The Wolf of Harrow Hall (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 7) by Christine Pope Read Free Book Online Page A

for the way I had more or less stranded myself here. I folded my hands in my lap, then said, “My lord, it embarrasses me to make this request of you, but I have no other recourse. This month, and the autumn which preceded it, were a very difficult time for my grandmother and myself. We — ”
    “What of your husband?” his lordship interrupted. He glanced at my left hand, which was quite bare, but I knew that did not necessarily indicate an unmarried status. Many of the men in Kerolton did not have the means to purchase a ring for their wives.
    “I have no husband.”
    Lord Greymount’s eyebrows lifted at that revelation, as if he did not quite believe me. For some reason, I found his astonishment rather gratifying. Did he think me fair, and wonder why no man had yet claimed my hand?
    But that was foolishness on my part. I was so far beneath a man such as Phelan Greymount as to be nigh invisible. More likely that he was surprised to find a young woman of the advanced age of twenty-one to be unmarried. Most of the girls in my village were wed and mothers by the time they were eighteen. I, on the other hand, was not seen as suitable by most of the men of Kerolton, with a mother who had disappeared into the forest when her child was not even three years old, and a father who had never been named. I bore the name of my mother, and her family, and not the man who had sired me, for no one knew who he was.
    Yet another secret my mother had taken with her when she vanished.
    “Ah,” said Lord Greymount, after a rather awkward pause. “Then it seems the men of your village must be blind, but we will leave that aside for now. You were speaking of a difficult autumn?”
    Once again my cheeks flushed, but I ignored that obvious sign of my embarrassment and said, “Yes. We had to repair the roof of our cottage, and a wolf got Sissi — ”
    “Sissi?”
    “Our goat.”
    “Unfortunate.”
    Oh, he was laughing at me, wasn’t he? More than ever I wished I could take the goblet he’d given me and drain its contents, so I might gain some much-needed courage from the strong liquor. I ignored the impulse, however, and went on, “We are not rich, my lord. Much of what we do is in barter, but we cannot barter to pay our taxes.”
    At that word, he seemed to stiffen. “So that is what this is all about?”
    I experienced a sinking sensation somewhere in my midsection, for his tone had grown quite cool. “Yes, my lord. I came here to beg for clemency, to ask if you would but extend us some credit for a few months. Just — just until the summer comes again, and I am able to gather the materials I need for my dyes. Once I am able to sell more fabric for ready coin, then I would be able to repay you.”
    Silence. He regarded me carefully for a moment, then got up from his chair and went to the window. I was not sure whether I should follow him or not, so I remained seated where I was, fingers knotted around one another in my lap. Despite the relative warmth of the room, those fingers felt to me cold as ice, chill as the frozen world outside.
    Still staring out at that frigid landscape, Lord Greymount said, “And what would you have me do, Mistress Sendris? For the Mark expects his measure from his lords, whether or not the tenants of those lords pay their fair share.”
    “I — ” It seemed wrong to be speaking to him like that over my shoulder, so I rose from my seat and went over to the window as well. It was much colder there, and I had to fight to keep myself from shivering. “I know it is a great deal to ask. I do not like to make an exception of myself, but I had no other choice.”
    He didn’t move. The wintry light streamed over his features, accenting the long, elegant sweep of his nose, the determined jut of his chin.
    No, you shall not admire him, I told myself fiercely. It is clear that he is about to refuse you, even though the sum involved is probably less than the cost of one of his boots.
    Then he did turn