Twelve Kisses by Lindsay Townsend Read Free Book Online

you!”
    At his impassioned, desperate declaration, emotion stormed
through her so strong it made her sway on her feet. David caught
her, and Alis wrapped her arms around him, feeling a hard shudder
run through his body.
    “ Alis, please—”
    She longed to soothe him, but at the same time was tempted to
shake him for making her wait so long before he spoke the love
words she had so wanted to hear. Now, though, was not the time to
scold her husband. He needs my
support.
    “ Hush,” she whispered. “We must meet them. I
love you, and all will be well, I promise.” She hugged him tightly
then let him go. She hated the thought of such an encounter but
knew they must. The woman here, too! Is she
pretty? Is she blonde?
    “ Alis, I swear to you, I do not know this Margaret. She is a
name to me, no more.”
    She lifted her hand, and he fell silent at once. Her heart
twisted within her, to see him so confounded, so unnaturally
humble. “They cannot un-marry us,” she said. “I love you,
David.”
    She held out her arm to help him up, but he rose and took her
hand in his again. “Then let us go down,” he said.
“Together.”
     
     
     

Chapter
Eight
     
    The woman was indeed blonde and very tall and
skinny . A tall, pale
icicle , thought Alis, marking how Margaret
never looked at David, or at her. Sir Roger raged, and David
answered. Through it all, Alis clung to the simple, wonderful
fact—David loved her. David had always loved her.
    They were outside the cottage since David refused the
newcomers entry to his house. Sir Roger and the silent, stately
blonde remained on horseback, his men dismounted, steam from the
horses rising and tempers, too.
    “ I am my own man,” David said. “I never agreed to any
betrothal. Your pardon, madam, if you were told
otherwise.”
    Margaret looked down her long nose but said nothing. They
might have been discussing the weather she was so
indifferent.
    She does not care for any of this ,
Alis thought. She is here to support Sir
Roger in this scheme, but she wishes no more than that. She neither
knows David nor cares a penny for him .
    “ I gave no ring, nor any vow,” David said. “Let the lady speak
and prove otherwise.”
    “ And I do have a ring,” Alis said, stepping forward. Conscious
of her bare head, she walked proudly around the circle of followers
and right up to the pale blonde, stopping by her stirrup. “My lord
is my husband,” she said, looking straight into the woman's narrow
eyes. “Can you say the same?”
    “ Your family are Yorkists!” snapped Sir Roger, a red-faced,
corpulent beefy fellow, perched like an angry crab apple on top of
his black horse.
    “ As is the queen,” answered Alis mildly. “Would you say our
king regrets his choice?”
    There was a moment of absolute silence. Sir Roger's face was
frozen in mid-shout, and the blonde woman, Margaret, no longer
indifferent, looked ready to faint.
    “ I will take any test,” Alis continued. “My husband is my lord,
and I am his wife, married before witnesses at the door of the
church. I will take any ordeal. Will you do that,
Margaret?”
    “ Enough!” growled David. He stamped across to her and reclaimed
her hand. “We are handfasted and wed, and any who say otherwise
must fight me.”
    “ N—” Alis bit down on her objection, torn
between horror and pride . David will fight
for me. She clung hard to his hand and
prayed desperately for his protection, clenching her teeth as a
warrior stepped forward.
    “ I accept your challenge for our lord,” he said. “I have my
sword ready.”
    David glanced at the tall, tanned soldier. “Let me find my
dagger and stave.”
    “ Folly!” Sir Roger was now as white as the York rose. “Wood and
a dagger against steel? You would do that, David?”
    “ For my wife, I would fight the devil himself. When we do
begin?”
    The instant David spoke, the warrior yelled, charging at him,
and Alis screamed a warning. Her husband released her with a firm
push,