Knight of My Dreams Read Online Free Page B

eyes. James had been complaining since they’d ridden away from the palace into the king’s woods, and often with very little concern for the delicacy of his wording. Lady Houghton’s brother was rather cruder than she’d expected for a reputed court dandy, and were it possible to use an alternate plan now, she might have considered it. But it was too late for that. Jonathan was already responding beautifully. As she’d expected, her son did not at all care for her recent attentions to James of Houghton. She knew that, as she did for him, her son had very high standards regarding the caliber of anyone she would consider marrying. As if she would ever replace Jonathan’s father; what she wanted was grandbabies!
    Lady Fairley paused. Looking about, she drew her horse to a halt in a small clearing and dismounted. Waiting until she had both feet planted firmly on the ground, she spoke patiently while removing the two bags she’d attached to her saddle. “I thought we would picnic here. It is as nice a spot as any.”
    The man stared at her, nonplused for a moment, then gasped. “Good Lord, you don’t really intend to picnic, do you?”
    â€œWell, aye, James. ‘Twas the idea.” Lady Fairley shook her head with amusement. Proceeding to dig out the woolen blanket she’d requested from the king’s household for this endeavor, she asked, “Is that a problem?”
    â€œA problem? Of course ‘tis a problem!” the old dandy sputtered. “Picnics invite all manner of pests and bug infestations. And there are wild animals out here, Margaret. They will be attracted by the smell, and we shall be forced to fend for our very lives over a scrap of cheese and mutton.”
    Margaret didn’t even bother to roll her eyes at his exaggerated claims; she merely began to lay out the blanket. Calmly she said, “We shall survive, I am sure.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œDo you wish to marry your niece off or not?” she interrupted impatiently.
    Grimacing, the dandified lord of Houghton grudgingly dismounted.
    Lady Fairley nodded with satisfaction as she settled on the blanket. “I thought so.”
    â€œHmm.” Lord Houghton’s face twisted as he ambled over to where she was now pulling out several items from her bags. He eyed the food greedily, yet still managed to sound irritable as he added, “Aye, of course I want the lass married off. I love my sister and daughter, but Elizabeth has always had a sharp tongue, and Alice has recently shown a distressing tendency to follow in her mother’s footsteps. The last thing I need is two harping women about!”
    Lady Fairley smiled. Betty had always been rather sharp-tongued. The woman wasn’t a shrew by any means, but she was honest. Especially around those she knew well, she did not curb that honesty with kindness. Her lazy, unambitious brother, who had stumbled into her husband’s title, had been the recipient of such treatment on many occasions.
    If Alice was showing signs of a similar personality to her mother, it was all as Lady Fairley wished. The last thing she wanted was a sneaky, conniving daughter-in-law. Or a pliant one. She liked to know how things truly lay, and she hoped never to have to wonder with Alice. True, the girl had so far been reserved and quiet, but Margaret believed that was just a show of good breeding. With the right encouragement, the lass would become the brave, thoughtful young woman that Margaret believed would be the only good match for her son. After all, didn’t he need someone to challenge him every once in a while, as she herself had done all his life? And a wife needed to be honest, like Alice’s mother. And she needed to be someone with enough of a sense of self to be naturally attractive to her son.
    A rustling in the bushes caught Lady Fairley’s attention, and she glanced into them suspiciously. Her gaze narrowed as she caught