The Temptation (The Medieval Knights Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

gay. Elsbeth was not gay. She was serene, composed, stalwart—all that a wife should be. Or at least the sort of wife she meant to be.
    They entered the chapel and were confronted by a throng of bodies. She had not expected this, and it must have showed upon her face.
    "Come, Daughter," Gautier said, "you did not expect anything less of me than the most public, the most celebratory of marriages? It is not often that a man of Hugh's merit comes into a damsel's life, taking it for his own. All want to see this joining."
    So many witnesses, so many faces she almost remembered from her youth. When had she left Warkham for her fostering? Ten years and more ago, yet some faces rose in her mind and memory, a cotter, a blacksmith, a reeve, until she pushed all memory from her and remembered only her father at her side. So many witnesses. Aye, she understood him. None would say that the marriage between Hugh of Jerusalem and Elsbeth of Sunnandune had not been lawful.
    "I would deny no man celebration when the cause has such merit," she said. "Have you taken names, Father, so that the clerk can record the number and weight of the witnesses?"
    "Come, Elsbeth," he said, grinning and taking her by the arm. Perhaps so she would not run for the door. "You are too severe. This is your wedding day, long anticipated. We only want to rejoice with you."
    She had nothing to say to that, nothing that would serve her present course, and so she kept silent. And she was not severe. She was serene.
    Hugh stood at the front of the nave, his height and coloring like a beacon on a hilltop in that smoky, murky light. He watched her come to him, his eyes never leaving hers, his smile soft and warm, so unlike the cold amusement of her father. It was a welcome change, and she allowed herself to appreciate it.
    Hugh was dressed as he had been, and she was glad to see it. They made a well-matched pair in their white and crimson, looking something like pilgrims about to set off for far-off lands. And so they were, in their fashion. Marriage was their destination, as he had said. If neither one knew quite what that meant or how to reach those shores safely, they kept their ignorance to themselves. As to that, none in the chapel, and it seemed to be the whole of Warkham, seemed to doubt that all would be well. On the contrary, they all appeared to find the whole notion quite exhilarating.
    Of course, she was the one getting married, not they.
    With her father on her arm, she was led to Hugh. If she had passing thoughts of a lamb being led to the slaughter, she suppressed them and kept her silence. As the lambs did. It would do her no good to fight now. Her course was set, and she would find her way through it. God was faithful. She had no doubts as to that.
    "You are lovely, Elsbeth. A rare sight in this place," Hugh said.
    It was kind of him to say so when be had no reason to be kind. Or pretend to be.
    "Thank you," she said and then retreated again to the silence of composure.
    Her father stood at her back, which was unnecessary. She was not going to run, even if she could find the door through all the people blocking her path. Could he not see her serenity?
    "The contracts have been signed, Elsbeth," Hugh said. "Your portion declared, and mine. Will you hear the reading of them, or shall we proceed with the ceremony?"
    She knew her father. All had been set down most thoroughly and most legally. He would have made certain that nothing would hinder this marriage and that there would be no cause for repudiation. A most thorough man, her father.
    "Nay, I trust that all has been done according to the law. I have no complaint... or hesitation. I am yours, my lord; let the priest perform his function. I await your pleasure," she said, sounding exquisitely serene to her own ears. Let her father chew on that.
    Her father chuckled.
    The priest did not.
    She remembered this priest from other days. He had been here when she was a girl. He had been young then and fair to