A Knight's Seduction by Catherine Kean

Author:Catherine Kean [Kean, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Goodreads: 18587883
Publisher: Catherine Kean
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Claire walked beside Mary, following the raised stone wall of the herb beds peeking through the snow. In hushed tones, Claire said, “Remember to nod and smile as though I am telling you an amusing story.”

“All right.” Mary managed a grin. “Are you going to tell me terrible news?”

“Nay.”

“Thank goodness, because if that were so—”

“Listen, now,” Claire said, more sharply than she’d intended. “I am sorry. I do not mean to be impatient, but I do not know how much longer we have until Tye separates us again.”

In the sunlight filtering down through the fruit trees, Mary looked troubled, but she dipped her head and smiled. “Go on.”

“I may need your help. ’Twill depend whether I can get to the storage chambers myself or not.”

“The chambers beneath the keep?”

“Aye. Last night, Lady Brackendale was having nightmares, and Tye took me to her chamber to calm her. She told me of a secret passageway in the room that holds the wine and ale. ’Tis a way into the castle that de Lanceau will know from when he lived here as a child. I must somehow get to the cellars and unlock the door, so all is ready when his lordship arrives with his army to confront Tye.”

Mary frowned. “That sounds dangerous. If Tye finds out, or even worse, his mother… The way she treated Lady Brackendale in the hall—”

“I know,” Claire said, “but it may be the only way to free us all. ’Tis a risk the strong-willed damsels in our stories would take, if they were in our predicament.”

Mary laughed softly. “Thank goodness for strong-willed damsels.”

“Will you help me?”

“Of course. Whatever you need me to do, I shall do.” Her smile didn’t completely hide her grimace. “I shall be utterly terrified, my stomach twisted in knots, my knees banging together like broken shutters, but I shall think of our defiant damsels and do my best. And I promise not to faint this time. Not unless you need me to.”

Claire squeezed Mary’s arm. “Thank you. Now, help me think of a good reason to visit the cellars. One that Tye and his men will believe.”

“Hmm.” A pair of jays, flitting through the overhead boughs, suddenly swooped down over the garden beds ahead of them. “I suppose ’tis not enough to claim that Tye’s conquest of Wode has driven you to drink?”

Claire shook her head.

“Or that his kiss left such a foul taste in your mouth, you needed to rinse it out with a strong liqueur?”

Heat spread across Claire’s face. “Actually, when he kissed me—”

Mary came to an abrupt stop. “He did kiss you! I knew it. I just knew , from the way he has been staring at you.”

Claire caught both of Mary’s hands in hers. “Listen—”

“Did he force you? Did he try to take more than a kiss? Did he… ravish you? If he has dishonored you—”

“He has not.

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