Read Online Chained (Chained Trilogy) by Elise Marion - Free Book Online

affection as he felt for Esa, he could not say he loved her in the way his father loved his mother. Even in their old age, Theodric could still put a blush on Victoria’s cheeks with a whisper, or cause her to laugh with a well-timed jest. Perhaps, he realized as they walked, this was why he’d avoided marriage for so long. The restlessness he felt was a need for something more, a desire for love.
    “I saw that woman slip away from the banquet table,” Victoria remarked as they reached the Maignart’s encampment. His tent was beside his father and mother’s. “I know she is waiting for you.”
    Caden stifled a groan at the inevitable disagreement to come. His mother detested Lady Esa; she thought the woman crass and brazen, not at all fit for her firstborn son. “Mother, please, not now, not again.”
    “If not now, then wh en? When will you put your mistress aside and take a wife?”
    Caden paused near the opening of her tent, the light from the candles inside casting a yellow glow upon them. Worry deepened the lines around his mother’s mouth. He knew that she only spoke out of love for him. Softening toward her, he took her hand. “Mother, I will marry … someday. I will fill Minas Bothe with sons and daughters, this I promise you.”
    “Someday.” Victoria’s mouth pinched and she sighed. “You will marry Lady Esa, will you not? The two of you have been carrying on for years now. You’ve hardly laid eyes on another woman, despite the selection of more than suitable ladies from among our vassals’ daughters.”
    “Mother, Esa is a lady, and an honorable knight. She would make a fine wife.” Even as he said the words, he could hear the false ring to them. Esa was wild and untamed; the duties of a lady were foreign to her, the ways of managing a large castle like Minas Bothe unknown. The only wifely duty she was familiar with involved the spreading of her thighs.
    “Lady Esa is beautiful, ’tis true. She is a brave woman, and one of our most valued knights, but she is a not a lady, Caden. She is unsuitable to be your bride. Then, there is the matter of her barren womb.”
    Caden was hardly embarrassed to discuss such matters with his mother. In public, she was the perfect picture of a demure and delicate lady. In private, she’d always been frank and honest with her sons. “Perhaps I am the one who is barren,” Caden said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. “Did that ever occur to you?”
    “You shall never know if you marry her, will you? Choose a wife, Caden, a woman of noble blood. Lady Emery Calliot is quite beautiful and I believe she is besotted with you. If she is not to your liking, consider one of Lord Cedric’s nieces. All three are well-mannered, biddable, and lovely. There are countless others who would leap at the chance to be your bride. You need only choose one.”
    Caden did not answer; there was no use arguing with her. Despite her great love for her husband, Victoria did not understand her son’s reticence toward marriage. All she knew was that he had yet to marry, and because their elder brother had not wed, Asher and Jarin were taking their time selecting brides as well. So long as Caden was eligible, they were free from the matchmaking attempts of their mother.
    “Very well,” he said to placate her. “I am leaving at dawn to complete a task for Father. When I return to Minas Bothe, I promise you that I will begin to give the matter serious thought. In fact, you may invite the families of all of the eligible ladies you deem fitting so that I may spend time in their company. Whatever pretext you need to make the arrangements, use it, and I will make myself available. Will that make you happy?”
    Victoria smiled, her chest swelling with happiness. His mother was never more joyful than when she was entertaining. “Oh, Caden, what a splendid idea! It will be a grand visit, and I will only invite the very best candidates. You are bound to find a bride from amongst