Read Online The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) by Bridie Blake - Free Book Online Page B

in.
    Tempani
frowned as he walked in. Silently cursing him for interrupting her chat with
Darby.
    “Ah
Nicolass, what a pleasant surprise,” said Darby as he offered a chair to the
young man. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
    “Your
charming guest brings me here,” he replied and smiled at Tempani, who scowled
in return. “I thought I might take her for a trip into Fenella before she
returns home.”
    Darby
threw his hands into the air. “What a wonderful idea.”
    “I
was hoping to stay here longer,” she said, the pleading in her voice obvious.
    “Nonsense.
You don’t want to be stuck indoors with an old man all day. Go, enjoy yourself,
and we will visit here another day.”
    Nicolass
offered his arm, and she had no option but to take it graciously. He led her
down the front steps and assisted her in climbing onto Mincha. If he was
surprised when she didn’t sit side-saddle, he didn’t show it.
    She
nudged her mare forwards and then turned her left.
    “Fenella’s
the other way,” Nicolass said as he pulled his mare up alongside hers.
    “And
you are forgetting that I never agreed to accompany you there,” she spat.
    “You
do know I could order you to accompany me?” He asked. “And your men-at-arms
here would be in no position to disobey.”
    “They
are in my father’s employ; therefore, they will do as I say,” she said. “If you
would like to try them, then by all means go ahead. Order me to go with you.”
    She
held his gaze, hoping he would not take her up on her bluff.
    Nicolass
shrugged. “I will just take you there another day,” he said. “It will give me
another opportunity to call on you.”
    “I
am sure I will be busy that day.”
    Nicolass
grinned, amused by her resistance. “You don’t like me very much do you?”
    “And
that comes as a surprise to you?”
    “If
I have offended you, I am deeply sorry.”
    “If?”
She cried. “You clearly do not remember what a vile boy you were. One moment
sticks out clearly in my mind,” she said dangerously. “The day you told Chae
and myself that we were not to play with you. We were savages. Our only purpose
was to serve you.”
    “I
was a child.” He cried. “I am not that person anymore.”
    She
raised her eyebrows at him, clearly unconvinced.
    “You
must accept my apology. I was ignorant back then. I know that now,” he said.
“Chae has forgiven me, are you able to do the same?”
    Could
she forgive him? He had been a boy when he’d said such horrible things to her
and when he’d picked on her and Teddy. But Teddy had been a boy too, and he
knew the difference between right and wrong. He had always been kind to her.
They had been raised by the same parents and rules, yet Nicolass had chosen to
be a self-important boy and Teddy hadn’t. She didn’t want to forgive him. He
hadn’t shown her he was any different now, and she honestly didn’t care to see
if he was.
    “Surely
you do not seek forgiveness from every person you have ever offended in your
life, so why be so determined to ask it of me?”
    “You
are the sister of my close friend, the daughter of my mentor, and you are the
most beautiful lady I have ever laid eyes on,” he said breathlessly.
    She
blushed from embarrassment as Rando coughed awkwardly and looked down at his
hands, trying to give the pair as much privacy as he could allow while his
gelding stood beside Mincha.
    “Flattery
will not gain my affections. I am not so vain as most ladies that you can give
me a smile, call me beautiful and all is forgotten.”
    “I
would not want you to be so vain as most ladies,” he said, watching her closely
for her reaction. His heart hammered against his chest. No woman had ever had
this effect on him before. He flirted with them and felt nothing, but this was
different. He wanted her to smile with him the way she did when she was around
Teddy. He had watched her laugh with Dahlia and talk to Madoc with envy. When
he was near she tensed, her eyes were angry and