Dragonblade Trilogy - 02 - Island of Glass Read Online Free Page B

serve
before?”
    “The king.”
    Her eyebrows lifted. “You left
the king’s service to swear fealty to a mere earl?”
    “I was a gift from the king to
the earl for his support during the battle for the crown.”
    No matter how unconventional Aubrielle
was, she knew that St. Héver must be a great knight to warrant such respect
from young King Edward.  The gifting of a knight was a great honor. Her
respect, and fear, for the man took root.
    “Are you going to stand there all
night or are you going to sit?”
    Kenneth took the chair the earl
had been seated in. Aubrielle picked at her bread, eyeing him as she did so.
    “Are you married?”
    “Nay, my lady.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I am not.”
    She puckered her lips. “You are
not the friendly type, are you?”
    He would not dignify her question
with a response. She returned to her meal in silence. Kenneth watched her,
thinking he might have been able to warm to her had she not been so
disagreeable.  Their first meeting earlier in the day had fairly negated that
possibility. He did, however, admire her cunning and fighting ability. She was
a surprisingly tough woman and he respected that.
    Aubrielle was bored with her meal
after only a few bites. She pushed the tray aside and went to stand before the
fire. She yawned and stretched, peering out of the corner of her eye to see if
Kenneth was watching her. He was, but pretended he wasn’t.
    “I think I should like a walk
before retiring for the night,” she said.
    Kenneth shook his head. “The
rules have been established, my lady. The earl has dictated that you may not
leave this chamber, for any reason, without his permission. Any attempt to do
so will result in imprisonment in the vault.”
    She stopped mid-yawn. “He
wouldn’t dare!”
    “I am afraid he would, my lady”
    She marched over to him, her
little fists resting angrily on her hips. “And just who are you? The enforcer
of this ridiculous rule?”
    “One of them.”
    “Is that so? How do you intend to
stop me? I can slip out and you’ll never know it. I invite you to try.”
    “I wish you wouldn’t.”
    She scowled at him, torn between
the undeniable attraction to prove her point and the undeniable knowledge that
he would be forced to prove his. Bullying hadn’t worked with the man. Perhaps
another tactic would.
    “Fine.” She turned on her heel,
stomping towards the bed. Clothes and all, she lay down upon it. “I would
retire now.”
    “As you wish.”
    She rolled over on her side, her
mind racing in a hundred different directions. Her ears were painfully attuned
to St. Hèver’s movement, but there was none. He was apparently still seated, as
silent as a ghost. Her determination grew that she should out-last the man,
wait for him to fall asleep, and then slip from the room. She had no doubt that
she could accomplish this.
    What Aubrielle didn’t anticipate
was how exhausted she was. The strain of emotions and the physical exertions of
the day took their toll. She awoke with a start, unaware of how long she had
been asleep, or even when she had fallen asleep.  She only knew that she had
that heavy groggy feeling, as one does when one does not sleep nearly enough.
But no matter; she had a plan and needed to act on it. She listened for any
sounds in the room but heard nothing. If St. Héver was still there, he was
asleep. Perhaps her falling asleep hadn’t been a bad thing after all. She
debated a moment as to whether or not she should roll over and take a look.
Curiosity won over. Slowly, she turned onto her back.
    The fire in the room was dim. St.
Héver was still in his chair, sitting like stone, his ice-blue eyes staring
into the dying embers.  Not strangely, fury swept Aubrielle. She had waited for
the man to weaken, had fallen asleep over the turmoil of it, only to awaken and
see that he hadn’t moved a muscle. Was the man not human? In a huff, she put
her feet on the ground and stood up.
    Kenneth turned his attention