Captive Heart Read Online Free Page B

will expect you to manage your own horse for the journey to their home.” Raktor shaded his eyes with his hand as he saw a band of riders approaching. “Good, they have seen our arrival and will soon be here.”
    “Yes, I rode frequently with your daughter: I will not disgrace you now.”
    “See that you do not disgrace me tonight either, Celiese!”
    “You must call me Olgrethe, do not give away this deception with your own words!” Celiese answered reproachfully. As the horsemen drew near, she wondered which would be Mylan, and what his thoughts would be that day. Did he long for a bride, or was he as opposed to this marriage as Olgrethe had been? Her eyes swept the faces of the approaching group. She found Aldred easily enough; he commanded the group and welcomed Raktor with a loud greeting, but none of the riders with him appeared to be his eldest son, for none came forward to meet her as she’d expected him to do. She looked down demurely as Aldred came forward, hoping to impress him with her modesty.
    “I have long awaited this day, Raktor. My son remained at home, a condition upon which he insisted, but he should have come with me, I know.” The man reached out to tilt Celiese’s chin so he might see her more clearly, and he exclaimed with delight, “Ah, I had heard Olgrethe was a beauty, but not even my imagination provided such a splendid face as this. You are exquisite, and Mylan will be enchanted. Come to the horses, do not keep him waiting when he is so anxious to meet his bride.”
    Celiese smiled sweetly, “Not too anxious, I hope. Is there to be no celebration, no feast to mark this wonderful occasion?”
    “But of course, you will not find my hospitality lacking, Olgrethe. Now let us make haste.”
    As Raktor helped Celiese to mount her horse he whispered, “Good, keep your groom celebrating until he is too blind to see the obvious, and I will reward you well, dear daughter.”
    Celiese turned her horse and took up a place near her future father-in-law. His hair and beard were a light auburn shade, only faintly streaked with gray. He was muscular, yet not thick through the waist as Raktor was, and she thought it likely Mylan might once have been as attractive a man as his father. They rode at a brisk pace and soon sighted their destination. Set upon a rise, the stone buildings of Aldred’s farm spread over a considerable distance, dwellings and barns, storehouses, granaries. The main structure was an imposing one, and Celiese hoped she had not exchanged one prison for another.
    “You ride well, did your father teach you?” Aldred held her horse’s bridle as Celiese slipped gracefully to the ground.
    “Yes, my father was—is a fine horseman, he taught me many things, Aldred.” Celiese blushed with embarrassment, but the man had not noticed her slip, and she reminded herself to be more cautious in her replies, for she was now Olgrethe, and Olgrethe’s father was very much alive.
    “Mylan is most fortunate then. Come quickly, he insists upon meeting you the moment you arrive. But first I want you to meet Thulyn, his mother.”
    As, they entered the large home a tall, elegantly dressed woman came to greet them. She smiled with the same delight as her husband as she saw what an astonishing beauty Olgrethe had turned out to be. Her eyes were an unusual light brown, amber in hue, while her once-blonde hair now held more than a trace of silver. “I am Thulyn, Mylan’s mother. Welcome to our home.”
    Celiese smiled politely as the introductions continued, but before she had time to draw a breath Aldred took her arm and led her down a long corridor and left her in front of a heavy door. “Do not bother to knock. Simply enter; my son is expecting your arrival and will be ready.”
    When he turned and left her, Celiese had no choice but to go in alone. At first she thought the room empty, for it was unlit and quite dark. “Mylan?” she called in a whisper, afraid she might offend the man who