Free Silversword (de Lohr Dynasty Book 7) by Kathryn Le Veque Page A

it off of her body. Completely naked, Alessandria did the only thing she could do; she jumped into the copper tub, trying to conceal her nakedness, hardly caring about the fire that was consuming the blanket. She didn’t even care that it could quite possibly spread; all she cared about was the fact that she was nude and vulnerable.
    With the burning blanket over by the chamber door, blocking the exit, Liselotte and Veronica backed up next to the tub, screaming for help. Instantly, the chamber door flew open and de Russe and du Bois were standing there, startled to see all of that fire. When more bodies appeared behind them, Alessandria panicked and plunged her head beneath the water, trying to hide. It was her worst nightmare come to life; not the fire, but the hordes of strange men seeing her naked.
    Dear God, could this get any worse?
    That being the case, she’d rather burn to death.
    A hand grabbing her hair and pulling her head out of the water told her that someone else had a different idea about it.

CHAPTER FOUR
    T he main level of Canterbury’s keep housed a smaller family hall, the earl’s private bedchamber, along with a small receiving room for Lady de Lohr and a solar for the earl. As far as keeps went, it was a very large one and had generous-sized rooms.
    Chad knew the keep as well as he knew the grooves and contours of his own face. He’d spent much time here as a child before going to foster far to the north at Sommerhill Castle and then moving to Lioncross Abbey Castle, the seat of his famous grand-uncle. He’d spent about twelve years away from Canterbury before finally returning after he’d receive his spurs, and the place was still home for him. It had a certain smell to it that he found comforting – smoke, dogs, and freshly baked bread. His mother liked to bake bread herself, in fact, and she always seemed to be baking loaves with currants or herbs or cheese in them. So much bread. Even now, as he entered the keep, he could smell that bread. It gave him comfort like nothing else in the world.
    But he could also hear voices in his father’s solar off to the right. It was a room that had been used by two generations of de Lohrs and before that, several generations of the Hampton family. Chad’s grandfather, David, had married the Hampton heiress, which is how Canterbury became a de Lohr property. But to him, it was simply home.
    And he drew strength from his home, strength to face the men that had been chasing him all night, men who wanted to take that small woman hostage. Bracing himself, Chad entered the chamber.
    It was a low-ceilinged room that had a layer of smoke hanging next to the ceiling beams. Two big Irish Wolfhounds were sleeping in front of the fire, their heads popping up when Chad entered the room. In fact, every man in the chamber turned to look at him when he entered, including his father.
    “Chad,” Daniel de Lohr, Earl of Canterbury, sounded very happy and relieved to see his son. He came out from behind the table he’d been standing behind, a table that was cluttered with parchment and quill, maps and a couple of very precious books. “Come in, lad. Do come in and embrace me.”
    Chad went to his father, eyeing the six knights who were standing in a cluster over near his father’s table. He recognized all of them; they were men known in the military ranks as Henry’s Guard of Six.
    So it was the Six who followed me….
    Chad didn’t say what he was thinking. In fact, at that moment, he was prepared to feign ignorance of the fact that he’d been followed and see where that took him. Therefore, he forced a smile at the group, projecting as much congeniality as he could.
    “Greetings, Father,” he said as Daniel came to him and embraced him. “It is good to be home.”
    Daniel squeezed his eldest son tightly. “Praise God you have made it,” he said, his voice tight with emotion. He released Chad long enough to look the man in the eye. “You are without