Tempered Hearts (Hearts of Valentia Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

either incredibly docile or utterly unhappy with the whole thing. Admittedly, he’d been as reluctant to discuss wedding plans himself, though he knew for certain why he avoided it. But her, he didn’t know her reasoning. Ingram said she was as much a proper lady as anyone could hope to be, so it stood to reason her silence was a show of deference, rather than lack of enthusiasm.
    When she entered her quarters, he immediately did a few quick calculations in his head. Her rooms were on the opposite side of the hallway he crept through, and he’d have to take a longer route if he wished to see how she behaved in private. How interesting could she possibly be in a room alone? Still, he might manage a better look at the whole of her without the cloak. Who knew what she was hiding beneath those waves of fabric? Decided, he continued on, skirting the outer edge of the rooms inside the walls.
    “And here we are, Your Grace,” Duke Ingram said as Darius passed through the spaces for the Duchess Tanarien. “I hope you find these quarters suitable. We’ve only just finished renovating this wing, so if you find anything out of place, please let us know.”
    “It’s very lovely, thank you, Ingram.”
    “Is there anything else you’ve need of before I go?”
    There was a pause, and Darius leaned in closer to hear. As long as he was there, he wouldn’t waste the opportunity.
    “His Highness will be joining us for dinner, won’t he?”
    Ingram cleared his throat. “Cora, I give you my word that he’ll be there. No matter what else comes up, I’ll see he’s there if I have to drag him away from the Emperor of Danumbar himself.”
    Darius cringed. When Ingram said he’d drag him, he wasn’t joking. His ears still stung from the last time the duke boxed them for avoiding a meeting with a Fergian emissary. Darius was usually quick enough to dodge the worst of his physical corrections, but the ones that landed made up for the ones he missed.
    In his preoccupation over how to avoid Ingram’s reach that night, his shoulder leaning against the wall slipped a little, the metal studs on his doublet scraping against the wood. He froze, wondering if anyone heard it.
    “Then I’ll send someone with tea and let you rest,” Ingram said, his voice nearing his position. “Have a lovely afternoon, Your Grace.”
    When Darius heard the door close, he hurried away, continuing his search to learn more about the Lady Arden. The corridor split, and he turned right, doing so again when he reached the turn towards his destination. Darius had a little chuckle at his own expense at the lengths he was going to for a little bit of information, but he was extremely grateful the castle staff wasn’t currently traveling the corridors to witness it. When he was sure he found the right room, he slid aside the tiny panel covering the peephole into the room.
    He jumped when he came directly under the gaze of two bright blue eyes. The lady was standing not two feet away, looking at whatever was on the other side of the wall. A quick glance around revealed the tops of books, which explained a good deal. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he returned his attention to the reason he was there.
    Were he any other man, he’d consider himself lucky to be engaged to someone so fair. Her heart-shaped face had a bone structure to rival any elf, and her lips parted in concentration as she scanned the titles, lending them a lovely ‘O’ shape. Dark hair framed her features in ornate looping braids draped alongside her cheeks, the rest left free to cascade around her shoulders and down her back. The rest of her was no less desirable, from what little he could see through the tiny hole in the wall, and at least the top portion of her green gown was exceedingly flattering to her moderate figure. The color reminded him of the forest in Banaril, dense with heavy rains and tropical foliage so thick it took three swings to cut through it for a single step. That