The Marriage Prize Read Online Free PDF

undeserving of love. Suddenly, Rosamond felt
    her hand being covered by another. Its comforting warmth
    seeped into her.
    "You were a prize beyond belief. It was my great honor to
    betroth a lady from the noble Marshal family."
    Was Rodger de Leyburn sincere or was he mocking her? she
    wondered wildly. At least his words had restored the prince's
    good humor; Rosamond saw that Edward was once more
    grinning.
    "I am the only married man among my bachelor knights; it is
    time that I had company," the prince said.
    "But you are married in name only," Rosamond pointed out
    bluntly. She felt de Leyburn squeeze her fingers in warning.
    "Not for much longer. Eleanora of Castile wil soon be sixteen.
    Elegant quarters have been especial y designed for her at
    Windsor."
    "Do you even remember her, my lord?" Rosamond
    chal enged.
    19
    "I certainly remember the splendid entertainments at the
    wedding in Castile—the vivid colors of the costumes. The
    tournaments they held were spectacular. I was knighted by
    King Alphonso and gifted with a magnificent Spanish charger.
    It served me wel in the jousting; I unseated every chal enger."
    At the mention of jousting, Rosamond snatched back her
    hand. "Wel , the horse made a lasting impression, if the bride
    did not," she said with exquisite sarcasm.
    Lord Edward was distracted from the conversation by the
    presentation of the dessert, which Lady Eleanor had arranged
    in his honor. A dozen huge plum puddings, floating in syl abub,
    were brought in on silver salvers. A lit torch was touched to
    each, setting them ablaze, then they were carried around the
    hal as the flames turned to blue fire. Musicians fol owed,
    playing the beautiful, haunting melodies of Wales to celebrate
    the success of the recent campaign.
    Rodger de Leyburn was acutely aware of the young female
    who sat beside him. He studied her lovely profile in the
    flickering blue light and could only guess at her thoughts. The
    gods must surely have been smiling upon him the day he
    betrothed the unremarkable twelve-year-old. Edward had
    arranged the match for him as a reward because the Marshal
    girl was an heiress. Who could have known she would turn into
    a cool beauty with a hot temper—an utterly tantalizing
    woman? He knew she wanted nothing to do with him and
    would do her utmost to end the betrothal. But what she wanted
    made not the slightest difference to him. Now that he had
    seen her, he intended to have her. And sooner rather than
    later.
    His glance moved over to the prince's profile. What Earl
    Simon said was true: he and Edward were much alike. They
    were both cursed with insatiable ambition. That was the
    reason for their deep friendship, that and the fact that they
    knew each other's secrets, and would keep them at any cost.
    At any cost... the words echoed in his mind as he glanced
    about the hal , counting the men who would let nothing stand in
    their way to achieve a goal. How many were prepared to do
    anythingor sacrifice anyone? There were only two. Simon de
    Montfort and Edward Plantagenet. What of himself? he
    wondered. In the dark depths of his soul he suspected that his
    20
    own name would raise the count to three. He had already
    committed most of the seven deadly sins in his twenty-two
    years. He was guilty of al but sloth. That had been his father's
    sin, and because of it his family had been reduced to grinding
    poverty. Thank God his uncle had ambition. Through his
    influence at court, he had secured his nephew an appointment
    as page and told Rodger his future was in his own hands. Rod
    looked down at those hands now and he smiled. There was
    no way he was going to let Rosamond Marshal slip through
    his fingers.
    The talk of marriage unsettled Rosamond, and the moment
    the servitors began to clear the tables, she made her escape.
    The Demoisel e joined her, fil ed with breathless curiosity. "Oh, Rosamond, he is so handsome! What did he say to you? "
    "Lord Edward?" Rosamond teased.
    "No, sil y, Rodger