Once Upon a Kiss Read Online Free PDF

passionate. But
passion was a far cry from compassion, she reminded herself.
    Shrugging,
Alyss whispered, “Oh... to know a man so gentle.” And her expression was
wistful.
    Dominique
thought it a strange remark to make when Alyss and her brother had been lovers
so long. She’d never known William to be precisely cruel, and in truth she
would have thought him to be gentle with his lover, for he could be so generous
when he so wished. A prickle raced down her spine at the turn of her thoughts
and she wanted to ask Alyss, but refrained, for she knew it an impertinent thing
to do and she didn’t still didn’t know Alyss well enough to speak so freely.
Anyway, it was none of her concern, she told herself.
    “Well,
now,” Alyss entreated, leaping up from the bed. “What shall we do, m’lady?
Shall we plait your hair, or what?”
    It never
ceased to amaze Dominique, the fervor with which Alyss served her. It was as
though this were a great adventure for her, though truth to tell, Dominique
would have thought it a finer thing to serve the master of the domain, and an
affront to be lowered to serving his sister. Still, Alyss never complained.
    And
neither could Dominique, for Alyss tried so hard, and treated her
kindly—much more like the sister she never had.
    “I
suppose I should change for the evening meal?” Dominique suggested. The fact that
her gown had displeased him so greatly had absolutely naught to do with her desire to
change, she told herself. She simply wished to.
    “Oh,
yea, m’lady!” Alyss exclaimed excitedly. “And we shall endeavor to make you
absolutely irresistible for your betrothed. That’s a handsome one, as well,”
she said, and sighed. “And you, m’lady, are a very, very fortunate woman,
indeed!” And with that, Alyss proceeded at once to explore the coffers,
searching for something suitable for Dominique to wear.
    Dominique
was loath to disappoint, so she said nothing at all, but the truth was that at
the moment she felt anything but fortunate. She allowed Alyss to choose the
gown, and then to dress her, and then when she could delay no longer, she made
her way below stairs to the great hall, her legs trembling disgracefully at the
mere notion of facing him again.

Chapter 4

     
    Be
damned if the wench wasn’t wearing a stolen gown! ’ Twas no small wonder she’d glistened wearing that
pillaged fiery, gold-threaded finery! It was all he could do to keep his mouth
shut once he recognized it.
    Sitting
at table, listening to William Beauchamp and his brother exchange
pleasantries—something he never would have imagined—Blaec could
scarcely credit the boldness of the wench—or that of her witless brother,
for ’ twas William who inevitably was
the thief.
    Perhaps
Beauchamp had thought the year long enough for Blaec to forget the cloth that
had been plundered from his carts en route from London, but Blaec rarely forgot
anything. But even if he had, the crimson samite with its gold points was
unmistakable at a glance. He’d purchased the cloth from a London merchant
simply because it was so extraordinary, and he’d not seen the likes of it
since. It was unlikely William Beauchamp would have encountered the same
merchant, nor did he feel William capable of procuring the funds for such fine
wares, for he spent too much of his time and coin in mindless retribution
against Drakewich. It seemed Beauchamp preferred inflicting his wrath upon the
guiltless under cover of night like a coward whelp—apparently, the same
way in which he acquired his wares.
    He set
down his goblet, his senses too on edge to allow him to relax. He truly hoped
Graeham was able to see through the artifice, though at the moment it certainly
didn’t seem as though he did. God’s blood, but sometimes he worried about his
brother.
    “... should
you care to consummate the union beforehand,” he overheard William suggesting,
“I would not at all be offended.” He made a charitable gesture with his hand.
    And