Castle of the Heart Read Free Page A

I will tell him I do not wish to marry. I pray he will
listen to me if you and my mother will not.”
    Isabel shrugged, unconcerned by the threat.
She had helped Aloise to dictate the letter to Sir Valaire which
suggested that he raise the subject of Selene’s marriage to Thomas
of Afoncaer. The letter was well on its way to England. Once the
arrangements were made and the contracts drawn up, this child’s
wishes in the matter would count for nothing. Sir Valaire would
never risk offending Baron Guy or his nephew by calling off the
wedding arrangements. Meanwhile, she would use her charm on Selene
to make her at least a little more agreeable to the idea. It would
not do to have a violently opposed bride. From what she had learned
of her, Isabel judged Selene capable of violence, or worse, if
pushed too far.
    “Would you like me to tell you about my son?”
Isabel asked. “He was such a dear little boy, and such a handsome
young man. Everyone loves him.”
    “Men.” Selene gave a most expressive shudder.
“The nuns have told me what men do to women. They told me on the
first day I became a woman.”
    So that was it, and with all her information
about the girl, Isabel had not previously guessed it. The silly
child was afraid of men. That could be put right easily enough.
Isabel almost laughed aloud.
    “It is not always unpleasant,” Isabel said,
recalling the early days of her marriage to Walter fitz Alan. She
moved a little on the hard stone seat. Even now, after all these
years, the memory could still stir her blood. Ah, Walter,
Walter, what we once had, what we so foolishly lost in resentment
and regrets. “The nuns have not told you everything, Selene.
Sometimes it can be marvelously exciting. Delicious, like honey, or
a rich, heady wine. It can be wonderful to be with a man.”
    Selene sat staring at her, lips parted. She
had a small, pretty mouth, but rather thin lips. The girl was
probably not passionate at all, Isabel decided, but she could fill
Selene’s mind with Thomas, even try to think of something pleasant
to say about Afoncaer, and she would soon come around. Isabel could
see that she had her quarry interested now. Girls her age were
always intrigued by talk of lovemaking, even if they pretended they
were not, and Selene was still young enough to be impressed by an
attractive adult who paid particular attention to her, especially
if she didn’t get along with Aloise. How convenient that was.
    “Shall I tell you about Thomas?” Isabel asked
again.
    “If you like,” Selene said. “You are a guest
in this house, and I must listen to you politely, madame, but I
warn you, you will not change my mind about marriage.”
    Oh, but she would, Isabel thought as she
began to talk. Her visit would last a month, longer if she could
maneuver Aloise into a further invitation, and in that time she
would make an ally of Selene. Before Isabel was done, the girl
would love her as though Isabel were her own mother, and at
Isabel’s bidding she would willingly marry Thomas.
    Isabel wanted to avoid entering a convent, as
she had told Aloise, but there was more to her purpose, much more.
Isabel wanted revenge on Baron Guy of Afoncaer. It was because of
Guy that she had spent ten years in miserable exile. Now Isabel had
a plan to pay him back, a long, slow, clever plan that need not
depend upon a knife in his back or an army to unseat him from
Afoncaer. Isabel was too clever, too patient, for such crude
methods. And Selene, that cold, proud girl sitting stiffly across
the window niche from her, listening intently to Isabel’s words in
spite of her feigned indifference, Selene would be her weapon.
     
    * * * * *
     
    By the time the castle chaplain finished
reading the letter from Sir Valaire to her, Aloise knew what she
would do. It was not a sudden decision. She had lain awake many a
night during the past two months wrestling with the problem, trying
to find a solution to the fears that troubled her and unwilling