Free The Beast of Renald (The Northern Knights) by Amber Dane Page B

William’s extended arm and he escorted her the rest of the way to the lord's table and seated her between himself and Darc.
    Her eyes darted around the room. She did not spot Halvard’s cousin amongst the crowd.
    Her nerves were raw and she had no appetite. Numbness engulfed her.
    The lavish banquet showed the painstaking and delicate attention the cook had put into every dish. But the aroma of the flavored and seasoned feast unsettled her stomach even more. Caroline knew it was more than the food. It was the guest they had yet to see.  She had thought she’d be more bothered by William’s presence, but nay, she’d been wrong.
    She had not laid eyes on Halvard’s venomous cousin since Helen’s death and she feared seeing him again. She wished the dreadful ordeal over with. 
    She cast that wishful thought out of her head for the king would not interrupt his meal to see to business until the meal was completed. Caroline tried to concentrate on the platter she shared with her husband. But she had a hard time with him so close and his hard thigh pressed against hers did not help matters.
    She shifted a few times away, but it kept bumping hers back and she was nigh breathless and starting to feel hot in the tucked gown. His warm breath came like a hot caress next to her ear.
    ‘Be still before draw the attention you are working so hard to avoid. Is something wrong?’
    Caroline froze and shot him an annoyed glance. Yet, she still heard the tremor in her voice when she responded, ‘Nay. All is we-well.’
    Her gaze nervously swept over the servants moving about and she saw no familiar faces from her home. 
    Mildred came to her thoughts. Laur had been awkwardly kind to her this afternoon and though Kelbie was with her now, Caroline still did not yet trust the servant. She needed someone closer to home, despite the unkindness she had suffered there. She could not explain it; she just sensed she needed it.
    Turning her gaze back to him, she cleared her throat before she posed her request.
    ‘You asked if I wished for a maid last night. Well, I do. There was a woman that traveled with us and – well, I wish for her to see to my needs.’
    ‘Her name, demoiselle?’ he asked without blinking an eye or pause in eating.
    Caroline did not realize that she’d been holding her breath and she rushed out, ‘Mi-Mildred, my lord.’
    ‘Done.’  He said with a shrug and popped a small cube of cheese into his mouth.
    She gaped at him. That easy? No grilling her for a reason or a backward slap?
    She did not know how long she stared at him until he turned those piercing blue eyes upon her with an arched dark brow raised in question. Those flecks of green seemed to sparkle brilliantly in his eyes as he watched her.
    ‘Is there aught else?’
    His words sounded tight. Caroline closed her mouth and nodded no vigorously. The warmth in her belly spread when his eyes dropped to her lips and throat. Feeling the flush crawl further up her neck, she turned her focus back on the platter.
    Darc polished off the remainder of his chalice and waved the page away when he moved to refill it, his eyes still on his wife. She was a mystery to him. Full of fire and hatred one moment and demure the next. He shrugged.
    Perhaps this woman she asked after was kin. He vaguely recalled seeing an older gray-haired woman seated next to her in the cart before they’d left her home. He would find out.
    But for now, he was eager for William to be done with his business so he would be free to get away from her. He’d made a grave mistake looking at her mouth. The memory and the feel of her soft mouth and body last night rushed back to him. The throbbing in his loins irritated him and the closeness of her and her smell…Ah, he wanted nothing more than to drag her to his chamber and lose himself in what almost happened last eve.  
    The effect she had on him darkened his already tumultuous mood and he set his jaw in a tight clench. By the wide-eyed look she