Free Too Wild to Wed by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

me we ought to consider doing a joint paper on the subject of the property rights of medieval widows."
    Letty sipped uneasily at her wine. The last thing she wanted to do was get involved in a joint project with Sheldon Peabody. Xavier was right. Sheldon Peabody was something of a pompous ass. She felt a bit sorry for him, but she had no intention of writing a paper with him.
    "Well, medieval widowhood is a fascinating subject, of course," Letty admitted carefully. "After all, the only time a woman had any real freedom or rights to speak of during the era was after she became a widow. Until then she was under the control of either her father or her husband. But I don't think our work is focused in the same direction, Sheldon. You've always emphasized the study of medieval patterns of warfare."
    "Warfare is out of fashion. Social history is the in thing these days. Family life, the role of women, that kind of thing. I've decided to explore new directions. Just think about it, Letty," Sheldon urged, his smile more charming than ever. He draped a familiar arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side, blithely ignoring her effort to resist.
    "Sheldon, I don't know. I really do think ..."
    "My lady, I have a feeling the two of us could turn out something pretty spectacular together. And I'm not talking about just a single paper, either. Hell, we might even get a whole book out of it. Yeah, pretty spectacular."
    "If you don't take your arm off my fiancée," Xavier said in a deceptively casual tone from directly behind Sheldon, "something spectacular is going to happen right here in front of the entire assembled multitude of the Medieval Revelers. And it won't be pretty."
    "Xavier."
    Letty jumped at the sound of that all too familiar voice. She whirled around, recognizing the steel in it, even if Sheldon did not.
    "Oh, it's you, Augustine." Sheldon's arm fell away from Letty's shoulders. "I was wondering when you'd show up. It was too much to hope you'd get lost en route, I suppose." With a bored air, he held his goblet out to the nearest bartender for a refill.
    Letty fixed Xavier with a repressive frown. "Xavier, if you don't stop going around implying we're still engaged, I'm going to have to take serious measures. I really won't tolerate
    — oh, my goodness." She broke off in amazed wonder at the sight of Xavier Augustine in medieval garb.
    He looked devastating. There was no other word for it, Letty decided. Xavier wore a stark black tunic emblazoned with a gold leopard. His leggings, boots and the shirt, which he wore under the tunic, were all black. An ornate belt rode low around his lean hips. The total effect, taken together with his riveting green eyes and midnight dark hair, was extremely unsettling.
    Letty's nerve endings felt as if they'd had a close brush with electricity. She had no problem at all imagining Xavier donning a suit of armor, mounting a big destrier and riding off to do battle. She reminded herself firmly that history scholars were frequently accused of being overimaginative.
    "Yes, Letty? What serious measures are you going to take?" Xavier accepted a glass of wine from one of the bartenders.
    "Never mind," she muttered. "This isn't the time or place for this sort of discussion."
    Xavier shrugged. "There's nothing to discuss as far as I'm concerned."
    "An interesting perspective on the problem," Sheldon drawled.
    "It's the only perspective. The trouble with you academic types is that you're inclined to view things from strange angles."
    "So now you're an authority on the academic approach?" Sheldon's mouth tilted sarcastically and he slanted an amused glance at Letty. "No wonder you called off the wedding, my dear. Our Saint Augustine seems to think his business success is more impressive than your academic accomplishments."
    "Letty knows I have nothing but respect for her academic accomplishments, don't you, Letty?" Xavier smiled at her.
    Letty stared at him, horrified by the suddenly