A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith Mcnaught

Author:Judith Mcnaught [Mcnaught, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, Adult
ISBN: 9780816148875
Publisher: G K Hall & Co
Published: 1988-12-31T11:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Jenny stood alone on the parapet looking out across the moors, the wind playfully tossing her hair about her shoulders, her hands clutching the stone ledge in front of her. The hope that her “bridegroom” might not arrive for his wedding, which was to take place in two hours, had been snatched from her a few minutes ago when a castle guard had called out that riders were approaching. A hundred and fifty mounted knights were riding toward the drawbridge, the light from the setting sun glinting on their polished shields, turning them to shining gold. The figure of a snarling wolf danced ominously before her eyes, undulating on blue pennants, and waving on the horses’ trappings and knights’ surcoats.

With the same unemotional detachment she’d felt for five days, she stood where she was, watching as the large group neared the castle gates. Now she could see there were women among them and a few standards bearing markings other than the Wolf. She had been told some English nobles would be present tonight, but she had not expected any women. Her gaze shifted reluctantly to the broad-shouldered man riding at the front of the party, bareheaded and without shield or sword, mounted atop a great black destrier with flowing mane and tail that could have been sired only by Thor. Beside Royce rode Arik, also bareheaded and without armor, which Jenny assumed was their way of illustrating their utter contempt for any puny attempt clan Merrick might make to slay them.

Jenny couldn’t see Royce Westmoreland’s face at all from this distance, but as he waited for the drawbridge to be lowered, she could almost feel his impatience.

As if he sensed that he was being watched, he lifted his head abruptly, his gaze sweeping over the roofline of the castle, and without meaning to, Jenny pressed back against the wall, hiding herself from view. Fear. The first emotion she’d felt in five days, she realized with disgust, had been fear. Squaring her shoulders, she turned and reentered the castle.

———

Two hours later, Jenny glanced at herself in the mirror. The feeling of pleasant numbness that had vanished on the parapet had deserted her for good, leaving her a mass of quaking emotion, but the face in the mirror was a pale, emotionless mask.

“It won’t be nearly so terrible as you think, Jenny,” Brenna said, trying with all her heart to cheer her as she helped two maids straighten the train of Jenny’s gown. “ ‘Twill all be over in less than an hour.”

“If only the marriage could be as short as the wedding,” Jenny said miserably.

“Sir Stefan is down in the hall. I saw him myself. He’ll not let the duke do anything to disgrace you down there. He’s an honorable, strong knight.”

Jenny turned, the brush in her hand forgotten, studying her sister’s face with a wan, puzzled smile. “Brenna, are we discussing the same ‘honorable knight’ who kidnapped us in the first place?”

“Well,” said Brenna defensively, “unlike his wicked brother,

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