Knave of Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page B

whispered none too softly, “Mayhap you are right, child, but do not tell your mother. If I praise her work too highly, she may become lax in her efforts on my behalf and I shall never get into heaven.” Lyssa giggled. He waved Audra closer. “What have you in the basket?”
    Audra set the basket on the bed. “Eggs, six of them,” she said proudly.
    William leaned back, his expression aghast. “Six! Whoever shall help me eat so many?”
    Audra’s smile was sly as she glanced at her twin. “Ifthe cook boils them hard, we can help you eat them, my lord.”
    “Ha! Off to the kitchen with you then. Be sure to tell the cook we want them well boiled.”
    Marian gave credit where credit was due. William treated her daughters as well as he knew how. Even now, as the girls celebrated their fifth summer, he didn’t often use their names for fear of getting them wrong. He accepted the twins where others didn’t. The girls had been born in Branwick Keep, and everyone should be used to them by now. Yet, many kept their distance, fearful of getting too close to two such identical little beings.
    ’Twas hard to fight superstition, so mostly she and her daughters kept to themselves and ignored those whose fear overruled their sense.
    “What think you of Stephen of Wilmont, my lord?” Lyssa asked.
    The tyke’s question surprised Marian as well as William.
    “I do not know,” he answered. “I have not yet talked to the man. Since you asked, I gather you have formed an opinion.”
    Lyssa’s head bobbed. “He stopped to greet us at our stone wall. He is ever so handsome and has a kind smile.”
    “He also minds his manners,” Audra added. “He must be wealthy, too. He wears a silk tunic and his horse’s bridle is studded with silver.”
    Marian pursed her lips to hold her peace. William had asked the girls to express their opinion. If she tried to shoo her daughters on their way too soon, William would wonder why. His body might be frail, but his mind was as sharp as ever.
    William glanced from one girl to the other. “I see. Iwill take your observations into consideration. Now, see to our eggs if you please.”
    The girls dipped into quick curtsies then hurried out to do William’s bidding. Marian picked up the altar cloth to fold it.
    “I should be away, too. Now that you have approved of the cloth, I will have it wrapped for transport.”
    “You know of the family of Wilmont?”
    Marian saw no sense in denying it. She could too easily be found out a liar.
    “My father once purchased horses from Wilmont’s stock.”
    “Fine stock.”
    “That it is.” The lords of Wilmont bred quality horseflesh, the finest in the kingdom. Those who could afford the steep price settled for no less. “’Tis nearly time for evening meal, my lord. Shall I have your meal brought to you?”
    “When the eggs are done. Sit a moment, Marian.”
    Until William gave her leave to go, she must remain. Hoping Ivo wouldn’t fetch Stephen until after she left, as he’d said, she perched on the edge of the bed.
    “I have noted,” William said, “that in the months since you returned from Westminster, you have never expressed an opinion of Carolyn’s desire to marry this Stephen of Wilmont. Surely you, too, must have one.”
    She did, but one she chose not to share. In the end, only Carolyn’s wishes mattered. So Marian had made peace with her inner turmoil, hoping if the marriage came to pass Stephen would take Carolyn off to some distant manor of his, so she wouldn’t be forced to witness their union for very long.
    “The matter of who Carolyn marries is truly none of my concern. That choice is hers, with your approval.”
    “Did you see him in Westminster?”
    Marian hoped the rush of warmth coursing through her didn’t manifest on her cheeks. She’d seen far too much of Stephen’s smooth, bare chest. Been close enough to notice his arousal, ready for a romp in bed with a woman. With Carolyn.
    “I did.”
    “And?”
    “And,