A Lily on the Heath 4 Read Free Page A

need no embroidery—which is thankful, for it is too delicate to handle much stitching,” added Alynne.
    “It sounds magnificent,” Judith said. For all the time she spent tramping through field and meadow with her hawks, she also enjoyed fashion and clothing just as much. “Verily ’tis as well I didn’t see the samples and be left to moon over them.” She sighed. “The nearest I shall come to wearing such a fabric is if her majesty has an overtunic made and a bit of it drags over my slipper.” They all laughed merrily.
    “ Bon soir , lovely ladies,” said a deep voice behind her. “Is there a place for a weary, bedraggled knight to sit at your table?”
    Judith turned and looked up as Hugh de Rigonier, baron of Rigonier-Chatte, slid onto the bench between her and Ursula. “Good evening, Lord Hugh,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for joining us.”  
    In the realm of the gossipy, whispering, back-stabbing court, Hugh was one of the people whose company she truly enjoyed. “We were just bemoaning the lack of courtly presence at our table tonight, and here you’ve arrived in the nick of time to keep us from talking only of the latest weave of fabric from Milan and bejeweled hair fashions,” Judith jested, using a long red curl to gesture teasingly at him. The lock was enclosed in a slender metal cuff that glinted with tiny gems.
    He reached for a hunk of cheese and, breaking off a large piece, gave her an easy grin. His curling golden hair and sparkling blue eyes made him look just as Judith imagined a grown-up cherubic angel would appear—and despite his comment, he wasn’t the least bit bedraggled. In fact, his beard and mustache were neatly trimmed and possibly even combed. Nary a hair was out of place.
    “I’m relieved to hear it,” he said, brushing the cheese dust from his tunic with a slender, elegant hand. “I’d hate to imagine that you lovely ladies must needs resort to such unimaginative discussions.”
    “You’ve saved us from that fate,” Judith told him, grinning at Ursula, who never failed to gawk at the handsome baron. “But now it falls to you, Lord Hugh, to determine what the topic of conversation will be. Mind you, it must be sparkling and witty and relevant.”
    “ Merde , my lady Judith…could you not have set me to a lesser task?” he teased, beckoning for a serf to fill his wine goblet. She merely tilted her head and smiled expectantly. “Very well then,” he said with mock exasperation. “Tell me of your hunt this day. Did you go after all? How did Hecate fly for you?”
    “Two rabbits and a rat,” she told him proudly. “She was eager to be out after being locked in the mews for a se’ennight. But it was the only way for her foot to heal, keeping her silent and in the dark.”
    “Excellent. But tell me you did not go on the hunt alone, my lady,” Hugh replied, looking at her with the most intent and serious expression since he sat down. “You did take Tessing with you, and some men-at-arms? Whence the royal court goes, also goes those who scuttle in its shadow. You’d be a fine temptation for ransom or to wive, my dear.”
    Judith sighed. “I suspect ’tis the only way I’ll become a wife again—if some nefarious brigand or mayhap a rich lord were to snatch me up for himself.” She was only partly jesting, for the queen had made it quite clear she preferred Judith to remain her close attendant in the stead of being married off to some other vassal of the king.  
    Judith hadn’t been home to her fief of Lilyfare for more than six years. Instead, the keep and its small village had been managed by Roger of Hyrford, a castellan assigned many years ago by Judith’s father.
    Hugh chuckled, though his eyes remained serious. “Nay, I trow even that plot wouldn’t come to fruition. A fortnight with you and your ever-working, stubborn tongue, and any kidnapper would pay the king to take you back.” He patted her hand as she glared at him in mock insult