Read Online Notorious by Virginia Henley - Free Book Online

from being a child to being a wife with nothing in between. I want some independence like you had!”
    â€œLike me?”
    â€œYes, you lived in Wales and then you lived in Scotland—places I’ve never even seen. When you were my age you left your family and went away to court to be a lady in waiting to a royal princess.”
    â€œYou were in Windsor with me at Queen Isabelle’s Court.”
    â€œMother, I was there as your child, not as a lady in waiting.”
    â€œSo you think I have you tethered to me on a leading string!” Jory took a deep breath. “I went to Wales as a bride, an unwilling bride, married to a stranger. I went to Scotland as a widow. I want to protect you from making the foolish mistakes I made.”
    Brianna was suddenly riven with guilt. Jory was the most loving mother in the entire world. “All I want is a small taste of freedom, a chance to make my own choices for a year. Then I shall be perfectly content to wed Lincoln Robert and become a devoted wife.”
    Jory let out a relieved breath. She takes it for granted that Lincoln Robert will be her husband. We have naught to worry about.
    Â 
    Wolf Mortimer paced the battlements of Warwick Castle deep in thought. Tomorrow they would ride south and tonight was his last chance to communicate with Brianna de Beauchamp. Though he had seen her every day, they had never been alone together since that afternoon in the river. It seemed as if the de Bohun brothers stalked her and she did nothing to discourage their company. If she went to the mews, the falconer was with her; if she rode out from the castle, a groom attended her; if she visited the garden, her mother’s ladies were ever present.
    Wolf placed his hands on the crenellated wall and gazed up at the stars in the night-black sky. He had never explored the full depth of his powers and did not know all the capabilities they encompassed, or their limitations. He had always refrained from using them on a whim. Until tonight.
    He focused all his concentration on Brianna. His mind’s eye saw her clearly. She was asleep in her bed and she was dreaming. Gradually, he took control of her dream and spun a new story for her to explore. Once more she was indulging in a game of chance. As she won each throw of the dice, her confidence grew and she risked higher stakes.
    The moment she became reckless, she lost. She refused to pay her debt and instead, she woke up. She sat up in bed and threw back the covers, slightly disoriented. Was I gambling in the hall before I came to bed, or was it just a dream? Brianna was unsure because the details were so vivid.
    She reached for her bed robe and put it on over her night rail. The room seemed to trap her. She had an urge to get some fresh air and then the need to escape became compelling. She felt a strong desire to go up on the castle battlements. She longed to see the stars and feel the warm night air on her face. Brianna had never before experienced such a yearning. Until tonight.
    She moved silently, determined to disturb no one as she ascended the tower stairs that led to the ramparts. She stepped out and moved slowly along the crenellated wall. She stopped to gaze up at the stars and sensed that another was there in the darkness. Strangely, she was not surprised. Somehow, she had known all along that she would not be alone. She sensed the presence was overtly male and though she tried to deny it, she knew his identity.
    Brianna wanted to turn and run. If she did not withdraw now, perhaps escape would be impossible. Yet because retreat was not in her nature, she hesitated.
    â€œYou have come to pay your debt in private.”
    â€œWhat debt could I possibly owe you, Wolf Mortimer?”
    â€œA gambling debt.”
    â€œI didn’t gamble tonight.”
    â€œAre you suggesting that I dreamt it, mistress?”
    Her pulses quickened. We could not have had the same dream. “I won every roll of the