To Kiss in the Shadows Read Free

sought-after knights in the realm. For herself, Lianna was unsurprised by Maud’s actions. She had ceased to be appalled by wedded women hunting desirable, unwedded men, even though in her home such a thing would have been unthinkable. Her parents had been devoted to each other. The thought of her mother having looked at a man other than her father never would have occurred to Lianna.
    Of course, that was before, before her family had been slain, before she had been fetched by the king’s courtiers and brought to court, where she had seen many things she never would have believed possible. ’Twas little wonder she passed most of her waking hours in the queen’s least-used solar, hiding from the intrigues and horrors of court, and trying desperately with needle and thread to recapture some of the beauty she’d lost.
    The door banged shut, and the excited shrieks of the women faded. Silence descended swiftly, leaving Lianna with nothing to face but her own thoughts. She looked over at the window and marked with dismay the waning of the daylight. Dusk meant she would have to descend to the great hall and take her place at the king’s table. How she loathed evenings! A pity she couldn’t hide herself in some darkened comer of the hall. Nay, her place was determined by the vastness of her father’s holdings.
    She often wondered why Henry hadn’t kept those lands for his own, but perhaps he had enough to fret over without them. Far better to sell her and her soil to a man who could manage the both of them. The king had need enough of allies, and she, after six months at court, had few illusions about what her fate would be. Her only surprise was that she hadn’t met that fate yet. Surely her freedom couldn’t last much longer. Even she was old enough, and wise enough, at a score to understand that.
    But even though her holdings and her station guaranteed her a place at supper, they didn’t guarantee her freedom from stares and smirks.
    Would that they could.
    The door behind her opened softly. She sighed but didn’t turn her head. That was something else she’d learned at Henry’s court: to hide her face. Tongues were cruel and never more so than when gazing on her poor visage. Better a knife in her back than words to pierce her soul.
    There was a substantial pause, then a soft footfall that came her way. Lianna ducked her head. A long form settled across from her on one of the stone benches set into the wall. Lianna glanced up long enough to see that it was a man, but not one dressed in the trappings of a lord. Given his clothing, he was nothing more than a squire, and a poor one at that. She had nothing to fear from such a man. She could dismiss him easily.
    She bent her head to her stitchery. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said firmly.
    â€œAye, there’s a goodly bit of truth,” he said with feeling. “The saints preserve me from the intrigues of a woman’s solar.”
    Given that such had been her thoughts as well, she risked a look at the man facing her. And the beauty of his visage, even cast as it was in the last rays of sunlight, was enough to make her catch her breath.
    His breath caught as well, and a small sound of dismay escaped him. But that brief flash of pity was gone so quickly, she almost wondered if she’d imagined it. He smiled a smile that would have felled her instantly had she not been so firmly seated on her chair.
    â€œThe pox,” he noted. “I had it, too. I’ll show you my scars, if you like.”
    She blinked at him.
    â€œThey aren’t on my sweet visage, as you can see.”
    She made a strangled noise of denial, hoping fervently that the man wouldn’t feel the need to strip down to his altogether to ensure her comfort.
    His smile turned into a mischievous grin that had her smiling in return—regardless of any desire she might have had to do otherwise.
    â€œYour maidenly eyes are