A Warrior's Heart (Shields) Read Online Free PDF Page A

left the great hall and began to ascend the stairs, Jayna glanced over her shoulder to see the other ladies talking quietly with their heads together as if their lives depended upon some secret.
    Jayna nearly laughed aloud at that prospect.   She had once been a grand lady in charge of a great house, and she remembered quite vividly how frivolous her life had been.
    “I know you don’t wish to tell us who you really are,” Mina said softly as she turned to the left and walked down a long hallway.   “My husband, Hugh, will ask, and you can rest assured that he would never tell your secret.”
    Jayna clasped her hands in front of her as she followed Mina.   “Not even to you?”
    There was no mistaking the slight tightening of Mina’s smile.   “If you ask him not to, nay, he will not.   Hugh is a man of his word.”
    “Why are you telling me this?”
    “Because I think you are more than what you say.   By your speech and bearing, I’d say you are a lady.”
    Jayna sighed and stopped walking.   Had she been so ready for friendship that she had let down her guard?   She watched as Mina turned to stare at her.   “Anyone can act like a well-bred lady.”
    “Not anyone,” Mina said with a soft smile.   “Keep your secrets for now, but follow me so that you can rest.”
    Rest.   Jayna hadn’t truly rested in...too long to remember.   Ever since that awful day that had changed her life forever she had refused to relax until Gabriel was dead.
    Then she could think about her future.
    Jayna was so lost in thought she didn’t pay attention to where Mina led her.   As she chided herself, Jayna scanned the deserted hallway and glanced over her shoulder.
    “If you keep to this hallway, you’ll find the stairway leading to the great hall,” Mina said.
    Jayna narrowed her eyes.   How had Mina known what she was thinking?   Jayna didn’t respond to her comment.   Instead, she touched the dagger hidden up her sleeve.
    Suddenly, Mina stopped at a doorway and gestured inside.   “I hope this is suitable.”
    Jayna walked into the room and gazed at the hearth and a fire that was being stoked by a servant.   Above the hearth was a large tapestry depicting a knight leaving his wife for battle.   On the other side of the room stood a bed with thick blood red fabric that she could pull around the bed to ward off the chill.   There was a small table with two chairs, a chest near the bed and a few pegs on the walls.
    “This will do perfectly,” Jayna said as she walked to the roaring fire.   “I appreciate your hospitality.”   And she meant it.  
    “Would you care for a bath?”
    Jayna blinked and moved her gaze to Mina.   “It wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
    Mina laughed.   “We have a bathing chamber that I can take you to whenever you would like.”
    “Why are you being so nice?   You don’t know me.”
    She folded her hands together and regarded Jayna solemnly.   “I’m nice because you are in need.   However, I can honestly say that if you hurt anyone at Stone Crest, I’ll kill you.”
    And Jayna knew she would.   She had never met a woman like Mina, a woman who was not only graceful and kind but had steel running through her.   She hated to admit it, but she genuinely liked Mina.
    “Should I worry about you?” Mina asked.
    Jayna turned and walked to the table as she contemplated the tapestry.   “I didn’t come to Stone Crest to harm you.”
    “What do you fear, Jayna?   There is great sadness in your hazel eyes.   Sadness and fear.   Burdens that a lady such as yourself should never know.”
    Jayna took a step away from Mina.   “Fate has a way of forcing herself upon us.   I was dealt my Fate.”
    Mina sighed and briefly closed her eyes.   “Revenge won’t heal the pain within you.”
    Shaken, Jayna put a chair between her and Mina.   How did Mina know just what to say to prick the sturdy stone walls she had built around herself?   How did Mina know about her