Soldier of Fortune: The King's Courtesan (Rakes and Rogues of the Retoration Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

Soldier of Fortune: The King's Courtesan (Rakes and Rogues of the Retoration Book 2)
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the dark. She had been right to refuse, and he had been wrong to ask. Nevertheless, he’d be lying to say her refusal hadn’t hurt. He wondered why she wrote him now. Had her lover deserted her? Did she need his aid? Would he help her if she did? Yes. It’s what I promised. Interest sparked, curious to see what she wanted and how she fared, he broke the seal.
    She was happy, healthy and well, and she wished him the same. She wanted him to be among the first to hear the happy news. Just a few months past, she’d married William de Veres in a quiet ceremony in a small chapel in Maidstone, with only their servants present. They had thought it best to be circumspect given her new husband’s delicate situation in regards to the king. Things had improved in that regard however, and she had every reason to expect they’d be free to travel shortly. She thought of her dear friend and rescuer often, and hoped they might visit him at Cressly soon.
    He was surprised de Veres had married her. She was a lovely girl to be sure, charming and well-bred, but the earl didn’t need her properties, she had no connections to speak of, and it was said he never kept a woman past a week. All of London would be in shock.
    He crumpled the paper into a tight ball and then opened his hand, watching dispassionately as her message wafted to the floor to settle amongst the other discarded bits and pieces of the day. Elizabeth had been part of a foolish dream. A brief fantasy of a brighter future where he might take what was left of his life back and fashion it in to something better. He could hardly blame her for having dreams of her own.
    He fingered the remaining packet, tracing his thumb back and forth across the royal seal at a loss as to what it might contain. He had removed himself completely from politics and so far as he knew, he wielded no influence and had caused no offense He had no powerful friends to lobby for appointments or position, and his enemies were secrets to everyone but him. He was a country gentleman, a minor baronet, hardly the sort to be called to court.
    Life as a soldier had taught him to be wary of surprises. They seldom resulted in anything good. He broke the seal. Although he steeled himself, nothing could have prepared him for what lay within.
     
    To Captain Sir Robert Nichols, Baronet:
     
    Notwithstanding the general amnesty offered by his most gracious Majesty Charles II to those who took up arms against his Father and himself, it has come to our attention that the aid you provided the traitor Oliver Cromwell and other enemies of the Crown was of a more serious nature than originally known. As such, your title and properties, including, but not restricted to the estate and manor known as Cressly, are herewith forfeit to the Crown. In the spirit of reconciliation in which the amnesty was first proclaimed, you are hereby allowed to keep your commission and any monies derived thereby, as well as any personal possessions of sentimental value including horse and weapons, not to exceed in total worth the sum of two thousand pounds. You are herewith given one month to vacate, or be held in contempt of King and Crown.
     
    Signed this third day of April, 1662, by Chancellor Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, for His Majesty Charles II, King of England, Ireland, Scotland and France.
     
    It felt as though the earth had just given way beneath him and Robert struggled to contain a sickening sense of loss. He was no general. No influential Parliamentarian agitator. Just the captain of his own small troop of horse. So much for this new king’s general amnesty. Clearly, it was nothing more than words. But his mounting anger served no purpose. He was on the wrong side of history, and that was crime enough.
    He tossed the chancellor’s letter into the fire, watching as its edges bent and curled. Rivulets of flame joined melting wax and a moment later, the paper burst into a molten flower and was gone. Just like that. Just like Cressly .
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