Read Online Purebred by Georgia Fox - Free Book Online Page A

almost
smiled.
    The third bite was larger, greedier
and made Alonso completely forget his conversation with the groom.
He glanced hastily around the yard and seeing no one else watching,
he moved closer until he was directly under her window.
    He was still thinking of something to
say, when she began to hum a soft, lilting tune. One he recognized
as a tune the minstrels often played. Then she began to sing in the
tongue of their conquered land.
     
    Bryd one brere, brid, brid
one brere,
Kynd is come of love, love to crave
Blythful biryd, on me thu rewe
Or greyth, lef, greith thu me my grave.
    Alonso leaned against the wall below
her window, looking out into the yard in case the Baron should
appear.
    "You are the bird on my briar, Lady
Isobel," he said as she paused her song.
    "You, mercenary, should not speak to
me," she replied softly, her voice falling through the air to where
he stood, like petals tossed to a serenading lover. "My lord Louvet
would not like it."
    "I do not care what your lord likes." He
paused. "I care what you like."
    She sang on,
    Hic am so blithe, so
bryhit, brid on brere,
Quan I se that hende in halle:
Yhe is whit of lime, loveli, trewe
Yhe is fayr and flur of alle.
    "I need to see you without him," he
said suddenly, surprising himself and apparently her too. She
paused her song on a hiccup.
    "That is impossible, as well you
know."
    "Nothing, Isobel, is
impossible."
    "How dare you address me
thus?"
    "I thought you were no coward? Is that
not what you told me?"
     
    Silence.
     
    "Isobel?"
     
    Crunch .
     
    "Isobel, I will come to your chamber
this afternoon, or you can come to the stables." Louvet would be at
his half-built chapel for a few hours, looking over the
construction progress and stealing coin from the donation plate no
doubt. He had installed a statue that he claimed contained the
blood of several martyrs, and with this lure to draw pilgrims from
across the land he hoped to collect a tidy amount for his own
coffers. It was one of the few times when he left the safe walls of
his manor and therefore it would be a rare opportunity for the two
of them to be alone together.
    The more Alonso thought of it, the
more he wanted it. There was much he could not say or do under the
watchful eye of her husband.
    But she resumed her song
through a mouthful of juicy apple.
    Mikte ic hire at wille
haven,
Stedefast of love, loveli, trewe,
Of mi sorwe yhe may me saven
Ioye and blisse were were me newe.
     
    "Isobel—"
    "Stop calling me that."
    "‘Tis your name."
    "But I do not call
you...Alonso."
    He liked the sound of his name on her
lips. "You should." He chuckled. "Better that than
Bastard-son-of-a-whore."
    "What do you want from me? You know
what Louvet expects. You heard his rules."
    "The d'Anzeray do not care for
rules."
    "I wonder what you do care about,
mercenary."
    Alonso had no immediate answer, at
least none that made any sense. He could hear her scornful comments
already if he ever suggested his feelings for her had grown beyond
lust. "You will find out if you meet with me in secret, my
lady."
    He heard her sigh gustily. "How
tiresome you are to stand beneath my window and tempt me with vague
promises. Anyone might think you a lovelorn suitor."
    He grinned. "In that case I would be
the one singing to you, my lady, not the other way
about."
    "I sing not to you, fool!
I sing for my own pleasure. Purely that and for no other
reason." Crunch .
"In any case," she mumbled through another mouthful of apple, "I'm
sure I sing better than you."
    "Indeed, Lady Isobel. You would not
want me to sing to you, I fear. You would be forced to cover your
ears or feel them bleed."
    This time he made her laugh. It was a
soft, shy sound he had never before heard and it lifted his
heart.
    When she suddenly tossed the remains
of her apple down to him, he saw she had scratched a word in the
green peel.
    Yes.
    What it meant he had no idea. Yes to
what?
    Above his head her shutters closed
with a bang, leaving him with her