Temptress Read Online Free PDF Page A

not far from the castle, hidden in a copse of trees that overlook the road to the rear gate.”
    “And beaten within an inch of his life. Did he have any weapons upon him?”
    “Aye, a dagger strapped to one leg, within his boot. And a sword.”
    “Sheathed?”
    “Aye.”
    “Was there any blood upon it?”
    Alexander shook his head and took a swallow from his cup. “Nay.”
    “So he did not even defend himself from this attack?”
    “Not with a weapon that we can determine. The sheriff and some of his men are searching the area near the spot where the man was found.”
    “For others?”
    “To try to learn what happened.”
    “Was he robbed?”
    “Not of his weapons, nor of his ring, but he had no horse nor cart nor purse upon him, so, aye, he could have been.”
    She plopped a jellied egg into her mouth and ignored the pounding of her pulse as she chewed. The man downstairs may be Carrick . Were there not rumors that he had escaped the blaze that had taken the lives of his family? Was there not gossip that a stableboy had seen him ride off? Had it not been conjectured that Carrick himself had started the fatal blaze? Why? What reason would cause him to kill his entire family? It was certainly not to inherit the keep, as he had let everyone think himself dead. No one had seen him in over a year, since the rumor spread by the stableboy.
    Until now .
    “It seems to me we should fear those who besieged this man rather than the man himself.”
    Alexander studied the contents of his mazer before looking directly at her. “He wears the ring of Wybren.”
    Her heart nearly froze. “So I saw, but Wybren is not our enemy.”
    “There is much amiss at Wybren.”
    So there was. Everyone who noticed the ring would remember the blaze that ravaged Wybren Keep a year ago last Christmas Eve and the accusations that Baron Graydynn, now lord of the castle, had done little to squelch. “You are speaking of the fire?”
    “It killed at least seven people. Nearly every member of the baron Dafydd’s family, including his wife, five children, and his daughter-in-law. The only one who escaped was his son Carrick. And there is talk that it was murder.”
    She fingered her mazer of wine. “You think Carrick set the fire, murdered his family, rode away, disappeared for over a year, and now, somehow, lies battered upon a table downstairs in the great hall?”
    “ ’Tis possible.” Alexander had been reaching for a piece of eel but stopped, his hand hovering over the platter.
    “But not probable. Why would he do it? Why kill his family and disappear?”
    “I know not. Mayhap he had a grudge.”
    “Against his entire family? There were seven bodies accounted for. Seven ,” she reminded him as well as herself. “Sir Carrick somehow escaped the blaze—or . . . or so it seems. But there is no evidence he is the one who set the fire. The man downstairs either stole the ring on his finger or someone placed it there.” She finished her wine and wiped her lips with a linen napkin. Her fingers were shaking. “Why don’t you take me to the place where he was found? In the meantime, have him transferred to Tadd’s room across the hallway.” Tadd was her brother but rarely visited, for which Morwenna was usually grateful, but today she would have sought solace in his counsel, disrespectful though it may be. “You may post a guard at the man’s door, but we will treat him as a guest until we find reason to think he is a foe.”
    “But, m’lady—”
    She gazed at him sharply and felt her chin hike upward, the way it involuntarily did each time anyone dared defy her or insinuated that because she was a female she was any less a leader than a man would be.
    Alexander caught the gesture. “As you wish.”
    “I’ll get my mantle and meet you at the stables. Tell the stable master to ready my horse.”
    He looked about to protest but set down his cup and nodded before quickly exiting the room.
    Morwenna let out her breath. She