Heart of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

exhaustion rode her hard, her comfort and feeling of security,
which in the circumstances was laughable, had her lulled and soon,
she dropped into a fatigued and heavy slumber.
    * * * *
     
    With a slight grimace, Isabeau rolled on to
her side and realized that earlier that morning, before she had
fallen asleep, she had failed to heal her injuries entirely. The
pervasive ache of her buttocks against the mattress, the strain in
her spine as she had turned over ... they were unwelcome reminders
of the night before and the adventures in which she had been
involved.
     
    Keeping her eyes closed and her mind on the
perch of sleep, she rubbed the onyx stone and allowed her body to
heal itself. The heat that always came from the healing process had
her toasty warm and nestling deeper into the cushioned comfort of
her bed. She sighed with relief as the rough kink in her back and
hips dissipated and she could move more freely and with less of the
pain that only moments before had plagued her.
     
    A murmur escaped her lips as she heard the
click of the door only moments later.
     
    Realizing that she was in the position of
hostage, something her tired brain had yet to process, Isabeau
slightly slitted her eyes and turned her gaze to focus on the
opening door. She could not possibly allow someone to enter her
chamber without monitoring their progress.
     
    A man walked through. Young, in his late
twenties perhaps, tall and strong of chest. He appeared to be
dressed in refined cloth and even from this distance, she admired
the glinting fiery gem that sat snugly amongst the billowy folds of
his cravat and at the matching set of cufflinks at his wrist.
     
    No butler or footman would have worn anything
so grand and she could only assume that it was either the Lord of
the manor or his son and heir.
     
    He was handsome of face and well-proportioned
in the body, she would give him that.
     
    In fact, he was almost a perfect opposite to
Wolfe. Where Wolfe was night, this man was day. Light blonde hair
grew thickly on his head and was only tamed by the cut, which was
in a Brutus style. From this distance, she could see the sparkling
blue eyes and the lightly tanned and golden flesh of his face,
throat and hands. Definite opposites.
     
    She did not need to see Wolfe in the light to
know that he was dark of skin, almost bronze. Perhaps from exposure
to the sun, or the olive color could be his natural skin tone.
Either way, he was at the other end of the spectrum to the man
before her.
     
    In his hands, there was a tray with food and
almost as though it were on cue, her stomach began to grumble its
hunger as the essence of whatever was upon the salver began to make
its presence known.
     
    Rather than give him the upper hand, she slid
upwards and on to her elbows and in her usual, obstinate manner,
asked, "Who the devil are you?"
     
    His head shot up and he looked down at her
with narrowed eyes. Before he spoke, his eyebrow also shot up as
his gaze traveled along her disheveled length. "I see Wolfe managed
to describe what seems like every inch of you and did not lie about
your attitude. I had hoped he was exaggerating."
     
    Rather than be embarrassed by his statement
about her manners, she felt rather proud. Having been raised to be
a lady, it had taken years to produce this all-encompassing shell
and although it had been difficult, it was there for a reason.
Protection.
     
    She shrugged and watched as his eyes fell to
her shoulders. From long experience, Isabeau knew that he would be
studying her hair. Even she realized that the locks about her head
were a curious mixture. Neither auburn, nor red, nor tinted with
orange. It had the appearance of all of them and yet not a one of
them. It was the color of the heart of a flame and was filled with
life thereof.
     
    The more she thought about it, the more she
realized that both this stranger and herself had similar colorings.
They were both of the light, where Wolfe was of the dark.
     
    Why