Read Online His Lady Bride (Brothers in Arms) by Shayla Black, Shelley Bradley - Free Book Online

would not quibble with her. Instead, he cast a glance at the meager blanket on his bed and realized she might indeed have been chilled. He held in a grimace.
    From years of battle, he was accustomed to sleeping in the out of doors, oft without any cover at all. Gwenyth was unused to such. For all her durable façade, his wife was tender in years and experience and so required certain comforts.
    He rose to retrieve his robe from the chest in the corner. When he returned to her side, he curled his hands about her shoulders and urged her to lie back upon the fragrant mattress. Gwenyth obeyed his silent command, though she remained stiff, her eyes guarded.
    When she lay upon her back, Aric draped the fur-trimmed robe over her prone form and tucked it, along with his blanket, beneath her chin.
    Their faces lay mere inches apart. Aric saw her mouth quiver below his, and he ached to taste her once more, to remind himself of her honeyed flavor. Still, he had made progress this night, and shattering this cozy mood by demanding more than she wished to give would gain him naught.
    Sighing, he brushed her cheek with a slow stroke of his thumb. “Try to rest well tonight. Tomorrow we will set the bed to rights.”
    Her eyes wide, Gwenyth nodded. Aric turned away with a smile. Aye, he had her attention now.
     
    * * * *
     
    When Aric had promised her the night before they would set the bed to rights this day, then caressed her face with that warm, tender touch that could melt metal, she had no notion he meant to take her into the village.
    As they stood on the outskirts of the little town, Gwenyth held back. How would people receive her now that she was wed to Aric?
    Seemingly unaware of her trepidation, Aric grabbed her hand in his much larger one and pulled her into the melee.
    Dust rose in a thin, brown haze around the small gathering of humanity. The pungent scents of animals and people mixed into something familiar and not altogether pleasant.
    Children scampered ahead of them, chasing a yapping mutt. At Aric’s side, Dog tensed. Aric stayed the animal with a curt word, and Dog fell into step beside his master once again. Gwenyth marveled at his command of the half-wild animal.
    She noticed the village was more crowded than usual. Women bustled about, spreading gossip and cheer. Newly arrived merchants in their long black capuchins were setting up booths and displaying their wares for the Mayday festival two days hence. The air tingled with excitement. Gwenyth could almost hear the revelers singing now.
    “Cor, ’tis the sorcerer!” shouted a dirty-faced boy ahead of them.
    Villagers began turning about slowly. The gossip and good cheer ceased, quickly replaced by a rumble of anxious murmurs that disturbed the cool breeze.
    Determined to ignore them, Gwenyth spotted the smithy’s wife, Ilda, standing beneath an ancient willow, her infant son in her arms. A smile spread across Gwenyth’s face as she left Aric to approach the young woman. She had not seen Ilda since helping the woman tend her children when Ilda’s ankle had pained her a month ago. ’Twould be good to see a friend and make sure all was well once more.
    As Gwenyth reached Ilda’s side, the thin woman peered at her through wide, startled eyes and began backing away.
    Was the woman ill? Frowning with concern, Gwenyth reached out to touch the woman. The smithy’s wife jerked away and stepped back.
    “Ilda, fear not. ’Tis only me, Gwenyth. I came to ask about your ankle and little James. Is all well?”
    Ilda did not answer. Instead, her eyes widened more. Something akin to terror tempered with pity filled the pale depths. What could the woman be frightened of?
    “Ilda?”
    The woman’s pale complexion turned completely ashen. She gripped her babe to her chest, her stare directed somewhere just past Gwenyth’s shoulder.
    Gwenyth glanced back to find Aric standing a few feet behind her, his jaw locked. A glance back at Ilda showed the woman deep in dismay,