Read Online The Mermaid's Knight by Jill Myles - Free Book Online

were just drifting shut when she heard the latch at the door lift. Muffin must have come back for something. She rolled over in bed to greet her.
    No words came out of her throat.
    Leah sat upright in bed, staring out into the darkness. Her mouth worked silently, and fright gripped her when she realized she couldn’t even scream for help. A figure loomed at the side of her bed and then bent in. Leah lifted her hand to strike – to fight back, anything – and then she recognized the angle of the jaw and the shadows of the eyes.
    Royce. In her bedroom?
    Surprised, she lowered her hand, though she remained wary. What did he want?
    He simply stared down at her. Then, finally, he said, “I thought I heard something.” Oh. Maybe he’d heard her coming up the secret passage. She made a mental note to be quieter the next time she used it.
    “No, I suppose that’s foolish, eh?” He sat down at the edge of the bed and she watched him. His face seemed tense, shadowed. “Foolish to think that there might still be a traitor in the
    castle after all. Or to think that you might be in danger – or that you might be the danger.” A hard, humorless chuckle escaped him. “When you spend enough years in battles, everything seems to be related to it. There is no place that is not a battlefield, even your own home.” He touched her hair thoughtfully, and a shiver of pleasure shot through Leah’s body at the gentle touch. “I remember the smell of the sea from long ago, when I was a boy. I never thought I’d smell it again in my own home… and yet I find that it’s you that smells of the sea more strongly than anything.”
    She said nothing, holding her breath.
    His rough fingers experimentally stroked the edge of her jaw. “Get some rest.” As if she’d be able to sleep.

Chapter Nine
    The next day, Ginny showed her a room called a ‘solar,’ which had charming window seats and a loom that looked to be long out of use. She had no idea how to use the loom, but the window seats were the perfect spot to work on her sewing. Leah spent the day letting the seams out of her other dress and waiting for Royce to find her again.
    Eventually, there was a knock at the solar door.
    Once again, her inability to speak proved to be a frustrating experience. She waited patiently until the door opened, and, to her surprise, Father Andrew walked in, a gentle smile on his face.
    “Hello, my child,” he said. “Do you mind if I join you for a time?” Pleased to see him again, Leah shook her head and returned his smile. The priest’s presence was a soothing one.
    “Are you busy?” Father Andrew took the window seat across from her and sat down, his hands clasped on the lap of his robes. His hair was mussed and a faint sheen of sweat lay on his brow. Leah assumed he must have been outside, for he looked rather flushed.
    In response to his question, she lifted her sewing and gave a wry smile of demonstration.
    “Ah, mending. It is good work for women with idle hands.” He beamed at her.
    Leah’s hands stilled at the rudeness of his words. Perhaps it wasn’t an insult to mock a woman’s intelligence in this time, but she was smart enough to realize condescension when she heard it. She put the sewing aside.
    “If you are done with your sewing, I have some things that need patching as well.” When Leah quirked an eyebrow at him, he had the grace to flush. “It’s for a man in the village. He—his wife died a short time ago and he’s got several small children, and no family to help him.” Leah immediately felt like a heel. Of course Father Andrew had the highest of intentions.
    And she, suspicious woman that she was, had dared to question him. Ashamed at her own response, Leah nodded.
    He seemed very relieved. “That is wonderful. I shall have him bring the clothing tomorrow and I’ll drop it here in the solar, if that’s all right.” At her assent, he leaned forward again. “My dear, if I may be so forward as to offer my