The Spitfire by Bertrice Small Read Free Book Online Page A

surely the most handsome man she had ever seen. She had absolutely no idea what she should say and felt extremely foolish as he released her hand.
    “My lady Rowena.” Lady Grey’s hand was saluted. I shall swoon dead away , Rowena Grey thought, both horrified and thrilled by her reaction to this man. These were feelings that she thought had died with Henry, and yet she could feel the wetness between her thighs already. “I am grateful, my lord, that you have come to our rescue,” she said with far more calm than she was feeling. What kind of a woman was she to have such thoughts about the man who would be her daughter’s husband? God forgive her!
    No one else would have seen these thoughts which she labored so hard to mask, but Jasper Keane saw them deep within Rowena’s light blue eyes. A young widow, he almost purred with his pleasure. A young widow hot and ripe for the plucking. Mother and daughter, his for the taking. He had never had both a mother and her daughter. The thought was almost unbearably exciting, and he thanked God that his clothing hid the state of his lust. He could imagine, but vividly, the entire scene.
    Strangely, it was his bride-to-be who rescued him. “My cousin, Prince Edward, has given me a deer hound puppy,” she said. “It will have to stay here at Middleham until it is weaned, however.”
    “Have you ever trained a dog, my Lady Arabella?” he asked her.
    “Nay, my lord, but I watched my father, and FitzWalter’s son, Rowan, has a touch with the dogs, our kennel master says. FitzWalter says, however, that the kennel master, having no sons, would like to steal his from him. He says that Rowan will be a soldier like he has been, and if he is a very good soldier, he might one day be Greyfaire Keep’s captain too.”
    The queen laughed. “As you can see, Sir Jasper,” she said, her tone doting, “my little cousin is full of news. I think she loves her Greyfaire even as much as my lord, the king, loves Middleham. I hope you will be happy together. When Arabella reaches her fourteenth birthday in another two and a half years, you may plan to wed with her, provided that she is of a mind to wed with you, but I am certain that if you treat her with loving kindness, she will be content to have you for her husband. If, however, she is not, you will be compensated by the crown for the time and care you have given Greyfaire Keep.”
    “I shall do my best, my lady queen, to keep faith with your majesties,” Sir Jasper said.
    Queen Anne nodded, satisfied. “Then it is settled,” she said, and turning to her cousins, kissed them both in farewell. Removing a small ring from her littlest finger, she gave it to Rowena. “Should you ever have need of my help, Rowena, send me back the ring,” she told her favorite cousin, slipping the little signet upon the other woman’s finger. “I will aid you as long as I shall live.” Bending down, she spoke softly to Arabella so that only the young girl might hear her. “Wed him only, my child, if you truly love him. If you find that you do not, do not be afraid to tell him no. I would not have you unhappy. These few years before we will allow your marriage to be celebrated will give you time to know the man.”
    “He is most beautiful to look upon, madame,” Arabella said shyly.
    “Beauty does not always mean goodness, little cousin,” the queen warned. “You must ever look beyond beauty for the truth.” Then she hugged Arabella hard, sending her cousins and Sir Jasper upon their way.
    They took their final leave of King Richard and rode out from Middleham Castle on a warm and sunny late September morning. There were a dozen men-at-arms from Greyfaire who had escorted the women from their home, and Sir Jasper had another dozen men which added to their little troop, making it quite formidable. Watching them go from his place upon the castle’s ramparts, the king wished with all his heart that all his problems were as easy to solve as had been