Free Treasure So Rare (Women of Strength Time Travel Trilogy) by Grace Brannigan

she
demanded.
    Stooped, garbed entirely in dull brown robes, Carvenia
turned to her. Iliana repressed a shiver as the old woman's eyes, one black,
the other cloudy and sightless, seemed to look right through her. No matter the
number of times she saw this witch, Iliana could not seem to shake her dread.
Perhaps it had something to do with the cold way she watched William. She
returned the witch's stare, her back ramrod straight.
    "Mistress," Carvenia bowed her head in mock
deference, eyes slitted. "I merely wished to inquire as to the health of
your bridegroom."
     She opened her mouth, ready to bid the witch to leave
matters which were none of her concern.
    "Madam, you see me standing here. Do I not look well?"
Camdork gave the old woman a mildly questioning glance.
    Iliana held her breath.
    "Surely, my lord, you would not deprive an old woman
her curiosity," the crone said. "When the time comes, all the Keep
will want to know the marriage will be consummated."
    Camdork gave the old woman a wolfish grin, "You have no
need to stir yourself, Madam. I am past the age where a gathering is required
to ensure the deed is performed."
    Carvenia narrowed her eyes and Iliana tensed, but the old
woman surprisingly backed away. Iliana wondered if perhaps she knew better than
to make an enemy of this one.
    "Have you further news to impart to your lady?"
Camdork enquired as the old woman made no move to leave.
    "Nay. With your permission, my Lord Camdork, I will
take my leave."
    "Go about your business," he said. The old woman
hobbled back along the hallway.
    He turned to Iliana. "You keep these women about? Are
they healers?"
    Iliana looked at him incredulously. "No. You know who
they are."
    "Why do you allow that one entry into your private
area? There is something mean about that one."
    "The servants are frightened of Mandrak's witches and
dare not keep them from where they would go. It has proven to be futile to
safeguard the hall from their like. People in the hall become sick, rats
overrun the place. They cast powerful spells. I am sure you know all
this."
    "How would I know? I have just arrived."
    She merely looked at him.
    Surprisingly, he gave her a nod. "But now I am
here," he said, and he made his way down the stairs.
    ¤¤
    Iliana walked back toward her chamber. If Camdork had been
as she expected, she would have known what to do, but now Iliana was at a loss.
Could one man change so much from what she knew of his reputation? Could
gentleness come?
    No. It was merely a game. He was trying to lull her into a
false security. Once there, he would pounce. It was all in the sport. Once a beast, always a beast . They lunged for the
throat, making the kill. Iliana knew it was the waiting she would find most
difficult. Waiting until he decided to claim his rights.

Chapter Six
    "There is a difference, yet a similarity." Erik
turned toward the voice behind him, his eyes piercing the shadows of the great
room. He was slipping, he thought grimly, letting Iliana distract him in his
thoughts. Ever since meeting her, he had not been able to rid himself of
thoughts of their time aboard his ship. He was irritated with himself and his
dangerous preoccupation. There was no place in this scheme for such a
distraction, especially now when things were so upside down.
    "Reveal yourself," he said.
    A small figure shuffled forward, detaching itself from the
darkness of the wall. The arms moved upwards, causing the folds of a black
cloak to fall back and reveal a smooth, clear ball in gnarled and twisted
hands. The woman lifted her face to him, her thin beak of a nose prominent,
lips drawn back from toothless gums. Dark eyes in a shrunken skull seemed to
regard him with a spark of amusement.
    "God's breath, are there witches everywhere about this
place?" he asked in exasperation.
    She cackled. "Yea, you are him, but he is certainly not
you." She cackled again, an unnerving sound that made him wince. "I
told her you would come, I warned her, but she