Read She Owns the Knight for Free Online

she’d know for sure and deal with it then.
    As much as she liked the thought of seeing her family again, she liked the version where she was simply unconscious, dreaming, and had a full life ahead of her still. Did people in comas resist waking because they were somewhere nice and didn’t want to leave?
    Something else to think about later. Right now, there were tons of much more pleasant things to focus on. The place was amazing. Gillian ran her hand on one section of the wall as she walked up the stairs, admiring the rough, mismatched stonework and the way the staircase curved around to form an arch above a window.
    She tripped on the uneven steps, not a good idea as she could fall off to the side and to the floor below if she wasn’t careful, so she pulled the blanket from her shoulders and hung it over one arm so she’d have a better view of the steps.
    Key Woman, jangling with every step, shrieked, and spilled words so fast Gillian couldn’t catch what she was saying, but the woman was obviously in some sort of distress, her face panicky and screwed up like a lemon.
    The woman lunged forward, pulled at the blanket around Gillian’s arm and tried to cover her legs with it, but the bulk of the material tightened around her arm when Gillian pressed herself against the wall to keep from tumbling over the side.
    Eyes wide, heart pounding, Gillian gripping the stones. Was the woman trying to kill her?
    When tugging didn’t work, the woman held out her skirts as if to hide Gillian from view. The woman called out to others, serving girls by the looks of them, and they rushed up to push Gillian up the stairs and into a hallway. Gillian, getting the hint, hurried on her own and finally rounded the corner, Key Woman shrieking behind her all the way.
    Once in the hallway, the woman calmed down and Gillian, still unsettled by the shrieking and pushing, tried to ignore her and the others.
    Spying a colorful wall hanging, flickering wall sconces, and a couple of handcrafted tables, Gillian turned her attention to her surroundings, pausing to study an aqua and white vase, but was firmly pushed down the hallway and into a room where they shut the door behind them.
    She hardly had time to glance at the large bed with its heavy wooden frame, comfortable bedding, and linen hangings before the women circled her.
    Gillian took a breath and crossed her arms. This was the third time she’d been circled in less than an hour. What was it with this place? Was her subconscious acknowledging that she was still in danger? Couldn’t she simply enjoy this hallucination into another time and place without constantly feeling threatened?
    The women talked amongst themselves, reached out, and, though Gillian’s instinct was to batt their curious hands away, she refrained.
    They felt her clothes, rubbing the material of her shirt and jacket. Gillian nodded. “Old Navy.”
    They fingered her cotton shorts. “Macy’s. And I got the belt at a yard sale when I was in college.” One woman ran her hands down one of Gillian’s legs and Gillian was glad she’d shaved that morning.
    Another pushed a finger into an athletic shoe, then plucked at the laces. “Adidas.” Gillian finally squirmed away. “May I ask what you’re doing?”
    Key Woman gestured at her clothes. “Disrobe, please.”
    The woman finally spoke slowly enough that Gillian understood, and she wanted her to strip? Gillian narrowed her eyes. Was this a mental representation of her fear of the assault she was worried about? She shook her head. “No way. That is not going to happen.”
    Key Woman crossed to a large chest against the wall and opened it. She took something out, shook it, turned and lifted a beautiful blue gown for Gillian to inspect. It was similar to the one Key Woman wore, only smaller, finer in quality, a better cut, and a prettier color.
    Gillian wavered. The dress really was gorgeous, and Gillian loved the color blue. And it would be fun to wear while she was in