Becoming a Lady Read Online Free PDF




    She finished her plate and picked up the mug.  She said, as he stopped and looked down at her, “Do you have a plan?”


    “ My plans are not any of your concern.”   He glanced towards the stairs.  “Let us retire.”


    Anna sighed, but stood and began to walk towards the landing .


    “ That companion of yours is certainly a sight for sore eyes.”


    Anna froze and turned around slowly .


    “ My companion is none of your concern, and certainly not for your eyes.”   He took her arm then, and pulled her to his side.


    The man was tall, thin, and young - not the combination she was expecting .

He smiled then.  “I believe, Sir, that she would be quite a welcome sight for them.”   He had a dark blue tabard on that showed a silver-colored bird.  “I must tell you, though, that my eyes may be looking elsewhere.”   He looked Anna over from head to toe.
    
Anna frowned.  Either she was prettier than even she had imagined, or the villages that they had been traveling through had rather unsavory men.  “How dare you!”  


    The two men turned their heads at the same time.  The younger man smirked.  “A feisty companion, I may add.”


    “ If you wish to keep those eyes, Sir, I strongly suggest that you move on.”   The way the tall man pronounced the title made it sound like he had something bitter in his mouth.


    The younger man clenched his fists.  “Surely your companion is not worth a quarrel, Sir.”


    “ You do not know who I am, Sir, and again I strongly suggest we keep it that way.”   He gave a slight, be gone with you nod, and he had her go up the stairs first.
    
She said nothing as he led her inside but she had dozens of thoughts clanging around her head.  That made two men who had paid her quite a bit of attention since she had been kidnapped.  Why had she caught their eyes ?


    “ You are not to speak unless I address you, is that clear?”


    Anna crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side.  She said nothing, but kept her eyes focused on the man .


    “ Do I make myself clear?”  he asked again.

She knew that he expected an answer, and yet the overwhelming emotions that had been making her question everything that she had done and everything that she had thought about her village had begun to take their toll.  She wanted to tell him that of course what he wished of her was clear as the sky at noon on a day where you could look outside and see endless blue for miles.  Anna nodded.


    “ What are you thinking about so strongly that the look upon your face from just a moment ago disappeared?”


    Anna frowned.  “I do not understand what you mean, Sir.”


    “ For a moment I was certain that you were going to backtalk me.”   He raised an eyebrow.


    She moved to the very large chair and sat upon the cushion.  “Perhaps I have decided that you are not bluffing.”   She looked down at her hands.

She heard him walk over and sit down in the chair next to her. 
    “ It is not wise for you to talk to anyone else.”


    Anna nodded slowly.  “Yes, Sir, I have witnessed why.”


    “ Try to get some rest.”   He touched the top of her hand and moved away.

That was the last he spoke to her.  Anna glanced over at him several times, until she finally fell asleep.  He had chosen the bed, and she was resigned to the stiff chair.  Anna groaned.  She could not stay asleep.  She got up again and was pacing.  On her forth spin around the tiny room she heard him stir.


    “ What could you possibly be doing up at this hour?”   His voice was thick with sleep and an underlying tone of irritation.


    Anna stopped walking the length of the room and sat down again.  “Do you think those two men actually found me pretty, or do you think that perhaps those men were even more unsavory than you?”

    The man let out a