Unbidden (The Evolution Series) Read Online Free PDF

If this stranger was going to tell her what her mother had refused to share, it must be very bad news. “Is Louis displeased with us for some reason?  Is it my mother?  Is that why she is afraid to come to the palace?”
    David shook his head at her wild guesses. “The emperor is not unhappy, nor is he interested in your mother . He is interested in you. He wishes you to marry.”
    All the blood drained from her head to trickle down through her neck like icy water . “What?” she croaked.
    “He wishes you to marry, to solidify his defenses of Alamannia so he can give it to his youngest son, Charles.”
    She shook her head as though trying to clear it from a hard blow. “Alamannia? Charles?  What has that got to do with me?  I live in Francia.”
    “Your estate is in a strategic position for the defense of Alamannia.”
    “Defense from whom?”
    “Charles’s half-brothers.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    He stared at her for a moment . “Civil war.”
    She couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping open . She gaped, completely flummoxed. “What are you talking about?” she heard herself repeat. “Are you suggesting there will be a civil war fought at Alda?”
    He sighed. “I have no time to explain it now, but I did not want you to walk in there completely unaware of his plans for —”
    “My life,” she finished his sentence with a devastated whisper . Her thoughts whirled as David again gripped her elbow to guide her across the square. Had he just said civil war ? And marriage !  She had never seriously considered marriage. Now it was worthy of discussion at Louis’s court?  Surely this stranger was mistaken. She was not interested in marriage, which by definition would include a husband with expectations of controlling her and her holdings. Surely the emperor had meant to summon some other girl.
    They crossed a cavernous portico leading into the building . Noblemen jammed the room. She balked at the sheer number. Aristocrats of all shapes and sizes packed the aula palatina, dressed like peacocks in bright colors. “I cannot go in there,” she stated flatly.
    The Bavarian leaned down slightly . “Courage,” he said as he urged her forward. Claustrophobia threatened as the horde parted and closed around her like a flock of multicolored, human-sized birds. David expertly cut a course to a destination she could not see.
    “There you are,” a voice called to them . Rochelle blinked at the blinding green and gold swathed man before recognizing him as her father’s young friend.
    “Theophilus,” she cried, relief coursing through her body . She pushed past David to get to him, gripping his ringed fingers in her own. Of course. The Emperor wanted her to marry Theo. She had no intention of doing so, even if she had admired him when she was ten years old. Still, he had always been kind to her mother and brought laughter to her father. He would help her explain to Louis the Pious why matrimony was simply out of the question. Confidence filled her as the solution to her problem became obvious. Theo would help her. “I am so relieved you are here. I need your help.”
    David took hold of her elbow yet again . She glared up at him, finding his expression unaccountably thunderous.
    “I thought you had not seen him in years,” he commented.
    “I have not, but of course I would remember such a good friend of my father.”  She smiled up at Theo again, beginning her campaign for assistance.
    “A very learned man,” Theo complimented her father as he gently removed his hands from her grasp. He turned to David . “Did you explain what will happen here today?”
    “I told her the emperor wishes to see her married. We did not have time for any details. Her mother had told her nothing.”
    Theo opened his mouth to speak when a nearby clerk shouted to be heard above the general din of voices in the room.
    “The emperor wishes to interview Lady Rochelle of Alda. Immediately!”
    “Here we go,” Theo