Read Online A Bit of Heaven on Earth by Lauren Linwood - Free Book Online
Authors: Lauren Linwood
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tension in the room. “Ah, here are some stewed plums for you, my lord. I thought ‘twould be just the thing.”
Her husband grimaced.
“Unless you’d prefer stewed pears or apples?” Nelia asked.
Elizabeth waved her away. “No, Nelia, that is all.” The servant backed from the room as she took Aldred’s hand. “’Twas a pain again, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “A bad one,” he admitted. She knew how very bad it must have been to admit so in front of their visitor.
“Then I must be off,” Robert said. “You are in good hands with Elizabeth to nurse you. May I call again on the morrow?”
“No!”
She was astonished at not only the volume but intensity in her husband’s voice. She shot a quick glance at Robert.
“Stay,” Aldred said, his breathing become more rapid.
“Of course.” Robert returned to the bedside. “How might I assist you, my lord?”
Aldred glanced up at Elizabeth. “’Tis a private matter, my dear. I must see Robert alone.”
Elizabeth was speechless. Aldred had never kept a single secret from her. What could he possibly want from Robert that she couldn’t know about?
“There’s nothing that I can’t do—or won’t do—for you, Husband,” she stated.
He smiled soothingly at her. “I know that, Wife. I will call if I have need of you. Now go and rest. You work far too hard.”
She walked stiffly to the door, upset at the dismissal. She opened it and slipped out into the corridor.
What mysterious secret would Aldred share with Robert? And why?
CHAPTER 7
England, 1359
Gavin kept his eyes on the sun as the first of it dipped below the horizon. Sunset had once been a favorite time of day for him. It meant an end to training exercises or battles in progress. Time for food and frolic. He could not remember how many countless women he’d pleasured himself with over the years. All those nights from long ago blurred as if they were one.
Nowadays, he treasured the sunrise instead. It was a sign that he was still alive and ready to take on a new day. The three months since his escape from the French hellhole had been harsh ones, first as he made his way to the coast and then selling the horse for passage on a ship barely a step above his prison cell. Yet not a day dawned that he didn’t relish the life Father Janus had given back to him. He assumed the old priest died in the squalid cell even as Gavin escaped, allowing him to be reborn.
Northern England’s landscape unfolded before him. Spring would bloom soon, but for now the last vestiges of winter hung over the land. Gavin inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh smell of the clean, cold air and the look of trees that were on the verge of regaining their leaves.
He squatted down and touched the soil beneath him, brushing his fingers along it reverently. English soil, which he would never take for granted again.
Homer voiced his displeasure, and he righted himself. He reached under the tattered cloak and stroked the growing kitten, resting in a sack he’d fashioned to hang from his neck. Homer nipped at his fingers playfully before snuggling close to him. The faint rumble of a purr began. Gavin wondered if it would take so little to appease him.
As twilight unfolded, feelings of apprehension filled him. Within a few miles, he would arrive at Ashgrove. He longed to see his parents, yet his stomach knotted with thoughts of that first meeting. Would he simply fall into his mother’s arms as she wept with joy? Or would he push her aside and confront his father angrily? He’d had weeks to find an answer and had yet to do so.
Once again he thought that mayhap thieves apprehended the messenger in route and took the gold from him. Had the original courier been killed? Or had the man fled with the ransom? None of these explained the sealed note, though. Soon he would look into his father’s eyes.
And find his answer.
Gavin arrived at the small village on Ashgrove lands. Already past dark, little activity occurred. Only
Her husband grimaced.
“Unless you’d prefer stewed pears or apples?” Nelia asked.
Elizabeth waved her away. “No, Nelia, that is all.” The servant backed from the room as she took Aldred’s hand. “’Twas a pain again, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “A bad one,” he admitted. She knew how very bad it must have been to admit so in front of their visitor.
“Then I must be off,” Robert said. “You are in good hands with Elizabeth to nurse you. May I call again on the morrow?”
“No!”
She was astonished at not only the volume but intensity in her husband’s voice. She shot a quick glance at Robert.
“Stay,” Aldred said, his breathing become more rapid.
“Of course.” Robert returned to the bedside. “How might I assist you, my lord?”
Aldred glanced up at Elizabeth. “’Tis a private matter, my dear. I must see Robert alone.”
Elizabeth was speechless. Aldred had never kept a single secret from her. What could he possibly want from Robert that she couldn’t know about?
“There’s nothing that I can’t do—or won’t do—for you, Husband,” she stated.
He smiled soothingly at her. “I know that, Wife. I will call if I have need of you. Now go and rest. You work far too hard.”
She walked stiffly to the door, upset at the dismissal. She opened it and slipped out into the corridor.
What mysterious secret would Aldred share with Robert? And why?
CHAPTER 7
England, 1359
Gavin kept his eyes on the sun as the first of it dipped below the horizon. Sunset had once been a favorite time of day for him. It meant an end to training exercises or battles in progress. Time for food and frolic. He could not remember how many countless women he’d pleasured himself with over the years. All those nights from long ago blurred as if they were one.
Nowadays, he treasured the sunrise instead. It was a sign that he was still alive and ready to take on a new day. The three months since his escape from the French hellhole had been harsh ones, first as he made his way to the coast and then selling the horse for passage on a ship barely a step above his prison cell. Yet not a day dawned that he didn’t relish the life Father Janus had given back to him. He assumed the old priest died in the squalid cell even as Gavin escaped, allowing him to be reborn.
Northern England’s landscape unfolded before him. Spring would bloom soon, but for now the last vestiges of winter hung over the land. Gavin inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh smell of the clean, cold air and the look of trees that were on the verge of regaining their leaves.
He squatted down and touched the soil beneath him, brushing his fingers along it reverently. English soil, which he would never take for granted again.
Homer voiced his displeasure, and he righted himself. He reached under the tattered cloak and stroked the growing kitten, resting in a sack he’d fashioned to hang from his neck. Homer nipped at his fingers playfully before snuggling close to him. The faint rumble of a purr began. Gavin wondered if it would take so little to appease him.
As twilight unfolded, feelings of apprehension filled him. Within a few miles, he would arrive at Ashgrove. He longed to see his parents, yet his stomach knotted with thoughts of that first meeting. Would he simply fall into his mother’s arms as she wept with joy? Or would he push her aside and confront his father angrily? He’d had weeks to find an answer and had yet to do so.
Once again he thought that mayhap thieves apprehended the messenger in route and took the gold from him. Had the original courier been killed? Or had the man fled with the ransom? None of these explained the sealed note, though. Soon he would look into his father’s eyes.
And find his answer.
Gavin arrived at the small village on Ashgrove lands. Already past dark, little activity occurred. Only
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