Read Online The Countess' Captive (The Fairytale Keeper Book 2) by Andrea Cefalo - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Andrea Cefalo
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Galadriel’s eyes are immediately apologetic. Even she knows this was the cruelest of questions. I couldn’t answer Galadriel even if I wanted to, though if I did, the answer would be yes.
Mama and Papa fought and argued, but Mama yelled back. She never cried over their fights. She got angry. So why does Galadriel cow to him? Why would a woman of her station let a man of his not only speak to her in such a manner, but take him and his unruly daughter into her home?
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” she asks coolly.
“Why are you taking us in?”
She does not answer, so I inch forward, lowering my voice. “Do you plan on leaving your affair at the gates of Bitsch? If you do not, won’t your people speculate? Such a thing could ruin you in the eyes of other men, noble men. “
“Since when do you know of such things?” Galadriel hisses before storming off toward the stairs.
I smile.
Their unnatural tryst unravels with little aid from me.
I fight sleep, hoping to hear what happens next. An hour or so passes, and the steps creak. The hinge to Father’s room opens with a whine. I tip–toe toward the wall we share, pressing my ear against it. Galadriel giggles girlishly, and the blankets rustle.
I cringe, swallowing a gag. Panic forces the disgust down. This is not good. I had to poison myself to make Father see reason. Galadriel disrobes, and he is blinded again. I shudder at the thought.
She’s not the only one who can play on his heart strings.
I stomp to my bed, announcing that I am awake. I sit on the bed and cough . I cough again louder, having a good fit. After the third spell, the door to their room creaks open. Someone knocks.
“Who is it?” I say, my voice deliberately hoarse.
“It’s Galadriel.” Her bell–like voice sounds more annoyed than concerned. “May I come in?” I open the door. “Are you unwell?”
“I think I might retch,” I say with deep insinuation. “Perhaps, you should send for Father.”
“Perhaps I should send for a doctor, as well.”
“If you think it best. You can sit here and wait for him if you like. I don’t think I can stay awake. I am so very tired.”
“You’re faking,” she says. “I know it. Do not forget what I warned you of. It shall only take one letter, Adelaide.”
“You said I had to behave within the walls of Bitsch.”
“Ah, that’s right, and we are not in the walls of Bitsch yet, are we?” She crosses her arms. “You so kindly reminded me of that moments ago. What was it that you said? That we should end our affair at the gates of Bitsch? That gives us one more night, does it not?” She smiles ruefully.
I start coughing violently.
“Stop it,” she hisses. “Or I’ll send that letter. I swear it.”
“You can only send that letter once. Then how shall you make me behave?”
“Yes, you are right about that. I can only send it once, but that is all it will take to send him to his death.”
She’s right. The door to their room opens. “Should we send for the doctor?” Father asks.
“No, Father.” I grip my throat. “I swallowed strangely. That’s all.”
Galadriel smiles in triumph, and they both return to his room.
I sleep with a pillow wrapped tightly around my ears, even though the potion is still heavy in my blood. Thank God I sleep deeply and dream of nothing, hearing nothing through these parchment–thin walls. At least nothing I can remember.
2 April 1248
Pleasant dreams elude me. I sleep dreamlessly, awoken by Galadriel’s light knocking on the door each morning.
We spent last night in a smaller town. Many affectionately call it Barbarossa Town, for it was a beloved hunting ground of our former emperor. The common name for this place somewhere between Cologne and my future purgatory is Landstuhl.
Galadriel knocks. I rise slowly and stretch. My head swims and stomach knots: tell–tale symptoms of too little sleep. Goose flesh rises along my arms. I yawn, and my
Mama and Papa fought and argued, but Mama yelled back. She never cried over their fights. She got angry. So why does Galadriel cow to him? Why would a woman of her station let a man of his not only speak to her in such a manner, but take him and his unruly daughter into her home?
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” she asks coolly.
“Why are you taking us in?”
She does not answer, so I inch forward, lowering my voice. “Do you plan on leaving your affair at the gates of Bitsch? If you do not, won’t your people speculate? Such a thing could ruin you in the eyes of other men, noble men. “
“Since when do you know of such things?” Galadriel hisses before storming off toward the stairs.
I smile.
Their unnatural tryst unravels with little aid from me.
I fight sleep, hoping to hear what happens next. An hour or so passes, and the steps creak. The hinge to Father’s room opens with a whine. I tip–toe toward the wall we share, pressing my ear against it. Galadriel giggles girlishly, and the blankets rustle.
I cringe, swallowing a gag. Panic forces the disgust down. This is not good. I had to poison myself to make Father see reason. Galadriel disrobes, and he is blinded again. I shudder at the thought.
She’s not the only one who can play on his heart strings.
I stomp to my bed, announcing that I am awake. I sit on the bed and cough . I cough again louder, having a good fit. After the third spell, the door to their room creaks open. Someone knocks.
“Who is it?” I say, my voice deliberately hoarse.
“It’s Galadriel.” Her bell–like voice sounds more annoyed than concerned. “May I come in?” I open the door. “Are you unwell?”
“I think I might retch,” I say with deep insinuation. “Perhaps, you should send for Father.”
“Perhaps I should send for a doctor, as well.”
“If you think it best. You can sit here and wait for him if you like. I don’t think I can stay awake. I am so very tired.”
“You’re faking,” she says. “I know it. Do not forget what I warned you of. It shall only take one letter, Adelaide.”
“You said I had to behave within the walls of Bitsch.”
“Ah, that’s right, and we are not in the walls of Bitsch yet, are we?” She crosses her arms. “You so kindly reminded me of that moments ago. What was it that you said? That we should end our affair at the gates of Bitsch? That gives us one more night, does it not?” She smiles ruefully.
I start coughing violently.
“Stop it,” she hisses. “Or I’ll send that letter. I swear it.”
“You can only send that letter once. Then how shall you make me behave?”
“Yes, you are right about that. I can only send it once, but that is all it will take to send him to his death.”
She’s right. The door to their room opens. “Should we send for the doctor?” Father asks.
“No, Father.” I grip my throat. “I swallowed strangely. That’s all.”
Galadriel smiles in triumph, and they both return to his room.
I sleep with a pillow wrapped tightly around my ears, even though the potion is still heavy in my blood. Thank God I sleep deeply and dream of nothing, hearing nothing through these parchment–thin walls. At least nothing I can remember.
2 April 1248
Pleasant dreams elude me. I sleep dreamlessly, awoken by Galadriel’s light knocking on the door each morning.
We spent last night in a smaller town. Many affectionately call it Barbarossa Town, for it was a beloved hunting ground of our former emperor. The common name for this place somewhere between Cologne and my future purgatory is Landstuhl.
Galadriel knocks. I rise slowly and stretch. My head swims and stomach knots: tell–tale symptoms of too little sleep. Goose flesh rises along my arms. I yawn, and my
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