Demetrius (Brethren Origins Book 2) Read Free

extended his hand in friendship.
    “Good morrow, sirrah.”  Demetrius considered his impromptu guest and realized he needed to divert his comrades, as he would not ruin the unlucky lady.  “It is remarkably pleasing to see ye, but what manner of mischief brings ye beyond the borders of London, proper?”
    “I am about the Sire’s business, and it involves ye, Sir Demetrius, and a misplaced mate.”  Briarus untied his leather drinking bag.  “But I have been searching these hills since last night, and I cannot return without my ward.”
    “ Sir Demetrius?”  Rubbing her eyes, Lily appeared in the opening of his tent, and Demetrius cringed.  “Thou art a servant of the realm?”
    “Great abyss of suffering, thou hast solved my dilemma, my friend.  Wherefore didst ye not tell me?”  Briarus signaled his soldiers, and they marched on the wayward waif.  “At last, I can go home to a hot bath, a warm bed, and amiable companionship.”
    “Prithee, a moment.”  In a fit of insanity, Demetrius gripped the hilt of his sword, and the guards halted.  “Wherefore dost thou accost an innocent?  Of what is the harmless woman guilty, to merit such treatment?”
    “Thou dost not know?”  For a second, Briarus just stood there.  Then, without warning, he burst into laughter.  “Oh, this is too adventitious to miss, and it will be the talk of the garrison, if I have anything to do about it.”
    “What is so funny?”  Confused, Demetrius scratched his chin.  “And what, pray tell, is adventitious about thy arrest of a virtuous maiden?”
    “Let me go.”  Lily bit the wrist of one unfortunate warrior and kicked another in the shins, and he groaned and hopped.  But Demetrius adored her spirit and fit of temper.  “Thou wilt not succeed, as I refuse to assist ye in thy nefarious aims.  Thou cannot force me to take a husband.  I will fight ye to my last breath.”
    “Wait.”  With another guffaw, and an upraised palm, Briarus halted his men and said, to Demetrius, “Thou art truly ignorant of her personage, and the lady is similarly afflicted?”
    “Aye, in some respects.”  Demetrius nodded and pondered how to liberate her from her predicament.  “But I know she is called Lily.”
    “Is that what she told ye?”  Again, Briarus erupted in unrestrained mirth, as he hugged his belly.  “Permit me to make the introductions.”  Waggling his brows, the sergeant clicked his heels and sketched a mock salute.  “Sir Demetrius de Blackbourne, may I present Lady Athelyna Des Moutiers, thy future wife.”
    #
    Pounding on the locked door to her chamber at court, and yanking on the knob, Lady Athelyna Des Moutiers rained unladylike curses on her captors, to no avail.  No doubt the sisters at the convent would disapprove of such foul language, but Athelyna was desperate.  After a few futile minutes of rebellion, she sank to the floor and hugged herself.
    “What am I to do?” she asked no one.  When she spied a window large enough to accommodate her, she stood and ran to the marble ledge.  To her frustration, she peered at the bailey from a fourth floor vantage.  Desperate, she studied the stone surface of the wall, searching for even the smallest foothold, as she would risk a fall in her quest to evade the vicar’s noose.  “Thither is no escape.”
    The telltale rasp of the lock, followed by the grate of the hinges, announced a visitor, and she squared her shoulders.  When her sibling entered and shut the heavy oak panel behind him, she braced for a confrontation.
    “Thou didst deliberately disobey my commands and bring shame upon our family.”  Stretched to full height, Gerwald folded his arms and frowned.  “Owing to thy intemperate behavior, everyone laughs at us, and I ought to beat ye.  Wilt thou make a mockery of father’s memory?”
    “Forgive me, brother, but I made no secret of my opposition to the marriage ye didst arrange, without my knowledge or consent.”  Her mind