Twelfth Night Read Online Free PDF

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preparing the high table for the evening meal, she did not at first
notice her husband, but concentrated on her work. Aline stole a
sidelong glance at Blaise and was pleased to discover that he had a
considering expression on his face, as though he had never really
looked closely at his wife before.
    A moment later Adam arrived in the great hall
and Aline’s full attention shifted to him. He had put off his armor
in favor of a thigh-length tunic of dark green wool and a heavy
gold chain with a large emblem hanging from it. His hair was still
damp from his bath and he was freshly shaven. When he came toward
her she felt the corners of her mouth lifting to match the smile on
his face.
    “I am glad to see Blaise has acted the host
in my absence,” Adam said. “Is the wine hot enough?”
    “Indeed, yes. And wonderfully spiced. Is it
Lady Constance’s recipe?”
    “It was her mother’s.” Blaise shot her a
wondering look, and Aline decided she had said enough about Connie
for one night. Any more compliments and Blaise would begin to
question what she was trying to do.
    “You must sit beside me at the table,” Adam
invited. Aline placed her fingers on his extended wrist and walked
across the hall with him as if she did that sort of thing every day
of her life.
    He had the oddest effect on her. She had
believed she was well past the age for trembling limbs and a
palpitating heart in response to any man, but the warmth of Adam’s
wrist under her fingers made her feel positively dizzy. When he
smiled into her eyes as he seated her next to the lord’s chair, she
thought of swooning. Smiling back at him, she saw that he was
similarly affected. He hovered for a moment, bent toward her, one
strong hand on the arm of her chair. She did not move. She could
barely breathe. She noticed for the first time what a finely shaped
mouth he had. It was a little too wide for the rest of his face,
but his lips were nicely modeled and his teeth were white and even.
Her own lips parted in silent invitation. She saw longing in his
eyes and knew her own must hold the same message.
    Still, he was lord of the castle and she but
an unknown woman. He turned from her to sit in his own chair,
leaving Aline shaken and wary. She did not want any kind of
emotional involvement. Romance seldom ended happily in her
experience, and it certainly could not when the lovers came from
different centuries. It was ridiculous even to think of Adam in
that way. She had defended her heart against better-looking men
than Adam of Shotley. She would control her feelings and refuse to
become attached to him. Still, she could not ignore him. He was,
after all, her host.
    “We will eat only fish tonight and tomorrow,”
he informed her. “We are fasting in preparation for the holy day.
On Christmas I can offer you a grand feast.”
    “I’m not sure I will still be here then.”
    “I do not think you will be able to leave,
even if we can discover where your servants have gone. The snow has
stopped for now, but more will come tomorrow, and I believe it will
be a great storm.”
    “How can you tell?” she asked. If even
twenty-first century weather forecasters with their radar images
and satellite photos were unable to predict the weather a day in
advance with any accuracy, how could Adam be so sure?
    “There is an old man who works in the
stable,“ he said, “who an hour ago told me that all his joints are
aching and his forehead, too, a combination that always presages
snowfall. Then there is my leg. I have an old battle wound that
sends me its own message of coming foul weather. These hints are to
be disregarded at one’s own peril.”
    “No wonder you were in such a hurry to reach
home.” She thought his method of forecasting was probably as good
as any other. “I shall expect a heavy snow then.”
    They broke off their conversation as the
servants appeared and began to serve the meal. There were two main
courses, both fish as promised. For the first