Beneath a Midnight Moon - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,48
Hadj replied, setting the platter before Lord Kray.
Lord Kray grunted with disapproval as he took his seat at the head of the table. Still abed, he thought irritably, and then chided himself for his unkind reaction. The girl had had a hard time of it, what with her father dying and all. No doubt she needed the rest.
“All right, you louts,” he called good-naturedly, “stop leering at the Lady Kylene like you’ve never seen a girl in skirts before and sit down. My meal grows cold. Dubrey, will you say the blessing?”
Kylene bowed her head, conscious of Hardane beside her. How many more days would she be allowed to stay at the castle? How could she bear to leave him?
With the blessing said, Hardane’s brothers turned their attention to the large platters of food that were forthcoming from the kitchens.
Gradually, as the men eased their hunger, Kylene became aware that the brothers were watching her speculatively.
“You never gave me an answer, my lady,” Dubrey said after a while. “Will you walk with me in the gardens?”
“I . . . I don’t know.”
“Say you will,” Dubrey coaxed. “You can bring Hardane along as chaperon if it will make you feel safer.”
Kylene slid a glance in Hardane’s direction. His dark brows were drawn together in a scowl of disapproval.
“You won’t mind, will you, little brother?”
“Won’t mind what?”
Kylene glanced over her shoulder to see Selene enter the room. She looked radiant this morning. Clad in a flowing robe of midnight blue, Selene seemed to float across the floor.
As though pulled by the same string, six pairs of eyes gazed first at Kylene and then at Selene.
“Twins,” Dirk mused, poking Garth in the ribs.
“Yes,” Hardane acknowledged.
“One for each of us,” Garth said to Dirk, “if we can just manage to get rid of our little brother.”
Kylene blushed.
Selene laughed.
Hardane was not amused. He glared at his brothers, warning them to keep still.
“Here, Lady Selene,” Liam said, rising. “Come, sit here beside me and let us get acquainted.”
“Thank you,” Selene said. She smiled graciously at Liam, apparently pleased by his request. Inwardly, she was fuming because Hardane had not made a place for her at his side.
“So,” Lord Kray said, his gaze sweeping over the faces of his sons, “how long will you be home?”
Garth shrugged. “Until the wedding, at least. After all, it isn’t every day that our baby brother marries.”
“Indeed,” Dubrey agreed. He looked at Kylene and smiled. “Perhaps, if I’m very lucky, we’ll have a double wedding.”
Hardane swore softly, his annoyance at his brother’s implication bordering on soul-dark rage.
Dubrey stood up and extended his hand to Kylene. “Shall we take that walk, my lady?”
Because she could think of no polite way to refuse, Kylene placed her hand in Dubrey’s and stood up.
“Will you accompany us, Hardane?” Dubrey asked.
“If you feel the need for a chaperon, take Dace,” Hardane replied tersely, and rising to his feet, he left the room as though pursued by demons.
Dubrey chuckled softly. “Do you feel the need for an escort, my lady?”
Kylene looked into Dubrey’s eyes and saw only merriment and a desire to bedevil his brother lurking in their depths. “No.”
Dubrey bowed to his mother, nodded to his father, and led Kylene from the room.
Outside, they walked for a time in silence. Dubrey continued to hold Kylene’s hand but she didn’t object. She felt no threat from this man, only a sense of friendship.
“You care for Hardane deeply, do you not?” Dubrey asked after a time.
“Yes.”
“It shows.” Dubrey chuckled softly. “Just as it shows that he cares for you, and not for your sister.”
“Did Hardane tell you that?”
“No, but we’ve always been close. I can see how he feels by the way he looks at you.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’ll wed Selene soon.”
“What will you do then?”
“I don’t know. Go to Dunsmere, perhaps.”
“Dunsmere? Why would you want to go there? It’s a dreary place.”
“They’ve a large cloister there. Perhaps they’ll accept me, if I suit.”
“Accept you? You’d lock yourself away from the world just because Hardane is marrying another.”
“No. I’m pledged to the Sisterhood at Mouldour, but I can’t return there, so I thought perhaps Dunsmere Abbey would take me.”
“You, a member of the Sisterhood? I don’t believe it.”
“It’s true.”
“But . . .” Dubrey frowned. “How did you meet Hardane?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have nothing better to do.” Dubrey paused before a low stone bench situated beneath a lacy tree. “Let us sit awhile and