In Bed With A Stranger Read Online Free PDF Page B

sin.”
    Philipa frowned. “Make your choice, madam. Shuck your dress and bathe or prepare to watch your mother walking out of the gate while your siblings are bound to remain in the castle. The charge of theft should be enough to convince the guards to throw her into the road. With your father at court, whom do you think the captain will believe? The lady of the house, or you?”

Chapter Three
    Evil
    A nne stared at Philipa and knew that what was shining in the lady’s eyes was pure evil. Not once in her life had she ever believed that any person might be so horrible. A glance over at Mary showed her another woman who placed her own comforts above the very life of the servants who brought them those comforts. There was no hint of mercy on the younger lady’s face, either; only a slight fear that Anne wouldn’t bend to the whim of her mother.
    But to take her place in the wedding bed …Anne shivered, unable to grasp such an idea. To agree to such a bargain made her no better than a whore. A woman reduced to using her body to buy what she needed.
    But there really was no choice to make. She would choose her love for her family above herself. Reaching for the button on the top of her doublet, she pushed it open.
    “There. I am glad to see you behaving so reasonably.” Philipa looked pleased. “Help her, Mary. We have to see this finished before any of the maids become wise.”
    Anne’s doublet dropped away and Mary attacked the tie that closed the waist of her skirts. They dropped to her ankles, leaving her in her chemise and stays. Anne felt Mary’s fingers on the ties that closed the corset, loosening them until her breasts hung free. Any other time, she would have savored the freedom from her stays, but Philipa’s eyes dropped to her chest, inspecting her body. Philipa’s lip curled in distaste as Mary grasped the hem of Anne’s chemise and pulled it over her head. Philipa stared at her bared chest and grunted.
    “With plump tits like those, you should breed quickly. I made a wise choice when I had you watched. You’d have a string of bastards like your mother if I hadn’t.”
    “I am not promiscuous.”
    Philipa glared at her. “What you are is forgetful of your station.”
    Anne sat down on a small stood to begin removing her boots. She hid her fury as she looked at the boot lacings. It would be most unwise to continue to speak her mind. Her family would be left behind to suffer Philipa’s temper.
    But she wanted to voice every word she’d ever bitten back. The woman was horrible, an evil consort of demons. No one else could contrive such a plan or force it onto the shoulders of another.
    “Hurry up.” Mary dropped to her knees and began pulling on the other boot. “We haven’t much time.” Her eyes shimmered with glee as she removed the boot and yanked Anne’s stocking down.
    Anne was suddenly shy. She’d never stood nude in front of anyone. Mary got to her feet and went around back of her to pull her braid loose. For such a spoilt child she was better at the task than Anne might have guessed. Her half-sister picked up a brush and began working it through Anne’s hair. It looked as though Mary had learned something at court while waiting on the Queen.
    “Stand up. I want a look at you.”
    Anne rose, her hands covering as much of her body as possible. Philipa snapped her fingers at her.
    “Stop cowering.”
    Anne bristled but let her hands fall to her sides. The lady swept her from head to toe, her lips pressing into a hard line.
    “In with you, this Scot will never believe that his noble bride wasn’t bathed before his arrival.”
    The water was still warm. It only made her angrier to sink into it and not be able to enjoy the moment. She always had to bathe in a chemise because the bathing tub used by the servants of Warwickshire was not in a private room. Besides, everyone needed help washing their hair or they tracked water across the floor when they went to fetch a bucket of rinse