Lady of Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

and blue," she teased.
    "Aye. Belesme swings his sword with a power you'd not believe. I took some of these through Walter's shield. Jesu!" He appeared to examine one particularly ugly area. "I thought he meant to kill me beneath
Normandy
's nose."
    "He probably did. Prince Henry says he's very cruel."
    "Prince Henry says," he mimicked her. "God's teeth, Lea, but you have only to meet a member of a royal house and you can do naught but speak of him."
    Stung, she retorted, "I did not—I have not even mentioned him before. Roger, what ails you?"
    "You sup with him tonight—share his trencher even. Have a care, Lea."
    "A care for what?"
    The blue eyes were serious. "Sweet sister, you are very beautiful and already show signs of ripening into a woman. Henry may be but seventeen, but he already has one bastard to his credit. When he looks on you with favor, ask yourself why—is it because you are sweet and good? Or is it because he would have you?"
    "Roger!"
    "Listen, Lea. I am nearly sixteen and I too feel the stirrings in my blood. He may be a prince, but he is the same as me."
    She was aghast. "You make it seem so base. Roger—" Her eyes were wide as they sought his. "You do not think of me like that, do you?"
    He appeared to consider his words carefully. "I love you, Lea—I always have—I always will. I would protect you whatever the cost and I would never harm you."
    "And your lady wife will hate me."
    His mood changed abruptly. He rolled up into a sitting position and pulled himself up with a low-hanging branch. Giving her a hand, he spoke lightly. "I doubt I have a lady wife, Lea, unless she's much like you."
    She bent to retrieve his dirty shirt from the grass. The coarse feel of it reminded her that soon he and all of his things would be gone from Nantes. Her resolve to show him a brave face crumbled.
    "Oh, Roger! I cannot bear to see you go," she wailed as she threw herself against him. "I swear I cannot stand it!"
    "Would you have me stay?" he asked softly as he enveloped her in his aching arms.
    "N-no," came the muffled reply before she broke into sobbing.
    "Shhh… shhh," he murmured as he stroked the thick dark hair. "Lea, I would I never had to leave you—that it could always be just us—but there's no help for it. Here I am nothing, just another lord's by-blow—there I have a chance. Duke William fights a war, Lea—think on it. Even a bastard with no inheritance can be knighted and rewarded on the battlefield. With all of England,
Normandy
, and
Maine
to choose from, I can surely win something of him if I prove myself."
    "The Duke grows old," she whispered against the hardness of his chest.
    "Aye—and leaves three snarling sons to fight for all he has won. If William lives not to care for me, one of his sons will." He held her back a little, speaking earnestly and searching the tearstained face for understanding. "Lea, look at me! Behold a bastard to lowly to be a lord and too good to be a stableboy. Is that what you would have me?"
    With heavy sigh, she looked away. "Nay. It is wrong of me to tear at your heart for what you must do."
    His hands slid down her arms to possess hers, pulling her close again. "When I am gone from you, I am still your champion. Once knighted, I will not hesitate to wield my sword in your behalf and to hold for you that which is yours. When Gilbert dies, you may have need of someone to hold for you and yours against those who would despoil your inheritance."
    "It seems so very far away and such a long time."
    "Aye. And one day you may not even need me. You will be wed to a lord someday, who may be strong enough to hold Nantes."
    "I don't want to marry!" she cried with unaccustomed force.
    "Lea, you will have no choice. God knows, I don't want you given to just any lord."
    "If I wed, I will be as accursed as my mother!"
    Roger held her closer. "Nay, Lea, any man would love you." Abruptly he released her. "We'd best get back. By now, I should be lucky to be the tenth fellow in