Lass' Valor (The Pith Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

she rolled
the missive, and handed it back to Lord Richard. She felt forlorn, but resisted
the tears building in her eyes. Would that she could flee the hall and retreat
to her room where she could sooth her restlessness by praying to the spirits.
    “Lady
Kaitlin, I’m sorry for your grief.” Richard stood next to her, speaking gently.
“I cared for your father as much as you did. ‘Tis sorrow for us all.”
    “Thank
ye, Lord Richard. I shall go to my chamber and pray for his soul.” Kate turned
to leave.
    “Wait,
ah, I regret not coming to ye sooner. I’ve been home for several months, but
had business to attend and when the regent sent for me, I hadn’t known Hawk was
killed. This is dreadful. I should have stayed to protect him. Is there aught I
can do to make you feel better?” Richard folded his hands behind him and walked
beside her. “If I hadn’t gone to Henry’s court three months ago, I would have
been here to comfort ye.”
    Kate
sensed that he wanted to say more, and that he’d feigned concern for her
father’s death. His eyes gave him away; they certainly didn’t seem
compassionate, only cold and unfeeling.
    “I
do thank ye for concern, Lord Richard, but I really must retire. Please,
there’s no need to account for yourself. I’m sure you would have protected my
father were you there.” She almost blanched at the untruth of those words. Kate
needed to be alone, needed to think over what Richard had told her, but most of
all she needed the comfort of the Goddess.
    “Be
ready to leave on the morrow.”
    “Why
would I leave here?” She stopped at the steps.
    “I’ve
been given guardianship by Aldwyn, and I will take ye to my home at once. You
won’t have to stay here alone … unprotected.”
    “I
don’t wish to leave my home, Lord Richard. Surely, you will allow me to stay
until I wed, and then my husband will take over as lord here. Lord de Guylet
stated that the king selected my husband. I don’t wish to be bothersome or
cause you unnecessary hardship.”
    “I
won’t allow it, child. You will reside with me until your overlord returns. I
have written to Aldwyn, telling him the king’s choice for your husband is
unacceptable. He shall agree and select another. Your father would not accept
such an arrangement, to a Scot of all men. The king is bias in his opinion of
this man and your overlord will right this as soon as he returns.”
    Was
that supposed to make Kate feel better? She wasn’t sure why he was telling her
this, but she nodded.
    “You
need to pack your belongings and be ready to leave in the morn. I’ll call Lolly
to assist ye.” He told her nurse to ready for Kate’s departure.
    Kate’s
eyes rose, filling with unshed tears. She couldn’t go with him, could she? The
man was wretched and she didn’t trust him, but she couldn’t disobey his command
and would have to go. Until her overlord returned, she would be at his mercy.
She lowered her gaze, hiding her repugnance.
    “I
wondered, Lady Kaitlin, did your father send ye any keepsakes?”
    “Keepsakes?
Nay, my lord.”
    “We
found many treasures in Egypt, there were riches, and I thought … nay?”
    Kate
eyed him warily, trying to sense if he knew something more about her father’s
death than he’d let on. Richard turned his back and was about to walk away,
when curiosity got the better of her.
    “Treasures,
Lord Richard?”
    Richard
turned back, his face emotionless. “I thought mayhap he sent ye something
before he … died. I sent my wife gold necklaces and trinkets. Would ye like
one?”
    “Oh?
Nay, Lord Richard.” Kate shook her head. “I want no reminders of that horrid
place. My father didn’t send me anything.”
    “I
recall him showing me a golden medallion. He said that he would send it to ye.
It was beautiful with a spider etched on it. Did you not receive it?”
    “Nay,
I did not,” she lied. She tried to sound calm, and lowered her eyes. Did he
believe her? She couldn’t tell. He