Read Betrothal (Time Enough To Love) for Free Online Page B

effort.
    “Aye, Anne,” she said with a trace of impatience. “An it please you , I would dine with my lord this evening.” She cut her eyes sharply toward Geoffrey. “We have much to discuss, it seems, my lord. Foremost being a suitable way for a man to approach a woman so she is not drowned!”
    Lady Maurya managed to intervene. “Sir Geoffrey, you have our leave to dine with Alyse.” With twinkling eyes she added, “God help you!”
    Geoffrey laughed and offered her his arm.
    With a wary look at her escort, she stood, adjusted the folds of her long blue skirt so she wouldn’t trip and placed her arm on his. As they approached his table, Alyse trembled to see it still crowded with Sir Robert Spencer, Sir Patrick Sullivan and Sir Phillip de Mauley. And of course, Lord Braeton. She steeled herself for an onslaught of banter from that noble. He had tried to sting her with his wit last evening, and she feared a like attempt now. In anticipation of his ribald humor, she studied him, trying to gauge his mood.
    At their approach, Geoffrey’s fellow courtiers scrambled to make a place for them in the middle of the table.
    “Good evening, Lady Alyse.” Sir Robert bowed and indicated the bench beside him. “Will you sit here by me, my lady?”
    “No, Sir Robert, I will have her here by me.” Patrick winked at her and grabbed her hand. She rolled her eyes at his audacity.
    “Gentles, I insist the lady sit nowhere but between me and her betrothed.” Lord Braeton’s commanding voice carried an undertone of menace.
    The other men sent up a discordant rumble, garnering curious looks from courtiers at nearby tables. Alyse glanced at the royal dais, and her stomach dropped to see the king’s attention drawn by their commotion. To become a spectacle in the raucous atmosphere of the Great Hall took some doing and was not the preferred way to obtain His Majesty’s notice. She returned her attention to her betrothed and bit her lip. Geoffrey had fixed the group with an ominous look from beneath lowered brows.
    God help us all!
    * * * *
    Towering over the men at the table, Geoffrey held up a hand to the courtiers, fixing his face into determined lines. They quieted, either out of respect for their friend or from his warning look as he stared them down
    “Gentles, I pray your patience. I agree it is meet that you are eager for the good company of Lady Alyse. I thank you for that compliment. But, as her intended husband, I claim first rites to her companionship this evening.”
    He plucked her hand from Patrick’s loosened grip and rubbed his thumb gently across her knuckles. She sucked in air at his touch, and he smiled to himself at the victory. What battles might he win if he could but get her alone for a time?
    A groan went up from his friends, but he continued. “We are hindered by but short acquaintance, and have need of conversation before the wedding.” He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, piercing each man by turn with his hard stare. A warning of serious consequences should they not acquiesce to his request.
    “Oh, come now, Geoffrey,” Thomas drawled. “Let us all make Lady Alyse welcome. You will have much time together after your marriage, whilst we bachelors will be left to sigh alone. You should not claim all the sport!”
    Geoffrey threw an indulgent smile at his friend. “Mayhap, Thomas, but you may make your addresses to my betrothed another time. I fear I must claim all of the lady’s attention at present. I would know her better ere we are wed.”
    Thomas’s eyebrow went up. “But Geoffrey, we would all know her better ere you are wed.”
    Geoffrey opened his mouth to answer Thomas’s bawdy comment, when a look at Alyse made him hesitate. Her face, suffused with redness, nevertheless showed a marked interest in the men’s exchange, especially Thomas’s barb. Her bright blue eyes gleamed at his friend, revealing her continued fascination with the man.
    The sight of her rapt face triggered a