A Knight's Temptation

A Knight's Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: A Knight's Temptation Read Online Free PDF
Author: Catherine Kean
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Historical
features.
    What a face . . .
    Austere. Beautiful. A visage so handsome, she’d remember it for the rest of her days. Angular cheekbones and a strong jaw were offset by his slender, noble nose. His eyes were blue. Not the warm blue of a young, inexperienced fighter eager to please his lord, but the frosty blue of a winter sky. A warrior’s gaze hardened by cunning and resolve.
    When his head tilted, and his attention slid to the far corner of the room, she recognized traces of someone she knew.
    When they were children.
    Her breath caught, as if his cold stare pierced her. God above. Could she be mistaken? Could this man be someone other than Aldwin?
    She hadn’t seen him since the accident years ago. Hadn’t wanted to see him ever again. Heard of him, aye. Who didn’t know the popular chanson de geste telling of the great battle in which he shot Lord Geoffrey de Lanceau with a crossbow bolt from many yards away? The almost impossible shot was recounted with awe and horror. Most men would have died from such a wound, but ’twas said that de Lanceau’s true love for Lady Elizabeth Brackendale had given him the strength of spirit to overcome his grave wound and live.
    The chanson was all she’d known of Aldwin through the years.
    Until today, when their lives had touched again.
    Her mind reeled, resurrecting hurt and anger from years ago. Being bound to the tree. The bee stings. The river.
    As though sensing the shock welling inside her, the man’s gaze settled upon her. Standing at the back of the room, with the candle’s light behind her—deliberately so—and the hood covering her features, Leona doubted he could make out her face.
    Still, she couldn’t stop her stomach’s awful fluttering. She had to know if this man was Aldwin. For if he was, and he recognized her, all would be lost; she wouldn’t have to say one word to cast suspicion upon her sire.
    Yet would Aldwin remember her features, swollen by bee stings the last time he saw her? She looked naught like the eight-year-old girl she once was.
    He stood utterly still, as though assessing the level of threat. She, too, waited. Sweat pooled inside her boots. She mustn’t give herself away. How, though, did she get this exchange over with as quickly as possible? The sooner she and Aldwin went separate ways, the better.
    Twig huffed a nervous breath. “Please, come in.”
    The man’s mouth curved in the barest smile. “In good time.”
    “What you desire is in here.”
    “So you say.” He glanced back at Sir Reginald. “However, I will not be bashed about the head and rendered senseless. Or stabbed by an unseen assailant.”
    He is as clever as the Aldwin you met before , Leona’s conscience said. Beware .
    “We will do you no harm. Come.”
    The man’s intent gaze returned to her. “You, sirrah, can see me. You remain in shadow. An unfair advantage. I will see the knave in whom I am placing my trust.” He gestured to the threshold. “Step forward.”
    Twig’s eyebrows twitched. “Milord—”
    “Step. Forward.”
    At his growled command, concern shot through Leona. Then, indignation. Aldwin had talked to her in that authoritative way years ago, and she’d hated it then. This man would treat her with respect now.
    “Heed my man,” she said with icy calm, “or walk away.”
    Surprise flitted across the blond man’s features, and she smothered a flare of triumph. He hadn’t anticipated dealing with a woman.
    “Who are you?” he muttered.
    “A question I ask of you.” If he identified himself as Aldwin, she’d know for certain.
    Suspicion darkened his expression. “You are not Veronique. Her voice is quite different. So, I imagine”—his gaze flicked over Leona’s worn cloak—“is her figure.”
    Leona bit down on her lip. What did he mean? Had he managed to assess her through the layers of her cloak, gown, and chemise? She’d thought the cloak too loose and plain to reveal much about her, but mayhap she’d underestimated
Read Online Free Pdf

Similar Books

The Quest: A Novel

Nelson DeMille

Impassion (Mystic)

B. C. Burgess

Calvin M. Knox

The Plot Against Earth

Wolf Winter

Cecilia Ekbäck

Trumps of Doom

Roger Zelazny

Shadowed Paradise

Blair Bancroft

Holy Warriors

Jonathan Phillips

Swamp Bones

Kathy Reichs