Free KNIGHT OF SECRETS (Knights of Passion Series 2) by Evie North

 
    KNIGHT OF SECRETS
    KNIGHTS OF PASSION (SERIES 2)
     
     
    1200AD
     
    Edwina could hear the sounds of fighting from the copse. It was afternoon and growing dark already; the days were short now. She’d been out gathering berries and digging in the snow for green leaves, anything fresh, that could be used in this bleak part of the Northern English winter when the household seemed to exist on salted or cured meats and last seasons’ withered apples.
    Her heart beat harder as she stood up, her basket tucked over her arm, her gloved hands wet and dripping snow. The hem of her skirts was damp too and her face was stinging with cold beneath the furred hood of her cloak. It had snowed overnight and now the air was frigid, icicles hanging from the bare branches of the trees. Not a sign of life.
    Apart from Edwina.
    And the men she could hear fighting down in the valley that lay beyond the manor house.
    A tingle of terror raised the hairs on the back of her neck. They were Scots. The Scots raided regularly over the border these days, and since King John had come north in his attempt to swallow up the power of the northern barons, the raids by his friends the Scots had become more frequent. But they had rarely come so far south; certainly not in the time she had lived here. Not until now.
    Her gaze slid to the little patch of snow where she had stood early this morning, before dawn. She could see the ashes. She’d carried a candle and burned the parchment on which the spell was written. Please save me . . . Was this the spell at work? But she’d never meant to be saved in such a final way—by the Scots’ raiders! 
    Her head lifted.
    She could hear a horse, riding fast, in her direction.
    With a cry Edwina turned and began to run .   
    The manor house stood beyond the copse and past a snow covered field. Her brother had fortified it in preparation for such a day as this, when they were attacked by raiders. The door was ironclad and the walls so thick that no one could get inside unless they were invited. With two lower rooms and animal pens and two upper rooms and a tower above, it was big enough to contain the whole family, if at times rather cramped.
    Which was probably one of the reasons why Edwina had not gone with the family to Carlisle. She longed for time on her own and this had been her chance. Her brother had taken everyone with him, leaving only a few servants. She’d insisted she would remain behind. Edwina did not always find herself in accord with her brother and his wife, and they had not tried very hard to dissuade her. Besides, what could possibly happen to her in the bleak heart of the winter?
    But now the Scots were here and she was running for her life.
    The hoof beats were getting closer. She risked a glance over her shoulder, her fur lined boots sliding on an icy patch of snow. The horse was coming up behind her, breath white, eyes rolling, and the man upon its back crouched low. A short distance behind him were other riders, their wild shouts and shaggy mounts and waving weapons terrifying enough to give Edwina an added spurt of speed.
    With a whimper she ran on, her throat aching from the cold, her lungs burning with effort. The manor was before her, dark against the fading light of the winter sky. Would she reach it in time? Would she find safety before the death blow of the Scot’s blade came down upon her head?
    It seemed not. The heavy thud of hooves were at her back and then his arm came around her waist, lifting her effortlessly, spilling the bounty from her basket onto the snow, the berries like droplets of blood against the white. She tried to cry out but his grip about her was stopping her breathing. She twisted, desperate to escape her fate.
    This was death. This was the end. And it would not be a quick and easy one, either. Why, oh why, had she invoked the spell?
    He had drawn the horse to a sliding halt with snow splattering up against the door of the manor house. She fell to the ground.