Read Online The Knight and the Dove by Lori Wick - Free Book Online Page B

with defeat. It was true.
    “Come, my nephew.” Louisa became all at once brisk. “Let’s go into the war room, and you can tell me all that has transpired.”

Eight
    T WENTY MINUTES LATER L OUISA asked her first question, her expression one of stark disbelief.
    “She actually worked in the creamery?”
    “Don’t look at me that way, Aunt Lou.” Her nephew’s look was helpless.
    “Bracken,” Louisa said patiently, truly wanting to understand, “I heard the girl. There is no way a woman with that voice could be mistaken for a serf.”
    Bracken shook his head. “Evidently she spoke to no one. She did her work, ate in the courtyard with the other servants, and slept each night in the smithy’s.”
    Louisa just stared at him, and Bracken knew he had to tell all.
    “There is more.”
    Louisa waited.
    “She walks in her sleep.”
    The woman blinked. “You’re certain of this?”
    “I witnessed it myself. I was going to have her live in the tower apartments with you, but now that is out of the question.”
    “Yes, I can see that it would be.” Louisa replied thoughtfully, and they both fell silent for a time.
    “You say she actually slept in your blacksmith’s shop?” Louisa seemed unable to let the matter drop.
    “I’m afraid so.”
    “What will her father say?”
    Bracken shook his head. “I can’t think that he’ll be overly pleased, but it was hardly my fault; her mother sent her early.”
    “Why would she do such a thing?”
    “I have not been able to gain more answers. Megan talks in her sleep as well, and mentioned that she’d been sent without her full ward-robe. I would like to know more, but if she knows she spoke to me in her sleep, she will feel shamed.”
    Louisa’s eyes softened. “You care for her, don’t you, Bracken.”
    “Heaven help me, I do!” the young earl burst out. He came to his feet and began to pace. “I’ve known her 24 hours, and she has interrupted my entire life, but I can’t get her from my mind!”
    “What of the blonde woman you met at court?”
    “Her older sister, Marigold. I spoke of her with Megan, but I do not think them very close.”
    “But you do find Megan attractive.”
    A sudden smile parted Bracken’s dark beard, and his voice softened. “Ah, yes. She is as lovely a maid as I’ve ever seen. I do find her most comely.”
    Louisa was well pleased, but her practical side came to the fore. “Do you think her capable of managing a fortress as large as Hawkings Crest?”
    “Yes,” Bracken admitted grudgingly, thinking about the way she stood up to him. However, the face of his steward flashed into his mind as well.
    “Nevertheless, you heard the men. It’s not going to be easy.” Bracken had begun to growl, but he worked at calming himself. Knowing his aunt would grasp his meaning beyond the words, he made one last comment.
    “I am beginning to think that marriage to Megan might be more trouble than it is worth.”
    “But as you have reminded me, we have little choice in the matter.” Megan’s voice came from the doorway, and Bracken spun in surprise. “I will honor my father’s wishes and those of my king and become your wife,” Megan went on, her tone wooden. “But it is a relief to know, Lord Bracken, just exactly how you feel.”
    Megan left as quietly as she’d entered, and Bracken stood as though made of granite. Louisa’s heart ached at the pain she saw in his face.
    “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” Bracken’s voice was hushed in the still room, and his eyes never left the closed portal.
    “I know you didn’t, Bracken. Maybe if you try to explain…”
    But Bracken was shaking his head. “I think her pride is as great as my own. I will have to give her time.”
    Even with the little she had seen of Megan, Louisa was forced to agree. They spoke of sleeping arrangements for the next few moments and then went their separate ways, Louisa to settle herself in a suite of rooms down the corridor from Megan, and