Betrothal (Time Enough To Love) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she had no dagger within her reach when you forced her to promenade around the room.”
    Geoffrey scowled. He knew Thomas’s penchant for baiting well.
    “Did you see her face when I kissed her hand? I thought she would drop to the floor.”
    Geoffrey snorted and shook his head. “She is young, and you are but a passing fancy.” He shot a glare toward the smaller man. “Trust me, I will make sure of that. And you well know ’twas when I kissed her hand before the court that she all but swooned. Neither did she react to your kiss, but to the touch of her hand on mine after you had kissed it.”
    “You saw that, you devil!” Thomas shook his head. “And I was at my most charming, too. So why does your rough touch make the girl giddy? Have you threatened to beat her already?”
    “She is marrying me, not you, Thomas.”
    “Geoffrey! You wound me to the quick. But the question at hand is what makes her tremble at your touch?” Thomas laughed, the idea of such a strong attraction obviously ludicrous to him.
    Geoffrey chuckled at the question, but avoided an answer. He sat, lost in contemplation. When it came to courting a lady, he could not hold a candle to Thomas. That seductive man possessed charms Geoffrey had watched him ply with great success for years, yet had never been able to emulate. He shunned all but the most necessary entanglements with women and so had little experience with satisfying them outside the bedroom. The memory of the unexpected inferno that had leapt from his betrothed’s hand to his during that kiss bewildered him. Would it make his courtship of Lady Alyse easier or more difficult?
    “You know, Geoffrey, according to the art of courtly love it is the height of bad manners to fall in love with your own wife. A man’s true love is found with another man’s lady.”
    Thomas always saw too much.
    Geoffrey coolly turned the tables. “Mayhap then you will oblige me by marrying Lady Alyse yourself, and wear the cuckold’s horns, lest I disappoint the rules of courtly love.”
    With a snort of derision, Thomas got to his feet, apparently done sparring for the night. “Not for the wide world, my friend. Although I bear you great love, Geoffrey, I will wear no horns, nor saddle myself with an untried maid even on a bet. To which end I did not offer for the fair Alyse when I had the chance.” He set his empty cup down and grinned at his companion. “I prefer the well-seasoned dish to plain fare.” He made for the door then turned as he opened it. “In truth, are you not coming?”
    Geoffrey rose and stretched. “Nay, Thomas. My business will not keep. Another time, mayhap.”
    With a groan, Thomas left the chamber to Geoffrey, who went to stare out the window at the shadowy trees across the royal park.
    Thomas’s question still preyed on his mind. The lightning stab of desire when he had caught the maid’s eye , he understood well. She was comely, with face and form fashioned to make a man ache. But why did his flesh seem afire whenever he touched her? Such feelings were alien, unknown in all his previous dealings with women. This was different—and disturbing.
    He sighed, and thought of the changes that would soon rule his life. Already ruled it. His refusal to carouse with Thomas was the first sacrifice. He had always matched Thomas pace for pace in whatever pastime they favored—hawking, gaming, wenching. But tonight he had to cry off. He had not aimed to disappoint his friend, but he had devised a plan to satisfy Alyse’s need for time and wanted to put it into motion at the soonest possible moment. Which meant breaking his fast early.
    He imagined his betrothed’s face, her crystal blue eyes wide when he laid the plan before her, and could not suppress a smile. She might be outraged, but he aimed to give her exactly what she had asked for. Her Hercules would succeed at his set labor, and she would have to become used to life with a resourceful man.
    His thoughts turned to the more