Sanctuary of Roses Read Online Free PDF

stretched out her
hands to him, ignoring the interested looks cast from the other
ladies.
    Mal Verne had a reputation at court that
caused a combination of attraction and trepidation among the
ladies—they either discussed ways in which to breach that iron-like
armor in order to captivate his heart, or ’twas declared that he
had no heart to conquer. He turned, and though she had warmth and
welcome radiating from her body, she saw that hesitation and
apprehension still swam in his eyes.
    “Lady Judith,” he said formally, lightly
taking her fingertips in his large, scarred hands. “You look well,
as always. How do you fare?”
    Disappointment swelled through her. He
looked haggard and hard, his face set as if in stone, his gray eyes
cool and flat as marble. ’Twas as if he allowed any emotion to come
to bear, he would crumble.
    Judith squeezed his hands, trying as always,
to show that she’d forgiven him for that day years before…and, as
always, he did not seem to comprehend, remaining remote and cool.
“I am well, of course—how could I not be, here with the queen?”
    She slipped a hand through the crook of his
elbow, drawing him away from the curious ears and eyes of the
ladies-in-waiting. “But you…Gavin, have you been ill?” She sat on
the cushioned bench in a small alcove and looked up at his towering
figure.
    After a moment of hesitation, he lowered
himself to sit next to her. “Naught but a small slice in my side
from de Belgrume’s sword,” he said dismissively. “’Twas tended by a
nun in a nearby abbey.”
    “You look weary.” She tried again to bridge
the span betwixt them.
    “I traveled from York, and I have not rested
ere I left. ’Tis no more than that.” He formed his lips into a
half-hearted smile. “Judith, I came only to ask of you some
information—I do not wish to keep you from your duties, or your
friends.”
    She swallowed and looked away. If only he’d
let his guard relax, and put aside his feelings of guilt, he would
see that she was pleased at his visit instead of being overset by
it. Since Papa’s death, Gavin was her only living relative, her
only family…and he’d refused to acknowledge it since Gregory’s
death for fear of shaming her. “I would be most pleased to help you
if I am able, cousin.”
    “You were fostered for a short time with de
Belgrume’s daughter, were you not?”
    “Aye, Gavin, I know that I have spoken of
that year in Kent on occasion. I was only twelve summers, and she
no more than ten. She was there for only five moons before he sent
for her to return to Tricourten. She did not wish to go.” Judith
clenched her fingers as she recalled the deathly whitening of her
friend’s face at the message. Though Madelyne spoke little of her
father, ’twas obvious she disliked—even feared—him. “’Twas only
some moons later that I learned she and her mother had drowned in
the river near Tricourten.”
    “Drowned. Aye, that was the story I recall
hearing as well.” Something in Gavin’s eyes gave Judith pause, and
she looked at him more closely.
    “What is it?”
    “Did you not speak to me of an odd marking
on her arm? I recall your musings once that the little girl had
some unusual spots near her wrist.”
    Judith nodded. “Aye. Three moles near her
wrist, just here.” She demonstrated on her own flesh. “When she
first came to Kent Castle, one of the maidservants made mention of
it and spread the talk that mayhaps she was a witch, with such
markings. But that notion was soon dispelled, for Madelyne was such
a kind and sweet girl that none could think ill of her.”
    It seemed that a glint of grim humor flashed
over Gavin’s face at that, but ’twas gone so quickly that Judith
was sure she had imagined it. He spoke again. “And how exactly were
those markings placed?”
    She showed him: one mole atop two that were
aligned, creating the shape of a small, tight triangle. There was
such satisfaction in his face that she suddenly realized