Once a Knight Read Online Free PDF

take my instructions from you, my liege—”
    He snorted.
    â€œâ€”And have only a humble request.” He looked her over critically, and she was glad she had worn her best scarlet velvet for this interview. It weighed on her like aknight’s armor, keeping her safe with its bulk and brazen beauty.
    â€œWhat request is that?”
    â€œI wish to retire from your most gracious court and return to my duties at George’s Cross. I have been away too long, basking in the sun of your presence.”
    He cocked his head and examined her. “You are getting rather freckled.”
    Laughter rippled through the courtiers.
    â€œI was already freckled,” she replied.
    Laughter grew and the king dropped his head as if in despair.
    She stared at him, and then, in confusion asked, “My liege? Have I displeased you?”
    â€œNever mind. Never mind. So you wish to withdraw, do you? Is there nothing you wish to take back to George’s Cross with you?”
    Wetting her lips, she tried to appear unaware of his meaning. “What would that be?”
    â€œA husband, of course.” His arm swept the great hall, indicating the courtiers who lined the walls.
    Her heart sank. King Henry was mad for marriage. He had used it as a diplomatic coup, uniting England with Provence in his marriage. He used it on lesser nobility, too, to advance his cause within the kingdom and out of it. Those successes gave him an immodest estimation of his own good sense—a good sense he had not proved in his rule of England nor in his choice of grooms for her. Now she dwelled at court, renewing the appetites of the men for her wealth and the appetite of the king for an alliance.
    Henry persisted, “You see here the flowers of my kingdom, the best of England, Normandy, Poitou, France. Is there not one here who fulfills your demands?”
    She could scarcely say that they did not, and so she protested, “My requirements are reasonable, my lord. Surely you agree to that.”
    He held up three fingers and counted them down. “Wealth, bloodlines, and responsibility. Isn’t that right?”
    Her throat caught in dismay at the way he beamed in triumph, but she cleared it and answered, “That is correct.”
    â€œThen I have a suitor for you.”
    He had caught her unprepared. “That’s impossible! I’ve been to court every day, watching to see who might petition to wed me, and—”
    â€œIs that why you’ve been here?” He looked down at his hand, clenched in a fist. “To give me guidance, should any man dare?”
    She didn’t like this. She didn’t like the king’s attitude nor Osbern’s superior leer. Someone had been whispering malicious rumors in the king’s ear, and she knew the culprit. An importune pang of longing for George’s Cross struck her like hunger for a wholesome broth after a diet of sweetmeats, but she fought it away. The solemn facade she’d created after so much youthful training remained in place, and she said, “I would not dream of offering you my advice. I am only a lowly woman, and you are the king of England.”
    â€œYou do remember,” he said. “Then listen well, Alisoun of George’s Cross. For husband, I give you Simon, earl of Goodney. Can you think of a more suitable mate?”
    Unfortunately, she couldn’t. Simon of Goodney carried his nobility, his wealth, and his responsibilities well. A distinguished man and a recent widower, Lord Simon held lands in Poitou where the king wished to strengthen his ties.
    She’d been paired with him at the table. She’d listened to his nasal voice. Her stomach had churned when he’d breathed and chewed through his open mouth. She’d seen the food which encrusted his eating knife. And she’d dirtied her eating knife with a drop of his blood when he’d groped her breast with his filthy fingers.
    Nevertheless, she knew where