Candace C. Bowen - A Knight Series 01 Read Online Free Page A

Warin.”
    “Aye, my liege.” Sneaking a glance at his father, Warin joined the men.
    “Might I speak plainly, Sir?”
    “I expect nothing less,” Everard replied curtly.  
    “With an abundance of houses that would willingly foster the lad, I
well know why you sought me out in Rochester.”  
    “I sought the best house to foster my only son, your lordship.   You would hold that against me?”
    “If that were all, no. However, it is true the king rewarded me richly
with possessions coveted by most men.”
    Sir Everard looked incredulous. “You do not count yourself as one of
those men?”
    “Accoutrements of battle are all that I find necessary.”   He shrugged. “I have no need for more.”    
    Everard looked as if he would disagree, yet remained tight-lipped.   They sat in an uncomfortable silence until a
door on the second level closed, drawing Everard’s attention.
    Following his host’s lead, Fulke stood impassive as two plump, dark
haired women made their way down the stone steps.   He assumed the one wearing a white linen veil
to be the Lady Baldith, the other the lady’s younger sister; so much alike were
they in appearance.  
    With distaste, he noted the vulgar display of gold the two women
boasted on their fingers as they approached.  
    Spotting the women, his men grew silent.
    Dropping into curtseys, Everard gestured towards the younger
woman.   “Your lordship, may I present the
daughter I spoke to you about, Mistress Sibilla.”
    Fulke choked on his surprise, before managing, “Your daughter?”
    “Aye. The one I spoke to you about,” Sir Everard reminded him.
    I was left with the impression you had only one daughter, sir.”
    Before Sir Everard could reply, Sibilla rudely spoke up, “My father has
a daughter from his dead wife, your lordship. She is beneath your noble
regard.”
    Rejoining the group, Warin opened his mouth to speak when a look from
his father had him snapping his mouth shut to bristle in angry silence.
    Unable to make sense of Sibilla’s words, Fulke fully intended to find
out what she meant by them.
    About to question her, Sir Everard snapped, “See to his lordship’s
chamber, Sibilla.”
    “Aye father.” She smiled coyly at Fulke before taking her leave.
      “We shall see you at supper,
your lordship.”   Pushing Warin ahead of
him, Sir Everard escorted his wife up the steps.
    Stunned at the latest turn of events, Fulke stood staring at their
backs.
     
    * * * *

 
    Frustrated, Fulke stubbornly remained in the Great Hall. Staring
blindly into the fire’s flickering light, his thoughts were held by a pair of
brilliant blue eyes.  
    Replaying the evening’s events, he was no closer to finding out about
the beauty than when he started.  
    Seated between Lady Baldith and Sibilla, he found himself held captive
by their ceaseless chatter.
    Feigning interest, he could not stop thinking about Warin’s older
sister.   Egad, he thought, I do not even
know her name.
    Throughout the meal, he kept an eye on Warin as the lad’s anxious gaze
kept returning to the door.   He alone
noticed when Warin slipped away from the table to speak to an elder serf woman
standing in the shadows by the door.
    Whenever Fulke broke away from the cloying women to speak to Warin, Sir
Everard would materialize by his side with an excuse to lead him away.  
    Frustrated, at one point he came close to following the lad into the
garderobe to demand answers.
    Left with no choice, he reluctantly returned to the table. Curtly
responding when one of the women questioned him.  
    He believed his chance had come at last when the family prepared to
retire for the night.   Bidding him a curt
good eve, Sir Everard motioned for Warin to ascend the steps before him,
leaving him to grind his teeth in frustration.
    Warin’s duties would not officially start until after they left
Kenwick, yet he had no intention of waiting that long.   Pondering the many possibilities that would
explain