The Thunder Lord: The de Shera Brotherhood Book One (Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood 1) by Kathryn Le Veque Read Free Book Online

England,” she said. “Have you been here a long time?”
    Honey nodded. “Since I married my husband,” she replied. “Antoninus de Shera hailed from Cheshire, son of a very ancient family rumored to have descended from a lost Roman legion. The entire male line of the family had Roman names, as do my own sons. Fascinating, is not?”
    By now, Jeniver was interested in their conversation and the fear she was feeling for her father had been somewhat eased. “Your husband was the Earl of Coventry?” she asked.
    Honey shook her head. “Nay,” she replied. “The Earl of Coventry was a title held by my older brother, Henry, a titled granted to him when he married a woman of royal blood. Henry was a very good knight, you see, and served King Henry well on several occasions. But Henry died unexpectedly, with no heirs, so instead of the title reverting to the crown, it was passed to me and, through me, to my eldest son, Gallus.”
    Jeniver was growing increasingly interested in the history of the House of de Shera. “I understand the little girls belong to the earl,” she said, “but does he have sons?”
    Honey shook her head. “Sadly, he does not,” she replied. “Unfortunately, his wife died last year from a fall from her horse. They only had the two daughters.”
    Now, Jeniver was starting to understand something about the great Earl of Coventry. Where she had once been unsure of the man and his motives, now she was starting to understand a bit of the man’s history. Honey seemed quite pleasant and coming to understand that the earl was a widower, she was starting to feel some pity for the man. He was human, after all. What a difficult thing it must have been to be a man raising two small girls without the benefit of their mother. However, given her own circumstances, Jeniver understood the situation well.
    “I am sorry for him, then,” she said quietly. “I lost my mother at a very young age as well. I am an only child so I understand what it is like for a father to raise a girl-child alone.”
    Honey smiled sadly. “Your father seems to have done a remarkable job,” she said. “You are an articulate and polite young woman.”
    That brought a smile to Jeniver’s lips. “You are kind to say so, my lady,” she replied. “And I thank you and your son very much for your hospitality and graciousness. I am sorry not to have said so before now.”
    Honey waved her off. “You have shown me your gratitude since the moment you entered Isenhall,” she said. “You did not need to say so as well.”
    Jeniver bobbed her head cordially, feeling comfortable enough with Lady Honey that she actually began to eat some of the food that had been brought to her. The puppy, having eaten all of his cold beef, was sleeping in her arms and becoming heavy. Jeniver shifted the dog so he wasn’t so much dead weight in her arms as she spooned some of the stewed apples into her mouth.
    As she was sipping her warmed wine, the earl’s daughters slithered off their chairs and came to her, petting the sleeping dog. Jeniver smiled at the girls, who were really being quite gentle now that the puppy was sleeping, but as a calming air settled about them, the door to the keep suddenly flew open and chaos was introduced into their midst.
    Terror had arrived.
     

 

     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    “Honey!” Gallus roared. “I need you!”
    Startled, both Honey and Jeniver shot to their feet and ran for the entry. As they emerged into the open entry foyer, they could immediately see bloodied men being carried by Gallus and his men, being laid upon the cold, stone floor of the entryway. In fact, Gallus and Maximus had a man between them, battered and bloodied, that Jeniver immediately recognized.
    It was Gaerwen.
    Jeniver shrieked at the sight of her father covered in blood and dirt. Still clutching the dog, she ran to her father, tears already spilling from her eyes as she reached out the arm that wasn’t holding the dog and grasped at