Lady Fortune by Anne Stuart

Author:Anne Stuart [Stuart, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Historical, Medieval, Historical Romance
Amazon: B00JBTFE0C
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Published: 2014-03-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

THINGS HAD GONE from bad to worse, Nicholas thought idly, propping his long legs up on the table. It was strewn with overturned goblets, abandoned trenchers, a few half-gnawed chicken bones littered gracefully among the refuse. The ewer of wine was almost empty, and in the great hall that surrounded him, the noise of snoring men and snorting dogs rose peacefully in the early morning air.

He should never have kissed her, of course, but then, he liked playing with fire. He should never have followed the earl to Julianna’s room, and then lingered once Hugh had taken off with his wife. He should have fetched the sacred relic the moment he’d seen it, hidden high up in the darkness in the Lady Chapel, and if he hadn’t been so busy sniffing after Julianna of Moncrieff, that was exactly what he would have done.

Of course, to be completely fair, he wouldn’t have stumbled upon its presence quite so quickly if he hadn’t been stalking his shy lady. He raised his goblet of wine in an imaginary salute to that sweet mistress, and then downed it. He’d always been a relatively philosophical soul—he’d had little choice in his rough-and-tumble life, and he could only assume that things were working out in their own strange, inimitable order. It simply would have been convenient if the saints had made him privy to that order.

By the time he made his way back to the Lady Chapel, the august Abbot of Saint Hugelina was storming from its abandoned portal, clearly in a towering rage. The hapless Brother Barth was trailing behind him, making soft sounds of distress, but when Nicholas caught a brief glimpse of his expression in the moonlight, it seemed as if the good monk were not nearly as distressed as his gentle words suggested. Nicholas drew back into the shadows, waiting, pondering.

Clearly, the abbot and his minion hadn’t found the chalice. Assuming they’d even been looking for it—it was always possible that Father Paulus was simply furious about the neglected state of a chapel.

By the time he felt it safe enough to cross the courtyard, the moon had set and the sky was beginning to grow light in the east, rendering the situation a bit more precarious. He couldn’t afford to wait, however. Bogo was still annoyingly absent, and Brother Barth was closeted with the abbot and unavailable for questions. It was up to him.

In the dimness of the chapel he could see the empty niche quite clearly, and he swore, softly, under his breath, then crossed himself in swift apology to Saint Hugelina. He’d been too late, of course, but so had the clerics. Which meant someone else had come after the chalice. Someone else had made off with it.

It couldn’t have been Gilbert. He’d been by Hugh’s side all evening, and while Gilbert was a trickster and a liar, Nicholas had a gift for seeing through subterfuge. It came from being talented in those dark areas himself—he knew a liar when he saw one, and Gilbert de Blaith truly had no idea where the Blessed Chalice resided.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.