Read Online If He's Daring by Hannah Howell - Free Book Online

you come downstairs. Did not wish it to sit there tempting us and getting cold until you arrived.”
    She started to ask why he would think she would take so long that their meal would grow cold when the maid and two young boys brought in the food and drink. Catryn was tempted to have some of the wine but chose cider instead, for she wanted to be certain she woke in the morning with a clear head. As the scent of roasted chicken and a nice array of potatoes and vegetables hit her nose, it made her all too aware of just how hungry she was. Catryn knew she was about to break one of the rules ladies were all taught to follow. She was not going to eat sparingly.
    And was that not a silly thing to be concerned about, she thought and nearly laughed. She was at an inn and was traveling with a man who was no relation to her and not her husband. Even a widow would raise eyebrows by doing so. It did not matter that the man she was with had his son with him, either. Anyone who recognized her, unless they were the closest, dearest of friends, would be utterly scandalized. How much she ate was the least of her concerns.
    “I want you to tell me everything you can about your brother-in-law,” Orion said.
    “What good will that do?” she asked. “You already know what he has done and why.”
    “Everything can be useful. It will help me judge what route he may take, what decisions he might make along the way, and perhaps even what sort of place he would stop at.”
    “Well, he is much like a spoiled child, to tell the truth. He wants what he wants when he wants it but has never had the character to even stick to the fight needed to get it. It is why I was so surprised that he would keep at us in the courts. That was very unlike him. It would have been much more like him to try and destroy something that had been left to Alwyn, such as trying to burn the manor house down or the like.”
    “Despite the fact that he wants it?”
    “That would not occur to him until he calmed down. And even then, he would find satisfaction in the fact that, since he could not have it, now neither could Alwyn. As I said, much like a spoiled child.”
    “Do you think that sort of behavior is why your husband did not name him your son’s guardian?”
    Catryn grimaced and ate a piece of delicious herb-seasoned chicken as she thought over her answer. “Henry did not like Morris, did not trust him. Morris felt much the same about Henry. I often wondered if Morris disliked his brother just because he was born first, actually faulted him for that. In most other ways, they were very much alike in their habits and vices, so one would have thought they would have been close. Yet, though my husband did love to gamble, he most often won and never approached that cliff where just one more ill-advised bet will beggar you. Morris was never so careful.”
    Orion nodded and sipped at his wine. “So your husband was certain that all he had clung to would be lost if Morris was in control.”
    “Yes. Morris cannot seem to resist a bet, a chance to rake in huge winnings. He always thinks he has found the perfect way to fill his purse without working. He is prone to believing anyone who promises him a massive return on an investment. My husband was forever covering his losses, at least covering them enough so that Morris did not end up in prison or worse.”
    “Did Morris stay with you very often?”
    “No. They could not abide each other’s company much, and that suited me. I do not like or trust Morris and never have. The fact that Henry felt the same was a relief. I was sad that my son had no fond uncle to turn to from time to time, especially since my husband had so little to do with him, but it was just a brief, occasional sadness caused by watching other uncles with their nieces and nephews. Another man to teach Alwyn how to go on would have been nice. My father does what he can, but he should not be having to raise another child.”
    “And how does Morris treat