Kara Griffin - The Pith Trilogy Read Free

I’m sure the journey was tiresome. Bleeth, make yourself at home and whatever ye do, don’t …” she trailed off.
    “Don’t what, my lady?”
    “Nothing. I’m sure you are thirsty, here’s a cup of ale.” After handing him the cup, she grabbed Julianna’s hand and they fled to the upper floor.
    Julianna tried to appear cheerful. She placed a smile on her face, yet her pretense was for naught. Sara noticed. They hurried through the mass of people in the upstairs hallway and stopped at Sara’s room.
    “I cannot believe I am at your betrothal feast.” Julianna rubbed her temples, sensing an oncoming headache. She didn’t want to cause Sara’s concern and covered up the action by opening the door.
    “You don’t fool me for a minute, Julianna.” Once inside, they stood by the doorway.
    Lightening the mood, Julianna asked about her intended. “Steven seems happy about marrying you. I saw him smiling.”
    “When my da contacted him about the arrangement, Steven came directly. He remembered me from visits when I was young.”
    “Seems you remembered him as well?”
    “Oh, aye, I did. Remember I told ye how I’d sneak down the stairs to listen to the meetings? I only talked to him once, and that was when he put out the fire I started next to the hearth.”
    Julianna laughed, recalling the tale. “Hah, ye set your chair on fire.”
    “I’d moved too close to the hearth and when the chair began smoking. I thought I was on fire.”
    “Maybe you were.”
    Noise from others inside the room drew their attention. Ladies gathered in the chamber for a respite from the celebration that would continue through the night. They sat around the chamber, and beyond them, lined tapestries and banners hung on the walls. The room’s conforming mien didn’t allay Julianna’s headache.
    “Come and sit. I have much to tell you.”
    Julianna sat on a cushion. “The convent is boring without you. There’s no one to make me laugh or get me into trouble. I miss ye.”
    “Mother Superior will be glad when we’re both gone.” Sara’s smile faltered.
    The headache Julianna was trying to avoid came on stronger. She tried inconspicuously to hide it, but she knew Sara noticed.
    “Ladies, please, I wish to be alone with my friend for a few minutes,” Sara said. One by one the girls reluctantly left the chamber.
    Julianna closed her eyes against the afternoon sun that streamed through the window casement. She didn’t dare look at Sara but could imagine her pitiful look.
    “I’m sorry, they’re boisterous.” Sara handed her a cool cloth. “Tell me why you are so forlorn? Your headache is telling. I know ye well enough to know …”
    “’Tis probably from travel. I’m not forlorn, see …” she smiled, though half-heartedly.
    Sara pursed her lips. “I don’t like seeing you despondent. One day you’ll find a man who will sweep you off your feet like I did. Then you’ll be free of your despicable father. I wish ye wouldn’t worry so.”
    Julianna took her friend’s hand. “You always make me forget my worries. But soon I’ll have to leave the convent and face him . Even now he must be searching for someone to foist me on. He threatens me whenever I’m at home. I should become a nun. Aye, that would solve my problem. Imagine his happiness were I to do so.”
    They both laughed. Sara squeezed her hand. “Mother Superior would fall to her knees if ye even hinted at becoming a nun. What about Bleeth? I see how he looks at ye. I’ve always thought him a handsome devil.”
    “Don’t jest, Sara. Bleeth is my friend and I’m not attracted to him. He’s like an older loveable brother who teases me and looks out for me.”
    Sara laughed heartily. “You do not see him as I do. He’s tall, has a slight build, but is not weak, nor fat around the middle. He’s only a handful of years older than ye. I do adore his dark hair, so black…black as night, and his dark, mysterious eyes.”
    “He’s not the man I envision