Daughter of Regals Read Online Free PDF Page B

somewhat surprised. The man who came to serve me was not my
accustomed tester, an old retainer of the manor whom I had known and loved from
girlhood. Rather he was a tall and excellently made fellow perhaps ten years
older than I. I knew him little; but I had noticed him about the manor since
the death of my father—indeed, I could not have failed to notice him, for his
handsomeness was extreme, and it plucked at my heart in a way no man had ever
done. His name was Wallin. Now, in the light of the candles and the aura of the
music, he appeared more than handsome: he seemed to glow with perfection.
    Looking
at him, I thought that girls dreamed of such men. Women would be well advised
to distrust them.
    The
blessing of my isolated seat and the music was that I could speak without being
overheard. Softly, I said, “This is not your accustomed duty, Wallin.”
    “Your
pardon, my lady.” His composure was a match for his appearance. “Do not be
displeased. Your taster was taken ill this evening—a slight indisposition, but
enough to keep him from his feet.” He smiled self-deprecatingly. “I begged for
his place until the steward granted it to me so that I would desist,”
    “You
have curious desires, Wallin,” I said, studying him narrowly. In all truth, I
distrusted him less than my attraction to him. “Why are you avid for such
perilous duty? The task of taster is not altogether ceremonial here. There is a
tradition of poison in the Three Kingdoms.”
    Speaking
as quietly as I did, he replied, “My lady, your guests await their feast.”
    A
glance showed me that he was right. Many of the men and women at their tables
were watching me curiously. Others appeared restive. But I made a dismissive
gesture. “Let them wait.” It would serve to heighten their uncertainty. “You
interest me.”
    “Then I
must answer you frankly, my lady.” His manner suggested diffidence, yet he was
entirely unruffled. “It is said of the Regals that they take their mates from
the common people rather than from the high families— or from the adherents of
the three rulers. This is unquestionably wise, for it avoids any implication
of favouritism or preference which might unsettle the realm” He glanced around
us, assuring himself that there was no one within earshot. Then he concluded, “My
lady, when you come to the choice of a mate, I wish to be considered. I serve
you to gain your notice.”
    He
astonished me. I was not the sort of woman whom handsome men found desirable—or
any men at all, handsome or otherwise, in my experience. Somewhat bitterly, I
responded, “Are you hungry for power, Wallin?”
    “My
lady”—his composure was extraordinary—”I am hungry for your person.”
    For an
instant, I nearly laughed. But if I had laughed, I might also have wept.
Without my will, he inspired a yearning in me to be loved rather than feared or
hated; and the pain that I was not loved welled against my self-command.
Mustering all the severity I possessed, I said, “You are bold. Perhaps you are
too bold. Or your grasp of the risk you run is unclear. I have not yet proven
myself Regal. If I fail, any man who dares ally himself with me will share my
doom. In permitting such hazard to your life, I would demonstrate myself
unworthy of the rule I seek.” Then I relented a degree. Some weaknesses require
utterance, or else they will seek admission in other ways. “You may be assured
that you have gained my notice.”
    “With
that I am content,” he replied. But his eyes said candidly that he would not be
content long.
    He
nonplussed me to such an extent that I felt gratitude when he went about his
duties, enabling me to occupy myself with the first of my food—and to avoid
meeting his gaze again. His attitude defied reason. Therefore I could not trust
it—or him. And therefore the strength of my wish to defy reason appalled me.
    Thus it
was fortunate that I had no appetite for any of the food placed before me. It
required a