Read Online Tender is the Knight by Kathryn Le Veque - Free Book Online
Authors: Kathryn Le Veque
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termed even remotely pleasant. It was like watching the swirls of a vicious storm. After a moment, she turned to her brother.
“Treaty or no, Dennis, I shall kill this one. I swear it.”
Dennis ’ expression was as even as always, even in the face of a death threat. “You will do nothing of the sort. And I will never hear those words from your mouth again. Is that clear?”
Charlotte tried to rein her horse sharply away from him with no intention of answering, but he grasped the reins and stopped the horse in its tracks. The beast snorted and stomped as Dennis’ gaze fixed on his sister.
“ Ryan is my wife,” he said. “That means that I would protect her with my life, even against you. If so much as a hair on her head is disturbed, I will forget you are my sister and do what is necessary to avenge and protect my wife. Do you comprehend me?”
Charlotte grumbled something, yanked her horse’s reins from her brother’s hands, and tore off in the direction of the keep. Dennis watched her go, his features expressionless, before turning to Ryan.
“’Twould be best to stay clear of her for a while,” he said quietly. “She, like those at Launceston, is opposed to this marriage.”
Ryan gazed up at him; he was so tall that she had to crane her neck back. His gray eyes locked with her golden-brown and after a long moment, she smiled weakly.
“ I defended you against de Lohr,” she said. “I would expect that you would defend me against your sister.”
He could not help the flicker of a smile that crossed his lips; it was difficult to resist. “I suppose,” he stroked his bearded chin. “But I did not antagonize de Lohr. You deliberately provoked my sister.”
“She was deliberately provoking me ,” Ryan countered. “Should I have just let her get away with it and let her know she can insult me at her will? I think not. I must establish the rules of this game at the beginning, my lord.”
His gray eyes were twinkling again. “I do not imagine anyone can get the better of you, can they?”
She wriggled her eyebrows at him, a coy gesture he found charming. But her response was cut off by Bute charging Dennis’ legs, yet this time his greaves prevented his shins from being bruised. He simply looked at the goat as it rammed against him stubbornly.
“He doesn’t like me, does he?” he muttered.
Ryan reined the goat back, easily distracting him with a cluster of dried sea grass. “Do not feel bad,” she said. “He does not like anyone around me. He barely tolerates Lyla.”
Dennis cocked an eyebrow at the beast. “That will change, lady, when you and I sleep in the same bed. I shall not forbid you your pet, but I shall be damned if a stubborn little goat is going to pound me all night.”
At the mention of sleeping in the same bed with him, Ryan felt her legs tremble. It was the strangest sensation she had ever experienced, good or bad she could not tell. It almost made her forget her train of thought.
“I… I am sure he will become accustomed to you, my lord,” she stammered.
He thought that she was upset by his statement. What else would explain her lowered head and stuttering words?
“Perhaps,” he said, noticing her redden cheeks. “You must be weary from travel, my lady. I am sure you would like to rest.”
Ryan glanced at the keep, a quirky smile on her lips. “Your sister is probably lying in wait for me in my chamber.”
Dennis shook his head and gently took her arm, leading her back to her palfrey. “We are sharing my chamber. Charlotte would be foolish to go anywhere near it.”
“Does she always dress as a knight?”
“She does. And she fights like one, too.”
“I do not understand. Who permits her to do this? What of her husband?”
“Charlotte is not married and she has been schooled in the warring ways since she was very young. When I fostered as a squire, so did she. Instead of being schooled in the arts of ladies, she insisted on learning the warring
“Treaty or no, Dennis, I shall kill this one. I swear it.”
Dennis ’ expression was as even as always, even in the face of a death threat. “You will do nothing of the sort. And I will never hear those words from your mouth again. Is that clear?”
Charlotte tried to rein her horse sharply away from him with no intention of answering, but he grasped the reins and stopped the horse in its tracks. The beast snorted and stomped as Dennis’ gaze fixed on his sister.
“ Ryan is my wife,” he said. “That means that I would protect her with my life, even against you. If so much as a hair on her head is disturbed, I will forget you are my sister and do what is necessary to avenge and protect my wife. Do you comprehend me?”
Charlotte grumbled something, yanked her horse’s reins from her brother’s hands, and tore off in the direction of the keep. Dennis watched her go, his features expressionless, before turning to Ryan.
“’Twould be best to stay clear of her for a while,” he said quietly. “She, like those at Launceston, is opposed to this marriage.”
Ryan gazed up at him; he was so tall that she had to crane her neck back. His gray eyes locked with her golden-brown and after a long moment, she smiled weakly.
“ I defended you against de Lohr,” she said. “I would expect that you would defend me against your sister.”
He could not help the flicker of a smile that crossed his lips; it was difficult to resist. “I suppose,” he stroked his bearded chin. “But I did not antagonize de Lohr. You deliberately provoked my sister.”
“She was deliberately provoking me ,” Ryan countered. “Should I have just let her get away with it and let her know she can insult me at her will? I think not. I must establish the rules of this game at the beginning, my lord.”
His gray eyes were twinkling again. “I do not imagine anyone can get the better of you, can they?”
She wriggled her eyebrows at him, a coy gesture he found charming. But her response was cut off by Bute charging Dennis’ legs, yet this time his greaves prevented his shins from being bruised. He simply looked at the goat as it rammed against him stubbornly.
“He doesn’t like me, does he?” he muttered.
Ryan reined the goat back, easily distracting him with a cluster of dried sea grass. “Do not feel bad,” she said. “He does not like anyone around me. He barely tolerates Lyla.”
Dennis cocked an eyebrow at the beast. “That will change, lady, when you and I sleep in the same bed. I shall not forbid you your pet, but I shall be damned if a stubborn little goat is going to pound me all night.”
At the mention of sleeping in the same bed with him, Ryan felt her legs tremble. It was the strangest sensation she had ever experienced, good or bad she could not tell. It almost made her forget her train of thought.
“I… I am sure he will become accustomed to you, my lord,” she stammered.
He thought that she was upset by his statement. What else would explain her lowered head and stuttering words?
“Perhaps,” he said, noticing her redden cheeks. “You must be weary from travel, my lady. I am sure you would like to rest.”
Ryan glanced at the keep, a quirky smile on her lips. “Your sister is probably lying in wait for me in my chamber.”
Dennis shook his head and gently took her arm, leading her back to her palfrey. “We are sharing my chamber. Charlotte would be foolish to go anywhere near it.”
“Does she always dress as a knight?”
“She does. And she fights like one, too.”
“I do not understand. Who permits her to do this? What of her husband?”
“Charlotte is not married and she has been schooled in the warring ways since she was very young. When I fostered as a squire, so did she. Instead of being schooled in the arts of ladies, she insisted on learning the warring
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