Serpent Read Free Page B

brothers were doing, William had not the heart to tell his cherubic little Penelope that she could not do what the boys did. He let her do it. The older she grew, the more strong-willed she had become and now he was facing the results of his lack of parental control. It was about to bite him in the arse.
    “’Tis yer own fault, English,” came the softly uttered voice of their mother, her words infused with a heavy Scots accent. “Ye taught Penelope well and now ye must pay for yer sins. She has yer cunning and she willna be snared. If she truly wishes tae hide from ye, then ye’ve taught her enough that she can stay away quite adequately.”
    William glanced at his wife as she stood in the doorway of his massive solar . Illuminated by the soft light, she looked far younger than her sixty-odd years. “So you have come to scold me?” he asked, somewhat defensively.
    “I have come tae warn ye. She’ll not be taken easily.”
    William already knew that. He tried to keep his patience with his wife but he couldn’t stomach the “I told you so” attitude. “Then what do you suggest?” he nearly demanded.
    The Lady Jordan Scott de Wolfe gazed steadily at her husband of nearly forty years . She knew what he was thinking, just as he knew what she was thinking. There wasn’t much they thought differently on, although Penelope had been one of those things. William had indulged the girl’s interest in knights and weapons whereas Jordan had tried to dissuade her, knowing how difficult it would be for her once she grew older. She would be an oddity in a man’s world. It would seem that Jordan had been increasingly correct, as the current situation now exemplified. They were in for trouble.
    Stepping into the solar, Jordan glanced at the rich and comfortable surroundings. Planted in the heart of Castle Questing, a massive fortress that crouched upon the lines of the Scottish border like a lion waiting to feed upon the unwitting souls of the Scots, the solar was a room that had seen more of its share of triumph and tragedy. The cold stone walls themselves reeked of power and warfare, as the lair of The Wolfe weaved its own web of intrigue and mystery.
    “Dunna search for her,” Jordan said quietly, pulling her wrap more tightly around her slender shoulders against the chill of the room. “She is smart enough tae hide from ye. A trap is the best thing for Penelope.”
    William was intrigued. “A trap?”
    Jordan nodded her head, gazing at the knights in the room; a few were her sons, a few were sons of other elderly knights that had been with her husband since he had been a young warrior. She gazed at the handsome faces of her sons; Scott, blond and brawny, and his twin Troy, who was dark like his father. Her gaze fell upon Patrick, her third son and the biggest and most powerful of them all, and then to Edward and Thomas, strapping men who were seasoned even at their young age. Five sons of the mighty Wolfe, all of them distinguished warriors in their own right, but the sixth son was missing. James had been killed in Wales the year before and the agony was still very fresh when she gazed at her boys. She imagined the missing one who had been tall and blond with an impish grin. Struggling against the familiar grief, her gaze returned to her husband.
    “Aye,” she said finally. “Ye must lure her out if ye have any chance of capturing her.”
    “How shall we lure her?”
    Jordan shrugged, a twinkle in her soft green eyes. “’Tis ye who are the military genius, English,” she said. “I shall leave that up tae ye.”
    William twisted his lips irritably at her but the truth was that he was trying not to grin. “You are no help at all, woman,” he growled.
    “Ye didna marry me tae help ye. Ye married me tae breed a host of strong sons and tell ye when ye are wrong.”
    William’s smile broke through. “I shall beat you severely for being so insolent.”
    Jordan snorted, glancing at her boys, who were also