The Bargain Read Online Free PDF Page A

him—her thumb brushing along the edge of his.
    Aye, if ever there was a woman ripe for the plucking...
    "She is beautiful, my lord," Henry commented. The old man had traveled with him these past two years, patching up Renaud and his men, and in turn Renaud gave him protection. He had simply appeared one night at their camp, drunk and bleeding, asking to stay in exchange for his services. A healer, he had called himself, and no one had asked further questions. And he had served Renaud and his men faithfully since that day. "Eyes like I have never seen. Almost haunting, wouldn't you say, my lord?"
    Renaud smiled. "Indeed, she is beautiful."
    Henry spread a salve onto the cauterized wound and wiped his hands clean with a rag. "Is there anything else, my lord?"
    Renaud looked around the armory at the wounded. He would not go to his chamber before he spoke with each man. They had all fought valiantly today, and they would be rewarded, even if it be with just a kind word.
    He stood, his body aching, his knees popping, reminding him that he was not getting any younger. Though he wanted nothing more than to retreat to his chamber, take a hot bath, and make love to the beautiful Saxon, he instead rested a hand on his vassal's shoulder. The young man had lost part of his ear, and he trembled greatly. "You did a fine job today, Malgor."
    The knight clamped his chattering teeth together. "Thank you, my lord."
    "Get well so you can join us in drills in a fortnight or so."
    "I will rejoin the ranks long before a fortnight, my lord," Malgor replied with resolve.
    "Very well, then. We shall see you on the field when Henry agrees you are well enough."
    Next was a knight who had fought with Renaud for the better part of a decade. A nasty-looking gash on his side oozed blood. Renaud clasped the man's hand. "Henry had best put the rod to you next, Gautier."
    The man flashed a toothless smile, compliments of a blow to the mouth a month before.
    It would be an hour before Renaud made his way out into the outer bailey and toward the tower, where his chamber and a beautiful Saxon woman awaited him.
     

CHAPTER 3
    Heaven help her. What had she gotten herself into?
    Aleysia's heart hammered in her chest, watching as a handful of servants entered the large chamber. They carried buckets of hot water, and one by one, they poured the steaming water into the large wooden tub.
    She knew de Wulf had indicated she could take a bath, but she had no such inclination, especially since she had bathed in the river just last night. Granted, the water had been cold enough to steal the breath from her lungs, but she had suffered through and even washed her hair.
    Nay, the bath would be for de Wulf. After all, he would be filthy from his days of pillaging. Given the circumstances, he had no time to stop and bathe—the animal that he was. Too busy killing men, women, and children... and sleeping with whores, much like the one he had left in the great hall.
    Mayhap he was with the woman now? He had been in quite a hurry to get rid of Aleysia.
    Her stomach coiled in a tight knot remembering the baron's gray gaze. Aleysia noted the dark gleam in his eyes when he looked at her, his stare unrelenting. It had seemed the man could see straight through her clothing.
    An old woman whom she remembered well from the days her family had ruled the land, glanced at her while she emptied the bucket of water into the tub. She cast Aleysia a sympathetic smile.
    They all knew her fate. Even now, she could not forget the knowing grins of the Norman knights as de Wulf had walked with her toward the great hall.
    They all knew what she had offered in way of a bargain.
    And a bargain it was. Nothing more, nothing less.
    Her body for her brother's safety.
    Unable to stand still, she walked toward the window and looked out, her fingers curling around the heavy iron bars, yearning for a freedom that now seemed so far from reach.
    Her breath formed fog. Night was fast descending upon