Fairest Of Them All Read Online Free PDF Page B

disappointment
    Holly must have imagined his pained grunt, for when she lifted her head, his face was once again impassive. He unfolded his arms as if he’d come to some irrevocable conclusion. “Do not look so melancholy, my lady. Tis early yet Perhaps we can restore the bloom of cheer to your cheeks before my own lady arrives.”
    Holly took a step backward. “I think not, sir. I should prefer my bloom to wilt on the vine before I bestow it on a faithless knave such as yourself.”
    He pushed away from the tree trunk with unmistakable menace. “A faithless knave, am I? What of your own fidelity, that you would bestow your kisses so freely on a stranger?”
    His words cut more deeply for their truth. Now it was she who was being stalked. She backed away from his towering form, stumbling over the hem of her cloak. Twas little wonder he thought her wanton. She’d done naught to discourage such reasoning. But not even her mortification could prevent her from striking a parting blow.
    “I might yet bestow my kisses on a stranger, but you can be assured, sir, that I will never again bestow them on you.”
    Wishing desperately that she’d heeded his earlier warning, she spun around toilee only to be wrenched to a painful halt Believing he’d seized her hair, she closed her eyes, panting with dread of the moment when he would hurl her to the ground and tear at her skirts with his ruthless hands.
    “Betrayed by your crowning glory, eh? How fitting.” Tlie mocking voice came from a few feet behind her and Holly was abashed to realize the knight had pursued her only in her overwrought imagination.
    She dared a glance upward. Twas not a mortal hand, but a gnarled finger of the elm that had snagged her. She tugged at the treacherous strand, but only succeeded in weaving it into an intractable snarl around the branch. She hung there, as defenseless as a rabbit in a snare at the knight’s swift approach.
    As his shadow enveloped her, she nervously licked her lips, then wished she hadn’t They still tasted of the foreign, but not unpleasant, flavor of his kiss—the cool mint of wintergreen wedded with the warm musk of hops.
    Her mouth went dry as he drew a misericorde from his belt The tiny but lethal blade was dwarfed by his tense fingers. She whimpered involuntarily.
    “Christ, woman, would you stop whining? I’ve no intention of cutting your throat” He captured the skein of hair in his fist, relieving the painful pressure on her scalp.
    As the dagger bit into the captive strand, a fresh moan of dismay escaped her. The knight froze, his breathing audible, and glared at her as if reconsidering his pledge.
    Her attempt at a sheepish shrug was hampered by her tenuous position. “Forgive me, sir. Tis just that a blade has never touched my hair. Not since I was born.”
    He gave the dark mane that rippled well past her rump an arch glance. “What of a comb? Has a comb never profaned its hallowed state?”
    “Why, of course! My nurse combs it five hundred strokes each night before I lay down upon my pillow.”
    He snorted. “And I had supposed you slept sitting up, so as not to jounce a precious tendril.”
    Holly might have wrinkled her nose at him had Nathanael not taught her that such childish indulgences could carve permanent pleats in her skin. “If you’re quite done making sport of me, sir, I give you leave to proceed.”
    Instead of clumsily hacking at the mess as she expected such a ruffian to do, he took his time, severing each filament as if it had been spun from gold. His care shook her composure as none of his blustering had done.
    When he was done, she fingered her scalp, half expecting to find a gaping bald spot. She couldn’t resist shooting a covetous glance at the glossy black curl laid like a sacrificial offering across his palm.
    He closed his fist around it and shook his head. One big, blunt finger drifted upward to caress the delicate arch of her jaw. “Leave me now, my lady, and I shall consider