Wed By Proxy (Brides of Karadok Book 1)
Page 35
Guy whipped the letter out of her fingers and threw it over the side. “Who?”
“Guy! I meant to read it to you!” she said in exasperation. “You won’t believe this, but apparently Lord Vawdrey’s youngest brother Roland has eloped with her!”
Guy rolled his eyes. He muttered something she did not catch, which sounded suspiciously like ‘not more Vawdreys’. Then carefully he pinned her arm above her head, and kissed her collarbone.
“Well, yes,” she said breathlessly. “But the astonishing thing is that Eden is so very proper and a real stickler for decorum, whereas Roland Vawdrey, is decidedly not… It’s such a very strange match. Almost as strange as ours.”
He paused at that. “Our pairing is not strange,” he said firmly. “It was foretold in the stars.”
“Is that what Old Helga said?” Mathilde was startled. She did not think she had ever heard the old woman speak so fancifully.
“As good as,” muttered Guy.
His lips traveled down, and Mathilde’s inclination to talk court gossip diminished rapidly. After all, they would be returning to Aphrany in the winter and she could catch up with everything then. Just then her eye fell on the large tapestry she had created for the bedroom wall. It depicted the lodge in all its cozy familiarity. Perhaps she should have shown a starry sky above the timbered building?
“Guy,” she said, running the fingers of her free hand into the dark hair at his nape.
He lifted his head, his eyes a little unfocussed. “Yes?”
“Let’s go to the lodge next week for a few days. Just the two of us.”
He gazed down at her blankly. “The lodge?”
“Yes, the lodge.”
“And why, my love,” he asked carefully. “All of a sudden do you want to go to the lodge?”
“Because,” she said wistfully. “It would be so nice if it was just you and I for a while. After Mother’s four-week visit, I mean. I can boil you eggs to eat. We can play cards, and there is a book there that I particularly wish to reread.”
His lips curved into a grin. “Well, that all sounds very nice. Let’s do that. Now, may I return to my explorations? At this precise moment I have an inclination to keep you flat on your back.”
She laughed. “Very well,” she conceded with a happy sigh. “But after I’ve read my book, there may be some other positions we could try.”
But Guy wasn’t listening. He was otherwise occupied and Mathilde was just fine with that. She would surprise him with some new ideas about that next week. Surprising her husband was one of the many, many delights of her life. And life right now, she thought, really was delightful.
THE END
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Many thanks from Alice.
Coming soon: More Tales from Alice Coldbreath’s Brides of Karadok series:
Winter 2019
The Unlovely Bride
Lenora Montmayne leads a charmed life as the most beautiful woman at King Wymer’s court, surrounded by admirers. And then disaster strikes. The red pox sweeps the summer palace at Caer-Lyones and Lenora’s fair face falls victim to its ravages. Without her looks, what does Lenora have left to her?
If ever there was a knight the crowd loves to hate, it’s Garman Orde. Even his own family despises him. Then one night a heavily veiled lady offers him an extraordinary bargain. And he finds out that Lenora Montmayne was never just a pretty face.
Summer 2020
The Princess Prize
Princess Una harbors no illusions about her claims to Karadok’s throne. The days of the royal house of Blechmarsh are done. The last of that ill-fated line, she is just grateful she emerged from the dark days of war with her head still on her shoulders. Now if only she could stop these rebellious Northern lords from plotting to overthrow the King and set her up in his stead!
When her royal cousin bids her to join him at court, Una is eager for the opportunity to publicly renounce her rights. After three years languishing under house arrest, she is keen to start her own life afresh, hopefully in relative obscurity.
Little does she realize what manner of husband fate has in store for her…