Read Online The Beauty Bride (The Jewels of Kinfairlie) by Delacroix Claire - Free Book Online Page B

eyes
glowing.
    “Indeed,
one such man did,” Rhys agreed. “And as you might anticipate, he was smitten at
the sight of this rare beauty. Some say that she was singing and that her voice
was such a marvel that he was enchanted. Others recount that it was her beauty
alone that snared him. I heard that she had hair as dark as a raven’s wing, and
eyes that flashed like sapphires. I have heard that he had only to see her the
once to lose his heart completely.”
    Madeline
cast him a glance at this description, which so nearly matched her own, and
Rhys held her gaze as he continued. “She was a beauty beyond beauties, that
much is for certain, and her character was no less attractive than her face.
And so, the mortal man was smitten, and in the hope of winning her attention,
he offered to share his bread with her.”
    Rhys
glanced down at the table, knowing Madeline’s gaze would follow his own, and
considered the trencher cut of bread that they were to share. Madeline’s cheeks
were stained with sudden color and she looked across the hall.
    “And
what happened?” Elizabeth demanded.
    “The
fairy maiden said that his bread was too hard. She may have laughed at his
dismay, then she disappeared beneath the water, scarcely leaving a ripple on
its surface.”
    “Oh.”
Elizabeth was clearly disappointed, thinking the tale finished, but Vivienne
spoke up.
    “He
probably did not give up easily.”
    “Indeed
he did not, for love is a fearsome power. He knew that he had to win this
maiden’s favor, and he did not care how difficult the task might prove to be.
No man of merit surrenders readily to the challenge of his lady’s desire.”
    A
page placed meat upon the trencher and Rhys nudged the choice morsels toward
Madeline. She glanced down, took nothing, and looked away again, her back
straight.
    Rhys
was not deterred.
    “The
man returned home and sought his mother’s counsel, and that woman gave him
bread the following morning which had not been baked. He went back to the same
place, and was thrilled to find the lake maiden there again. He offered to
share this bread, but she laughed and said it was too soft for her. With that,
she disappeared into the lake once more.”
    “And
the third day?” Elizabeth prompted.
    “On
the third day, he brought bread that was half-baked, and the fairy maiden liked
it very well. Indeed, I suspect that she liked that he labored so determinedly
to win her favor.” Vivienne laughed at this, though Madeline drew slightly away
from Rhys. Did she find herself susceptible to his meager charm, or was she
repulsed by him? He could not guess, but continued on. “No sooner had she eaten
of the bread, though, than she disappeared again into the lake. The man was
disappointed by this, for he thought the fairy maiden spurned him.”
    The
girls were rapt, and even Madeline glanced over her shoulder at Rhys. “Did he
abandon his quest, then?” she asked and Rhys let himself smile.
    “Did
I not mention that love had a hold upon him? No sooner had he begun to fret
than three resplendent figures rose from depths of the lake. They walked across
its surface to him, their garb and jewels glittering in the sunlight. There
were two maidens, each as beautiful as the other, both so similar as to have
been the same woman in two places. They stood on either side of an older
gentleman in fine garb, who informed the mortal man that he was the king of the
fairies beneath the lake. The king offered one of his daughters in marriage to
the mortal man, if that man could identify which daughter had accepted his
bread.”
    Rhys
pursed his lips. “This was no easy task. The man looked between them and feared
that he would fail, for he could discern no difference between the sisters. And
just when he thought all to be lost, the one on the right slid her foot
slightly forward. For you see, the fairy maiden had fallen in love with the
mortal man, and she did not desire to lose him.”
    He
captured Madeline’s hand