Sharon Schulze - L'eau Clair Chronicles 03 Read Online Free Page B

stood up, slipped his cloak from her shoulders and placed it carefully on the stool.
    “There are many ways to hold someone close by without making them a prisoner, Dragon. The sisters never locked me up. They simply made certain I had no opportunity to leave.” A winsome smile lit her face.
    “But I used their own ways against them. All my-life they sought to school me to patience.
    So I bided my time and lulled their suspicions. Eventually a chance arose and I took it.” She laughed.
    “I truly doubt they care that I am gone—I’ve been a trial to them since I first learned to speak.”
    He could imagine it.
    “What did the bishop say?”
    She paced the narrow confines of the cell before she replied.
    “I never saw the bishop himself. But his clerk assured me the bishop knew nothing about my situation.
    And I could scarce return to Saint Winifred’s to question the abbess. I’d never get away again.”
    When would she come to the point? He could have growled with frustration, but he pushed the feeling deep.
    If only he had patience, he’d learn what he wanted to know—sooner or later.
    But he had more important things to do than listen to a mysterious young woman recount her meandering tale.
    “How does Llywelyn fit into this? He isn’t a patron of Saint Winifred’s, I know that for a fact. And I doubt even he has the power to force the bishop to tell you anything.”
    Straightening, he crossed the room and stood before her.
    “What is it you want from Llywelyn?”
    “I think he knows who I am.”
    Ian shook his head in disbelief and bit back a laugh.
    “Do you think the prince so powerful he knows all—and everyone—within his domain? I cannot believe God himself has such dominion.”
    Lily looked at him as if he, and not she, were the fool.
    “While my mother lay close to death, I could swear I heard one of the sisters ask another if they should send word to Llywelyn. When I mentioned it to the abbess, she mined my question around and never gave me an answer.
    That way she did not have to lie, if it were true. Sister Maud prides herself on her honesty,” she added, her voice scornful.
    She held her hand out to him in supplication.
    “My mother was all I had, though she rarely knew me. I have nowhere else to turn, milord, and nothing left to lose. I am tired of being alone. All I want is to find some place where I belong.”
    That, he could understand. It did not bother him to be on his own, but he also had his sister, Catrin, and his cousin Gillian, to turn to when he tired of his own company.
    And Llywelyn was his kinsman, as well as his overlord.
    He chose to live a solitary life. Lily didn’t have that choice.
    “Is there anything else I should know? Your mother’s name, at least—you must know that,” “Nay. Everyone called her ‘milady.” I never heard her name.” She sighed.
    “You must understand—she lived in a world all her own, a world filled with people who didn’t exist. I believe ‘twas why she’d been sent to the abbey.
    No one wanted to care for her, most like. But she wasn’t mad, just filled with sadness. No one could lift her from it.”
    Something inside Ian recoiled at the lonely life Lily had led and the matter-of-fact way she spoke of it. He couldn’t imagine a childhood spent without a mother’s love. And it didn’t sound as though the sisters of Saint Winifred’s Abbey had spared any affection for Lily. His parents had been everything to him; he would have done anything to save them, if he could. Their loss was a pain he buried deep and refused to expose.
    Perhaps he could help her.
    “I will do what I can for you.” She reached out and took his arm in a firm clasp.
    “Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am, milord.”
    He looked down at her hand. He liked the way it felt, far too much. So he did what he had to to make the feeling go away.
    “I make you no promises. Llywelyn may not wish to hear what I have to say. He has little time to waste on