall was fitted with a stained-glass window that filled the room with colored lights when the sunshine filtered through.
    “I am sure you will find everything you need, from wine and ale to quench your thirst to soft leather slippers to ease your feet. But I imagine you want nothing more than a warm bath to remove the stains of your travel and ease the ache of your bones.”
    “Demoiselle, my bones do not yet ache, thank God,” he said, laughing, but he felt a definite ache in his groin at her mention of a bath.
    “Please call me Isobel,” she said rather breathlessly as his maleness filled the chamber.
    “Lady Isobel, you are everything your father has told me,” he said as