Daughters of the Dagger 04 - Amethyst Read Free

it is crucial we have the outside of the castle completed by Christmas.”
    “I assure you, everyone has been working overtime , Earl Montclair. We are way ahead of schedule for a project of this size.”
    “And way behind schedule as far as I’m concerned.”
    “I have been doing my best,” explained Clement, “but I have been slowed down drastically by the death of my assistant, my lord.”
    “Aye,” he grumbled. “Haven’t you found a replacement yet?”
    Marcus watched as the man’s eyes grew wide with fear and he just nodded. “The archbishop has sent a replacement, just this day.”
    “Good, then have the man join us at the meeting. I would like to meet him and tell him what’s expected of him.”
    “I have something I need to tell you about this … replacement t hat the archbishop has sent,” said Clement sounding a bit nervous.
    “Master Mason , I am not paying you two shillings a day to stand here and babble. Now bring the man and join me in the solar later.” He turned abruptly to leave but was halted by the girl’s voice.
    “I am his assistant,” she said.
    He stopped in his tracks and turned back to her. She was standing there holding a missive out to him with one hand, instead of using two hands to show respect to someone of his position, just waiting for him to take it.
    “Master Mason , is this some sort of jest?” he asked. “I don’t take a fancy to games so early in the morning.”
    “You can talk directly to me, instead of speaking through my uncle,” the girl blurted out. “And I assure you this is not a jest.”
    He looked at Clement and the m an was just shaking his head. Marcus didn’t understand any of this.
    “You dare speak to me so boldly, my lady. And I assure you, that I am not a jesting man. Now gather your things and get atop your horse and be out of here anon , before I lose my temper.”
    “ ’Tis true, my lord,” explained Clement. “She was sent to be my assistant by the Archbishop of Canterbury himself.”
    “I don’t believe it,” he snapped.
    “Then read the missive and you’ll see for yourself,” came the girl’s reply, still holding out the parchment toward him, now only using two fingers, almost dangling it in front of him like some kind of lure.
    He looked over to his steward and then his knight. They just shrugged their shoulders and it was obvious they had no idea what this was all about either. Then he looked over to his squire. “Get me the missive,” he said in a low voice.
    He noticed the look of surprise on the girl’s face as the squire stepped forward to gather the missive from her. But she lowered her hand quickly and raised her chin defiantly, instead of letting him take it.
    “I do not have leprosy, that you dare not come near me,” she told him. “And I don’t bite, though I can’t say the same for you, my lord. This missive was to be given to you or Master Clement directly, and no one else. The order comes from the archbishop himself.”
    “Did you read it?” he asked Clement, once again denying the girl what she obviously wanted by not speaking directly to her.
    “I did not, my lord,” answered his master mason, his eyes turned toward the ground. “I did not want to break the seal and thought it better to wait and let you open it instead.”
    “This is wasting so much time!” He reached forward and snatched the missive from the girl who didn’t even flinch in the process. Once again, he r hands were back on her hips as she waited for him to read it. “The archbishop would never send a woman. This is obviously forged.”
    “The seal is not broken,” surveyed his squire, cocking his head to see the parchment in his hand.
    “Aye,” added Sir Gawain, looking over his shoulder. “And that is definitely the seal of the archbishop of Canterbury.”
    “I am not blind, I can see that for myself,” he ground out, already dreading whatever words were on the parchment. He took a moment and ran his finger over the