Mystique Read Online Free PDF Page A

all. You’re amused by the courage she showed in challenging you.”
    Hugh shrugged.
    “‘Tis nothing more than a passing novelty, my lord,” Dunstan assured him. “‘Twill soon pass, just as does the sore head one gets from drinking too much wine.”
    “She knows how to manage a household,” Hugh continued thoughtfully. “That banquet she arranged last night would have done credit to a great baron’s wife. It couldhave been served in any noble hall. I have need of someone who can organize a household with such skill.”
    Dunstan began to look alarmed. “What the devil are you saying? Think of her tongue, my lord. ‘Twas as sharp as my dagger.”
    “Her manners, when she chose to display them, were those of a great lady. Seldom have I witnessed a more graceful curtsy. A man would be proud to have her entertain his guests.”
    “From what I saw last night and from all the gossip I have heard since we got here, I have the impression that she does not choose to display those pretty manners very often,” Dunstan said quickly.
    “She is old enough to know what she is doing. I am not dealing with some dewy-eyed innocent who must be protected and cosseted.”
    Dunstan’s head snapped around, his eyes widening in surprise. “By Saint Osyth’s teeth, you cannot be serious.”
    “Why not? After I recover the green crystal, I am going to be extremely busy. There is a great deal of work to be done on Scarcliffe. Not only must I see to the problems of my new lands, but the old keep must be set to rights.”
    “Nay, my lord.” Dunstan looked as though he were strangling on a bite of meat pie. “If you are about to suggest what I think you are about to suggest, I beg you to reconsider.”
    “She is obviously well trained in the art of household management. You know that I have always abided by the basic principle that it pays to employ skilled experts, Dunstan.”
    “That principle may have served you well when it came to selecting stewards, blacksmiths, and weavers, my lord, but you are talking about a
wife
here.”
    “So? Blood of the devil, Dunstan, I’m a knight by trade. I do not have any notion of how to organize a household and neither do you. I have never even stepped foot inside a kitchen. I am not entirely certain what goes on in such a place.”
    “What has that got to do with anything?”
    “A great deal, if I am to eat well. And I do enjoy good food.”
    “Aye, that’s a fact. No offense, sir, but to my mind you’re too choosy by far when it comes to your fodder. Don’t know why you cannot be satisfied with plain roast mutton and good ale.”
    “Because a diet of roast mutton and ale grows boring after a time,” Hugh said impatiently. “In addition to the business of good meals, there are other matters of import involved in a household. A thousand of them. Halls and chambers must be cleaned. Garderobes must be washed. Bedding must be aired. Servants must be supervised. And how does one go about getting a fine, fresh scent in one’s clothing?”
    “I am seldom concerned with that particular problem, myself.”
    Hugh ignored him. “In short, I want Scarcliffe Keep to be properly managed and that means I require an expert, just as I do in my various business affairs. I require a lady who has been properly trained to manage a large household.”
    A vision of his future danced before Hugh’s eyes. He wanted a comfortable hall of his own. He wanted to be able to sit at the head table under his own canopy and dine on well-seasoned dishes. He wanted to sleep in clean sheets and bathe in scented water. Most of all, he wished to entertain his liege lord, Erasmus of Thornewood, in a manner befitting his station.
    That last thought dimmed the luster of the vision. Erasmus had not looked at all well six weeks ago when Hugh had been summoned into his audience chamber to receive the fief of Scarcliffe. It was clear that Erasmus had lost weight. There was a tense, pinched look about his features and a