Breath of Heaven Read Online Free Page B

her carefully as if something weighed heavy on his mind. Since she did not like the direction the conversation had turned, she gratefully changed the subject.
    “Something troubles you, Papa?”
    “I will be leaving you soon, Eliane.”
    Her throat swelled and she forbade the tears to spring forth. It was hard enough to think of her father’s death without his speaking of it. She liked it better when they both pretended that he was merely ill.
    “Do not say such things,” she urged. “You will be better come spring. You are as strong as the earth and merely need the sun to bring you back to life. Indeed, I feel much as you do, and would love to pass the dayslying beneath soft blankets and furs.” Usually her teasing pleased him and she looked at him in anticipation of a quick rejoinder about having worked long and hard for many years and being deserving of a few days of rest. Today her teasing did not please him.
    “The time has long gone past for you to marry,” he said. “Are you certain there is no one you would choose for husband?”
    “There is no one, Papa,” she assured him.
    “No man of the forest or town interests you?”
    “Is it not my duty to marry someone of title?”
    “Yes, daughter, it is, but I would know if there is someone you care for…someone you could love.”
    The heat rose in her cheeks again and she looked away. “There is no one, Papa, I promise you.” How could there be when every man she knew felt as if he were her brother or uncle or grandfather? They were all her people, from the huntsmen of the forest to the fishermen by the sea. There was none who would look at her in any manner other than with sweet caring and respect for her role as Aubregate’s future protector. There was no one she would consider for husband.
    “It is my fault for keeping you close at hand,” Edward said. “How can you choose a husband when I have not given you anyone to choose from?”
    “I trust you to make the right decision for me,” Eliane assured him once more, yet she could not help the shiver of fear that crept up her spine.
    It seemed her father was determined to have her married before he died, yet whom did he expect her to marry? It was her duty to choose a husband who wouldprotect Aubregate and the secrets that lay deep in the forest.
    If he were available, she would choose Peter, for she knew him to be kind. But Peter had had a wife chosen for him at infancy, as most lords and ladies of the realm did. If only her father had chosen someone for her when she was a child, then the problem would be resolved. She would most likely be long married with a daughter of her own.
    Yet he had given her the gift of choosing as her mother had chosen him and she’d neglected it all these years. She’d stayed close to Aubregate, as if her very life depended upon it. Many times she felt as if it did, as if she would suffocate or die of a broken heart if she set foot outside its borders.
    There was only one other lord she knew, and he was not one she would choose, even if he were the last man on earth. She would never marry Renauld Vannoy. She had witnessed his cruelty as a boy and knew that a black heart like his only worsened with time.
    Surely her father would not choose Renauld? It would be most practical for her to marry him, as her lands bordered his along the deep forest. Their union would bring peace to both their lands, healing the enmity that had arisen when Renauld’s father had killed her mother, and Edward had taken his revenge on his wife’s murderer.
    To this day the border they shared was not safe. Any of Renauld’s men who dared venture into the forest never returned, and a similar fate awaited the few unfortunate souls of Aubregate who happened to be caught away from its protection.
    Her words echoed in her ears as she watched her father’s face. She trusted him to make the right decision for her. Surely the right decision did not include Renauld?
    What if it did?
    “Ride with the