Knight of Passion Read Online Free Page A

to Eltham Palace as soon as he broke his fast. Shortly after he arrived, he was taken to the
     queen’s private parlor. As he entered, Queen Katherine, a fragile-looking woman of twenty-four, rose to greet him.
    “Your Highness,” he said, dropping to one knee. When he looked up, he caught the flicker of sadness in her eyes and knew he
     reminded her of that awful day at Vincennes, outside Paris. He was one of the knights who had carried the dying king into
     the castle, where the queen waited for him.
    “I am so very pleased you have come, Sir James,” she said, holding her hand out for his kiss. She looked past him and smiled.
     “As I believe my friend is also, no?”
    He turned to follow the queen’s gaze.
    Linnet swept past him to stand beside Queen Katherine. With her stubborn jaw and her chin tilted up, she looked more regal
     than the queen. And here he was on his knees, groveling at her feet once more.
    At the queen’s nod, he got up.
    “My friend says you would not tell her what brings you back to England,” the queen said with a coquettish smile. “But you
     dare not refuse me.”
    “I have come at the behest of the Duke of Bedford, who is concerned for your comfort and well-being.” He could not tell her
     of Bedford’s other charge to him.
    “He has always been kind to me,” the queen said in a soft voice. She did not need to add,
unlike Gloucester
.
    “I have an errand of my own, as well,” Jamie added, surprising himself. “I have come home to marry.”
    Linnet’s quick intake of breath was gratifying.
    The queen clapped her hands. “How delightful!”
    “I have so many tiresome tales of my victories to tell,” he said, “that I really must take a wife.”
    The queen laughed, though she could not have understood the jest. Turning to Linnet, she asked, “What sort of lady should
     we find for our handsome James?”
    Linnet looked at him with her direct, ice-blue eyes and said, “I think he should please himself.”
    Oblivious to the edge in Linnet’s voice, the queen clasped her hands together and beamed at him. “Tell us, Sir James, what
     lady would please you?”
    “A dull English lady,” Jamie said, turning to meet Linnet’s steady gaze. “The kind who makes a virtuous wife.”

Chapter Two
    L innet dug her nails into her palms to fight back the sting in her eyes and kept her expression passive.
    A virtuous wife, indeed.
    How could Jamie be so cruel as to deliberately insult her? And to what purpose? Was it not enough that he deserted her five
     years ago without a backward glance? After swearing his undying devotion, he had left without giving her a single chance to
     explain.
    She’d had her reasons for what she did. Good reasons. Who was he to judge her? Jamie grew up in the bosom of a large and politically
     powerful family, with devoted parents who looked out for him. She had been a young girl with few choices.
    To take control of her fate, bold action was required. She did what she had to do. Jamie did not even try to understand.
    She had succeeded in avoiding marriage to that lecherous, devil-eyed Guy Pomeroy. And then, before Alain could marry her off
     to someone else of his choosing, she acted quickly to arrange a marriage for herself.
    Just like that, she got herself out from under Alain’sthumb. ’Twas most satisfying. Alain had been appalled and outraged in equal measure, but there was nothing he could do. The
     man she chose was too powerful. Her twin brother, Francois, had argued bitterly with her over the marriage, telling her she
     was cutting off her nose to spite her face.
    But it had been worth it. All her plans were falling into place. Except for this awful ache that pressed on her heart whenever
     she thought of Jamie Rayburn, there was nothing she would change.
    She stared at him as he spoke to the queen, trying to find the tender young man she once knew. This Sir James had the same
     long dark hair, the same striking midnight-blue eyes. Each feature