Free The Dark Knight by Elizabeth Elliott Page B

of ale and a mug for Dante. Brunor waited until the servants had retreated before he spoke, and then in a tone only Dante could hear. “Is Reynard certain he wants to tie his daughter and his allegiance to the Segraves?”
    Dante took out the small dagger he used for meals and then began to toy with the crumbling white meat of a fish fillet as he considered his answer. Telling as much of the truth as possible was always the easiest and most successful ploy. “The baron’s mind is set on the matter. The Segraves will be a powerful ally on Weston’s southern borders, and he wants this marriage to take place as soon as possible.”
    “Then you had best heed well this warning,” Brunor said, as he leaned closer. “My wife intends to do everything within her power to put you in bed with Avalene.”

If Dante had lifted his knife a moment sooner, he would have choked on the first bite of his meal. Instead he managed to hold on to the food, and even forced down a small mouthful to hide his shock. He instinctively rolled the lump of fish over his tongue to search for any hidden taste of poison while his mind did much the same with this latest piece of astonishing news. What mischief were Margaret and Brunor about? Was this some ploy? More to the point, what could these two hope to gain from it?
    The strange plan he had started out with all those weeks ago in London grew more bizarre by the moment. He set his knife aside. “You have me at a loss, Lord Brunor. Baron Weston sent me specifically because he knows I would never betray my liege lord or his daughter in such a vile manner. Why would your wife conceive of such a plan, much less assume I would cooperate?”
    “My eyesight is not what it once was,” Brunor said, “but I can still recognize when a man is besotted with awoman. Margaret and John recognized the signs as well. You do a poor job of disguising your emotions.”
    Dante wanted to laugh in his face, he, a master at disguising and controlling his emotions. Until today.
    That Brunor had the right of it would indeed be laughable under different circumstances.
Gesù
. Even a near-blind man recognized that he acted like a lecherous goat. Avalene de Forshay had turned his head to sap. However, his brain still functioned well enough to wonder why they seemed determined to serve the girl up to him on a platter. “I meant no disrespect, Lord Brunor, but I had not been warned of her beauty. Indeed, I expected a maiden more plain than comely. I cannot explain what came over me, and can only apologize and swear that nothing will come of it.”
    “Ah, but you have yet to reckon with the force that is my wife,” Brunor warned. “She has it in her head that Avalene should not leave Coleway, ever, and the only way to accomplish her goal is for Avalene to marry one of my men. She has pestered me endlessly with her schemes and plans. Now that she knows her brother has no intention of accommodating her wishes, her clever mind has latched upon the only other way to get what she wants. I believe she intends to make certain Avalene is compromised and discovered in bed with a lover. The man responsible will be immediately hung, of course, but not before Avalene’s reputation is ruined. No decent man will want her as a bride after that. That is, no man her father would choose. Marriage to a lowly knight or a high-ranking servant will become the only path open to her. In you, I am certain Margaret sees a way to compromise the girl without losing one of our own men in the process.”
    Dante had long ago passed the point where anything he heard or saw could shock him. Still, it was highlystrange for Brunor to confide so much in the man who was supposed to play the pawn. He stated the only response that seemed appropriate. “You astonish me, Lord Brunor.”
    “Oh, there is more,” Brunor promised. “Margaret does not know this, but John has pestered me for years to petition Baron Weston on his behalf to contract a betrothal. When