Shadowmoor (de Lohr Dynasty #6) Read Online Free PDF

herself that the lad was in good health. In fact, her heart was nearly bursting with eagerness to see the little lad she was so very fond of. It was difficult to keep the tears from her eyes, tears of pure joy.
    “Pea stew,” she said, wiping at the tears that threatened to escape, “and the last of the boiled mutton. There is also cabbage boiled with vinegar and cinnamon.”
    Etzel made a face. “More peas,” he said unhappily. “Is there nothing else?”
    Liselotte shook her head patiently. “Papa, there is not anything else and you know it,” she said. “The peas and mutton will fill bellies and that is all we need to be concerned with. Now, where is Gunnar? I must see him.”
    Etzel was looking over at the bubbling pea stew as he spoke. “I sent him to your mother,” he said. “He is in the keep so that she may see him. I have also told him to make sure his chamber is prepared, as the knight can sleep in his chamber and Gunnar can sleep with me. I’ve not seen my son in twenty-three days and I do not want him out of my sight.”
    Liselotte understood. Gunnar’s abduction had been very hard on her father. He adored the boy, who was smart and funny and sweet, in great contrast to Etzel’s eldest son who had turned out to be massive disappointment. There were three l’Audacieux siblings but only two were close to Etzel’s heart.
    The eldest was not discussed and for good reason.
    Brynner l’Audacieux had gone the path of proper education to become a knight and had, in fact, been knighted at Okehampton Castle in Devon six years ago. He had, by all accounts, been one of the finest swordsmen in England, at least according to his trainers, but he was also very emotional and volatile, and after meeting, and losing, a certain young lady almost three years ago, Brynner had turned into a drunk who had no interest in his sword any longer or the knighthood.
    This included anything to do with Lord Bramley; he had never lifted a finger to help his family against the man. These days, Brynner sat in his chamber and drank, or he wandered the moors aimlessly before returning to Shadowmoor to drink some more. Etzel had tried to help him; they had all tried to help him. But Brynner didn’t want any help. He was still stuck as his life had been three years ago when Lady Maud had decided to marry his closest friend.
    Resigned to his eldest son’s fate, Etzel simply didn’t speak to the man any longer and barely acknowledged him even when he saw him. Disappointment and sorrow had separated him from Brynner, and he didn’t like for anyone in the family to speak the man’s name. It was simply too painful.
    Which is why Etzel was so attached to Gunnar. Liselotte knew this, which was why she was so glad, for her father’s sake, that Gunnar had returned. He was the only thing that kept the old man going. She patted her father’s hand as she stood up from the table.
    “I would see to my little brother now,” she said. “I must see him with my own eyes.”
    Etzel watched her go. “He is well, daughter,” he said, happiness in his voice that Liselotte hadn’t heard in weeks. “I promise you that he is.”
    “I believe you, but I must still see him.”
    Etzel smiled sadly at the daughter he knew harbored much guilt about her brother’s abduction. It wasn’t her fault but she had taken the lion’s share of the blame for it. Four years of Lord Bramley’s antics against her, against everyone at Shadowmoor, had been a heavy burden for the stoic young woman to bear.
    But the immediate crisis was thankfully over with and there was much reason to rejoice for the moment. As Etzel went off to find a full jug of ale from the vault that ran beneath the hall, Liselotte continued to walk across the hard-packed earth of the hall, heading for the great door that would spill her out into the rainy yard beyond. She was most determined to see Gunnar and hug the boy before yanking his ear and making him scream. The thought made her