Lady Thief - By Rizzo Rosko Page 0,18
to run a household as she claimed.
She straightened her back and reminded herself that she was the lady of the castle. “I would like to see this Robert. If the stables are his business, then he should be in here with Archer and not out doing … whatever he is doing at this time. Where is he?”
Archer hesitated. “I think ‘e is with master Blaise, milady,”
She blinked, unsure of how she should feel about having missed seeing Blaise. After a week she had almost grown to think she would never see him. It appeared he spent much of his time hunting and riding, or hiding in some other part of the castle. “Is that so? Doing what?”
“Riding, most likely,” said Adam. “They do that. ‘Tis the only thing that will get Robert to move ‘is, er, to get ‘im working, milady.”
She tapped her chin, struggling over whether she should await his return or harass the servants into working. “Hmm, when do you expect them back?”
Archer shrugged. “They left some time ago, milady. I ‘xpect they shall return shortly.”
No sooner had the statement left his lips did two horses gallop into the stables before jolting to a heavy halt out of the reach of the sun, kicking up earth and strands of hay.
Marianne’s stomach ached. Even with the dim lighting she knew who it was. With a little warning she might have fled before they arrived, but the doors were blocked and now ‘twas too late.
She dreamed of this confrontation for months, but dearly wished for it to not happen now that he was here. Now she must finally meet Blaise. The man she was supposed to marry and the man that turned her down.
The thought lit a fire of anger in her heaving chest. ‘Twas his fault she was in such an awkward position and she would do well to not forget it!
With the light behind them she could not distinguish the two from each other at first. When they lowered themselves from their horses, the older of the two allowed the grooms to take his horse away while the younger held the reigns tightly. As he approached the light in the windows, Marianne found that if not for the clothes they wore, which clearly stated their differences in station, she still would not be able to tell one from the other. The sight sucked the breath out of her.
Both men were of equal height and hair color, a bright orange only found on the carrots in Marianne’s stew, that met in a small widow’s peak in the center of their foreheads. Both pairs of cheeks were equally spotted with freckles, though they did appear fading on the face of the older man. And one did appear some years older. He was older than William even, though not by many years, with deep lines under his eyes and aging hands.
Marianne saw no laugh lines around his mouth either, and she pondered over what could prevent a servant, who was offered so much freedom, from ever smiling.
For a servant neither his posture nor step was humble, he stood nearly as tall as the young lord riding beside him, though he did keep one hand clasped over the other, as though hiding something.
The younger one must surely be Blaise, but they looked too much alike to not have any blood connection.
Surely Archer had made a mistake. But when the younger one came down from his horse and handed Archer the reigns of the magnificent animal he had been riding, she knew that no mistake had been made.
“See to it he gets watered.” He patted the animal fondly on the neck. “Benedict ran well today.”
Archer bowed. “Aye, Master Blaise.”
“You are Blaise?” The words burst from Marianne’s throat without her permission. She deeply suspected it when she saw them, but ‘twas shocking nonetheless to find it to be true.
He turned a scornful eye to her, his nose upturned in sneer. Then he looked at her red hair before a flicker of recognition dawned. “Yes, and you must be my new stepmother.”
Chapter Five
William slammed his goblet down and poured himself another drink. The celebration of his union had officially ended after only a few more guests needed a gentle push out of his castle gates, apart from Sir Holton, who had slipped away without notice.
Lord Seacliffe and Lady Anne were the only ones to leave early. A disappointment since they were among the few people that William enjoyed having for guests, though, admittedly apart of