Elaine Barbieri Read Online Free PDF

denied.
    “Monsignor…”
    The baron’s head snapped back toward him and Hadley continued softly, “My apprentice now approaches, as you can see. He is an able lad, and I am very fond of him. As I previously mentioned, he is necessary to the performance of my duties here. I find there are ways that I cannot do without him.”
    “Really?” The baron dismounted as Rosamund drew near. His great stallion snorted as he secured it nearby and swept Rosamund’s slender proportions as she approached. He said, “I am drawn to the young fellow. I can understand how someone like him can become indispensable in many ways. I should like to test his abilities for myself.”
    “I cannot spare him.”
    “What?” The baron’s gaze grew heated as Rosamund stopped at Hadley’s side. He demanded incredulously, “Do you lay claim to the time with your apprentice that I would use?”
    Hadley persisted, “Ross’s time is already heavily divided. The apprentice he is caring for was badly injured. His recuperation will be lengthy and Ross must be available to him.”
    “I will not abide that loss of time! The fellow can recuperate elsewhere, tended by another.”
    “The extent of the man’s injuries makes that impossible. Ross will be sorely pressed to maintain the fellow’s care and to perform his duty to me until the man is well again.”
    “The injured fellow’s condition is of no great importance here or anywhere else. Apprentices such as he are easily replaced.”
    “His condition is important to Ross, and thus important to me. I demand much of my apprentice.”
    “You do…”
    “I demand strict attention to detail so that nothing escapes me—detail that is essential to this project and of greatest importance to its successful completion.” Hadley paused before adding with a touch of subservience, “I only wish to do my best for you, my lord.”
    The baron nodded stiffly. Turning to Rosamund, he put his hand on her shoulder and then slid it upward to force her face up to his when she avoided looking directly at him. He stared into her emotionless features as he stated without embarrassment, “Yes…I am strangely attracted to you, Ross. I have heard of the appeal of young men like you but have never deigned to taste the joys they are said to provide. With you, I am tempted.” Ignoring the shocked silence that his statement evoked, he continued, “In truth, I am more than tempted. I intend to sate the interest you stir in me, and I will not accept excuses.” Moving closer until the stiff proof of his passion pressed hard against Rosamund’s hip, he whispered, “What say you? I would hear your response now.”
    The baron’s question hung in the air. Stunned by the hard pressure of his passion against her body and sickened by his belief that she was a young man who would fear reprisal if he refused to consent, she felt bile rise in her throat and did not respond as the baron’s hand slipped down from her shoulder. Aware that her secret would be revealed once he encountered the rounded mounds concealed by her voluminous, stainedshirt, she stepped back and said, “I have other, more pressing duties that demand my attention, my lord. I have no time for self-indulgence.”
    The baron’s face flamed unexpectedly as he responded, “You intimate that my interest in you is self-indulgent?”
    “Is it not?”
    Ignoring Hadley’s gasp, the baron replied, “Perhaps it
is
self-indulgent, but it is a self-indulgence that I have earned in the king’s service.”
    Rosamund replied to his outrageous statement with spontaneous indignation. “You have
earned
nothing on this land that you stole from simple, poorly trained Saxons who sought to live their lives peacefully—land that William gave you as a reward for your butchery!”
    His gaze narrowed, the baron ordered, “Mind your tongue, Ross. My patience grows thin.”
    “Do you issue another command to me? I thought you had requested a response to your question. I gave