Read Dragonblade Trilogy - 03 - The Savage Curtain for Free Online Page B

truth.”
    “Do you know where his father is
now?”
    She shook her head. “After it
happened, my father told me never to speak of it again. I have no knowledge of
what became of the soldier or who he was.”
    Stephen regarded her carefully,
thoughtfully. “Surely you caught a glimpse of something that might give a clue
as to where he came from. Did he say anything?”
    “Nothing that I choose to repeat
in your presence,” she told him, but realizing by the expression on his face
that he was only attempting to help her. Her brow furrowed as she struggled to
bring forth thoughts that she had tried very hard to forget. “I... I remember
that he bore the colors of gray and red. I heard someone say that those were
the standards of the Earl of Carlisle.”
    Stephen gazed steadily at her.
Then, he snorted, an ironic gesture that Joselyn misread as a haughty one. 
Ashamed, she backed away from Stephen and pulled the tartan more tightly about
her.  She was in the process of pressing herself into the wall again when he
stopped her.
    “Nay, lady, you’ll not move away
from me,” he had her by the arm. “I was not laughing at you. I was simply
thinking that after all these years, you may be in luck.  Justice may yet
come.”
    She was not sure what he meant.
“What do you mean?”
    Stephen tugged on her until she
moved away from the wall and back in his direction. “Because Tate de Lara
happens to be the current Earl of Carlisle,” he told her. “Perhaps this man is
still in his ranks; when he assumed the title, Carlisle Castle was already
staffed.  It had been since Harclay was executed. Perhaps this soldier is still
within the earl’s ranks.”
    “Who is Tate de Lara?”
    “The other man who escorted you
to your marriage. He has been in the hall all night.”
    She looked dubious and hopeful at
the same time. “Is it possible? The soldier is probably long dead.”
    Stephen shrugged. “It is indeed
possible, but if he is alive, more than likely he is still at Carlisle.  Men at
arms, unlike knights, tend to settle in one place and stay if the conditions
are good. Are you sure he was a soldier and not a knight?”
    She blinked in thought, trying to
recall that which she had blocked out for so many years. “I am not sure, to be
truthful,” she said timidly. “He wore mail and a tunic, and his helm came off
at one point. I know he had red hair.”
    “Unlike the boy.”
    She shook her head. “His hair is
dark, like mine,” she replied, trying to read the expression on his face. He
seemed to have warmed up from the cold and harsh man she had been introduced
to. “Will you find him?”
    Stephen lifted a dark eyebrow. “I
will do better than that,” he replied decisively. “I will find him and when I
do, I will kill him.”
    Her eyes widened. “Why would you
do this?”
    The cornflower blue eyes grew
intense. “Because you are my wife.  This man stole your innocence which
belonged to me and for that, he will pay the price.”
    She gazed steadily at him, torn between
disbelief and hope. “I am indebted, my lord,” she said quietly. “It does not
seem enough to thank you.”
    An enormous hand came up and he
took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. He tilted her head to get a
better look at her exquisite face; she had the most amazing eyes of pale blue,
a striking contrast against her dark hair.  He took the moment to openly study
her, the first time he had done so since they had been introduced. Much to his
horror, he could feel his defenses softening but at the moment, he didn’t much
care.
    “You will not address me so
formally in private,” he said quietly, still studying her face. “I will answer
to Stephen. Or Husband.”
    Joselyn gazed at him, feeling strange
warmth bubbling in her belly.  The longer he looked at her, the more the warmth
seemed to spread, making it difficult to breathe.  Even as he inspected her,
she inspected him in return; his eyes were so vibrantly blue that she