Julie Garwood - [3 Book Box Set] Read Free Page B

silence was broken. Elizabeth willed herself to turn her gaze from the torn and charred banner and focus on her audience. A bold red-haired soldier with a ready smile jumped up from his position at the great table and rushed over to stand directly in front of Elizabeth, blocking her view of the rest of the men. She judged him to be a squire, for he was too old to be a page, yet too young to have been knighted. His silly grin almostmade Elizabeth smile but she was careful to keep her expression neutral.
    The squire gazed into Elizabeth’s blue eyes and said in a loud voice, “You are a beauty. How will you care for our lord?”
    When she did not respond to his gibe, for, in truth, she wasn’t sure just how to answer his question, he called to another, saying, “She has hair born from the sun. I wager it feels like the finest of silks.” He raised his hand to touch the curls then, but her voice, though soft, cut through his action like a knife.
    “Do you not value your life?”
    The squire stopped in midstride, his smile vanishing, for he had not missed the sound of the low growling from the dogs. He glanced at each animal and saw that the hair on the backs of their necks was raised and that their teeth, gleaming with dagger edges, were bared for attack.
    When the young man looked again at Elizabeth, his face had paled, and he wore an angry frown. “I would do you no harm, for you are under the protection of the Hawk,” he whispered. “You need have no fear from me.”
    “Then have no fear of me,” Elizabeth whispered for his ears only. She smiled then, and the squire’s anger evaporated. He knew that though the soldiers watched, they were unable to hear the exchange. She had saved his pride, and he was thankful. He smiled again. Elizabeth signaled the dogs and both relaxed against her sides, tails thumping against the rushes.
    “Where is your leader?” she asked.
    “If you will follow me, I will take you to him,” the squire suggested, his voice eager.
    Elizabeth nodded her agreement and followed the boy. Joseph waited at the bottom of the steps and she gave him another smile as she accepted the bundle of herbs. She then hurried up the winding flight of steps. It was a difficult task but Elizabeth forced herself toremove all memories of times past when she had raced up the steps with her sisters and her little brother. The time for weeping would be later. Thomas’s future depended upon her now.
    At the top of the first landing, another, older knight appeared. A scowl marred his sharp features and Elizabeth braced herself for another confrontation. “You are a woman! If this be some trick . . .”
    “’Tis no trick,” Elizabeth responded. “I am versed in remedies that could help your leader and I will do all that I can to save him.”
    “Why would you give your help?” he demanded.
    “I offer no explanation,” Elizabeth answered. Irritation and weariness flowed through her but she was careful to hide these emotions. “Do you wish my help or not?”
    The knight continued to glare at her for a moment longer. It was obvious to Elizabeth that he was suspicious of her motives, but she refused to calm his fears, remaining stubbornly silent while she matched him stare for stare.
    “Leave the dogs here and follow me.” The order was clipped and fairly shouted.
    “Nay,” Elizabeth promptly replied. “They go with me. They will cause no mischief unless someone tries to harm me.”
    To her surprise he did not argue over this, though she noticed that he ran long fingers through his brown-and-gray-speckled hair in a gesture she was sure was pure exasperation.
    He did not lead her to the triangle of doors housing the larger bedrooms to the left, but turned to the right and, lifting the burning torch from its lodging against the stone wall, hurried down the narrow corridor to stand before her very own bedroom. Two sentries guarded the door and both looked up in surprise when they glimpsed Elizabeth.
    With