Read Online The Lady of the Storm - 2 by Kathryne Kennedy - Free Book Online

aberrations, does it not?”
    “I was perfectly ordinary until yesterday.”
    “You, my dear lady, were never ordinary.”
    She gave him an odd look, but didn’t reply, only handed him a much-smaller bundle of tightly rolled clothing. He accepted it this time, striding out to her horse and stuffing it into the empty bag he’d left for her things. He checked the horses’ shoes again, the straps of the saddles, and when she didn’t appear he went back into the cottage.
    She stood in the middle of the room, her magnificent eyes bright with tears. “I will just fetch Father and return. I will sit at this loom again, and spin my cloth. I will swim in my ocean with my friends. I will cook at that fire and embroider Father’s shirts. I will not so easily give up this life I’ve worked so hard for.”
    Giles had a feeling she would never return to this little cottage but he said nothing. If it comforted her to believe she would one day return, he wouldn’t take that from her.
    Such an odd young woman. He constantly sought change, yearned for excitement. If it hadn’t been for the distraction spying on Cecily had provided, he might have gone mad with boredom these past nine years.
    It was time to start a new life. His heart jumped at the thought, and he could not keep the eagerness from his voice. “Come. It’s dangerous to tarry.”
    She followed him out this time, turned and closed the door firmly behind her, latching it with a murmur of a promise. Belle nickered and Cecily smiled at the small mare, pulling an apple from within the folds of her skirts.
    Giles studied her beneath lowered lids. Cecily wore a riding habit, the coat similar to his own, but with pearl buttons instead of his dull brass. Her skirts lacked a hoop, which made mounting and riding easier, and the wool cloth would be sturdy enough for their journey. She’d placed a straw hat over her mobcap and wore her hair in a single plait down her back.
    An odd mixture of dress that spoke of a working-class woman with the elegance of a lady. But he knew she’d acquired the pearls using her magical abilities and not through trade, and that the fine weave of the cloth came from her own efforts.
    A remarkable young woman. But not for the likes of him.
    She scrambled into the saddle without his assistance, scowling as she wrapped her leg about the saddle’s support, but too much of a lady to suggest she ride astride. She smoothed down her skirts and patted Belle’s neck.
    “Clever of you,” said Giles as he mounted his gelding.
    “What do you mean?”
    “The apple.”
    She shrugged. “Father taught me about bribery.”
    And apparently that should have explained everything, for she said no more, just watched him with an expectant look on her lovely face.
    Giles nodded and tapped Apollo with his heels, the beast starting out at a brisk pace. Despite his success with the village girls, Cecily often made him feel like an untried youth, clumsy and flustered in her presence. Fortunately his natural elven grace hid most of his human failings, so he didn’t think he betrayed his uneasiness around her.
    To make it all worse, he began to suspect that he might have been wrong about Cecily’s feelings for him. She used her disdain for him like a shield, as if she sought to hide her true sensibilities.
    And he had never quite managed to erase the vision of her in his bed.
    Fie! Perhaps it was only wishful thinking. He could not have the one woman he truly wanted. Whether she knew it or not, they came from entirely different social classes, and as soon as they reached Firehame this would become very clear to her.
    He would rather not face the humiliation of her rejection once she realized her true status, so he would just have to ignore this attraction… and never allow her to guess he felt it.
    Giles started to get warm and stripped off his jacket then his neck cloth and finally opened the topmost buttons of his shirt. Then realized his discomfort came not from the