Dragon of the Island Read Online Free

for a
wedding tomorrow.”
    * * *
    “How could you?” Julia asked Aurora
peevishly as soon as they reached the privacy of the villa. “Acting
like a loathsome table wench—Maelgwn might have thought Papa was
trying to deceive him. Your behavior could have ruined the truce
and gotten us all killed.”
    “I noticed that you weren’t so anxious to
preserve the truce when it appeared Maelgwn might choose you,”
Aurora retorted. “Perhaps I was foolish, but at least I will bear
the blame for it.”
    “Don’t say that,” Carina implored. “You are
not to blame. I think that Maelgwn chose you out of spite, to hurt
Papa. It makes me wonder what kind of man he is.”
    “Don’t be silly. We know what kind of man he
is,” Julia argued. “Maelgwn is ruthless, scheming, wicked...”
    “Julia!” Lady Cordelia’s voice was harsh.
“It’s time you went to bed. I want to talk to Aurora alone.”
    Aurora allowed her mother to lead her to her
bedchamber and help her undress. Her bed was in a little alcove set
off from the main room where her sisters slept, and she could hear
their whispers through the separating curtain. For once she did not
strain to hear their talk. She was too shocked, too numb to deal
with anything but her own thoughts. Never had she imagined Maelgwn
would chose her. It was a complete breach of good manners to select
the youngest daughter when she had two older, marriageable sisters
available. Why had Maelgwn done it? Did he think that Constantine
had deliberately hidden her away? If so, his choosing her was, as
Carina suggested, an act of obvious spite.
    Aurora tried to muster the energy to renew
her fury toward her future husband. He was so arrogant, so brazen.
She could not forget his probing look before he chose her, the way
his eyes lingered on her body where the gown pulled tight. The
memory of his look made her shiver with fear... and something
else.
    “Aurora,” Lady Cordelia’s voice was soft and
tender as she brushed Aurora’s tangled dark hair. “Don’t be
frightened. Despite what Julia says, we don’t really know what kind
of man Maelgwn is. There are plenty of leaders who deal ruthlessly
with their enemies, but that doesn’t mean they’re not decent or
respectable people. Your father, for example. He has ruled
Viroconium strongly and well for nearly a score of years, but no
one could ask for a more devoted husband and father.”
    Lady Cordelia paused, reluctant to suggest
that Maelgwn might be a doting husband. She didn’t really know what
to say to Aurora. She had never discussed the realities of marriage
with her youngest daughter. She must try quickly to impart some of
what she had learned in twenty years of being a wife.
    “A man like Maelgwn will undoubtedly expect
your complete obedience,” Lady Cordelia began. “But making him care
for you is another matter. If you can learn to anticipate his needs
and meet them eagerly, your husband will soon come to depend upon
you for comfort and security in his life. Over time you may become
his partner, his consort as well as his wife.”
    Aurora gaped at her mother. “You mean you
expect me to try and please Maelgwn, to make him happy?”
    “Of course! I know little of Cymru
practices, but among our people, the Cornovii, a man has complete
authority over everyone in his household, including his wife. A
wife’s place is not to question her husband’s authority, but to
influence it.”
    Aurora looked distinctly displeased by these
words, and Lady Cordelia felt a stirring of apprehension. She and
Constantine had spoiled Aurora and failed to prepare her for her
future as a nobleman’s wife. Her daughter’s fiery temper and
headstrong nature would not endear her to a grim, hardened man like
Maelgwn. Still, Lady Cordelia did not think even Maelgwn the Great
could be immune to Aurora’s beauty and innocent charm. Which
brought her to another subject she needed to discuss with her
daughter.
    “Aurora, you do know of a wife’s