Read Margaret Moore - [Warrior 13] for Free Online Page A

she could take him aside and explain!
    She tore her gaze away and spotted Damon and Benedict standing on the queen’s left. Sir Reece and his friends were on the king’s right.
    The hall was not that large, considering it was in the king’s castle, and yet the journey from the door to the king enthroned on the dais at the opposite end, his queen beside him, seemed miles long.
    At last she reached the dais. She made her obeisance to the king and waited for him to speak.
    Henry tilted his head to regard her. He appeared thoughtful and cunning, although the latter might be merely the effect of his drooping eyelid. As always, he was sumptuously attired, wearing a knee-length tunic of ivory samite, the sleeves slit to reveal a fine linen shirt. His breeches were faun colored, and his boots were gilded in a swirling pattern, as was his belt. His queen was likewise richly dressed, in a gown of beautiful sky blue damask.
    “My lady,” the king began, sounding very majestic despite his youth, “a most disturbing situation has been brought to my attention.”
    Shifting a little forward on the carved and cushioned wooden throne, he gestured at Sir Reece, who took a step toward her. “A very serious charge has been leveled against this young man, and we would have the truth of it.”
    “Sire, I have told you the truth,” Damon declared, likewise stepping closer. However, he didn’t look at the king, whom he supposedly addressed. He spoke to Eleanor, their very distant relative. “This man attacked her.”
    Scandalized whispers filled the hall and an angry murmur rose up from Sir Reece’s companions. The man himself stayed silent, his expression as enigmatic as she hoped hers was.
    “So you have said, Sir Damon,” Henry replied,sliding him an unexpectedly suspicious glance, as if he was not automatically disposed to believe him.
    If Henry suspected that Damon was lying about what had happened, would she not be wiser to stick to the truth, as every honorable instinct in her urged? Should she not cast her lot with Henry and Sir Reece rather than Eleanor and her half brothers?
    But what of Damon’s threat? He had complete control over Piers’s life, too, so he could easily ensure that she never saw her beloved brother again.
    “Sir Reece has denied the accusation,” the king continued. “So we have a stalemate. Therefore, it is time to hear Lady Anne’s version of events.”
    “My liege, she is too upset to speak about what happened,” Damon smoothly lied to his king. “She is but a frail woman, after all.”
    The frail woman felt the power of righteous indignation strengthen her resolve. He might lie to his sovereign lord, but she would not.
    Yet because of Damon’s power over her and Piers, she must tread carefully. She dare not call him a liar in so public a place or indeed, at all. She must excuse him by saying that he was hotheaded and overly upset by an incident that would best be forgotten.
    The words would be hard to say, but to stay near Piers, she would get them out somehow.
    Yet the thought of doing so before the court, and especially in front of Sir Reece, increased her rancor to an unbearable degree. She must try to get a more private audience with the king.
    An idea came to her and she acted upon it immediately. Damon had said she was weak. Right now, she would take advantage of that.
    Anne slowly and gracefully pretended to swoon.
    Fortunately, someone caught her by the shoulders and gently lowered her to the ground, sparing her the indignity of actually falling. She opened her eyes a crack to see Sir Reece’s handsome, bruised face looming above her, his firm lips and strong chin close enough to touch and an expression of concern wrinkling his brow.
    Her breathing quickened, and she gave in to temptation. She allowed herself to be held safely in his powerful arms.
    But that did not seem enough. She wanted to reach up and caress his cheek, to feel that roughness beneath her open palm. She wanted to