Almost Innocent Read Online Free PDF Page B

intention. Go then, niece, but afterward you must go directly to my parlor.”
    B ELLAIR C ASTLE MIGHT be designed for defense, not domesticity, but Lord de Gervais could find no fault with the accommodations prepared for him. The sheets to the bed were of finest linen, daintily stitched by the lady of the house and her women. The hangings were thick and draught-proof. Soft skins lay upon the floor, and a fire roared in the chimney. His page was already awaiting him with lavender-scented water and fresh garments.
    De Gervais watched with amusement as his small companion proceeded to take inventory of the chamber, for all the world like an accomplished chatelaine. “It lacks but the rosemary,” she declared. “I will fetch it directly.” She ran off, and the page came forward instantly to help him divest himself of the great sword-belt, the surcote, and the chainmail beneath.
    He was in the process of removing the padded leather gambeson beneath the mailshirt when the door opened again without ceremony and the child reappeared, sprigs of rosemary in her hand. These she laid with some care to artistry upon his pillow and turned to smile at him.
    “There, that is well done, do you not think?”
    De Gervais handed the heavy tunic to his page and stretched mightily in his soft linen shirt with the fine drawn openwork set by his wife at neck and wristbands. “It is well done indeed,
damoiselle
, and I thank you for your kindness.” The response was in the nature of a dismissal, and he was somewhat disconcerted when she perched on a high stool beside the fire, still bathing him in that radiant smile.
    “I will sit and talk with you while you dress. Then I can show you to the south turret to my father’s room.”
    “And how will you explain your truancy when your aunt goes to the parlor and finds you absent?” He took the linen cloth his page had soaked in the warm, scented water and laid it over his face, taking pleasure in the luxurious caress easing into his travel-worn skin.
    “It is customary for the daughter of the house to assist a knightly guest with his armor,” she said innocently, swinging her legs.
    “I do not think such sophistry either should or would save you from the consequences of further disobedience,” he observed, putting his arms into the full sleeves of a particolored tunic of green and gold cloth.
    “But if you asked me to remain—”
    “But I have not.” He fastened the large gold buttons of the knee-length tunic. “Hand me my belt, Edgar.” The heavy, emerald-studded belt with its gold buckle was fastened at his hip.
    The page was grinning in open amusement, and disconsolately Magdalen slipped from the stool. “When I am wed,” she announced, “I shall go where I please.”
    “When you are wed,” Guy de Gervais pronounced with great deliberation, since it seemed to be time to straighten matters out, “you will be lodged beneath my roof until you are both old enough to set up your own establishment. You will not find the discipline in my household any easier than it is here . . . as Edgar will tell you.”
    The page’s grin widened. “Indeed not, my lord. And the Lady Gwendoline can be most severe on occasion.”
    Magdalen looked suspiciously between them, trying to decide if they were teasing her. Then she heard her name called from the passage outside. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, ’tis my lady aunt. I will hide in the clothes press.”
    “Indeed you will not.” The lord had joined his page in laughter now. He strode to the door, flinging it wide. “Do you look for Magdalen, my lady? She had just returned with the rosemary, and I begged her to bear me company for a few minutes more.” He beckoned her forward.
    Magdalen fell in love with the Lord de Gervais at that moment. She stepped up beside him. “I was just going to the parlor, madam. But who is to escort my lord to the south turret?”
    “Why, Giles, to be sure,” Lady Elinor said, indicating the Lord