Free Her One Desire by Kimberly Killion Page B

breath. Of all the names he expected to roll off her tongue, Buckingham was not one of them. Not only did the man have his hand in half the lands in England; he held favor with King Edward. Broc had met Buckingham in Wales and he displayed a charisma that charmed the highest of aristocrats. Broc’s mind filled with questions he was certain she couldn’t answer. “Tis not a name ye should be tossing around with words like treason, lest you have proof.” “I do.” She dashed across the room and retrieved a document from one of her many satchels. The corners were already mangled, but bits of red wax still clung to the outer edges. She gripped the parchment in her hand so tight, he feared it might crumble.
    ‘”Tis Buckingham’s signet and his signature.” She shook the document at him. “And I must deliver it to King Edward’s brother before ‘tis too late.”
    His eyes flicked briefly toward the signature, then just as quickly returned to her. “Too late. Ye intend to save your king?” “I fear King Edward will meet his maker before I can help him, but his sons will be in danger the moment their father breathes his last. Buckingham intends to name the king’s sons bastards.”
    In nigh six months, Broc hadn’t managed to gather half this much information against the English. And now here she stood holding the very evidence he needed to persuade his king to align with France. He guarded his emotions. “How?” She growled between clenched teeth and stepped toward him. “King Edward entered into a secret marriage to a woman who was still alive when he wed the queen.” She paused, obviously frustrated by his lack of response. “My king is a bigamist!” she yelled. “Which makes his marriage invalid, hence making the princes illegitimate.”
    God’s hooks! He rubbed his eyes in an effort to ease the piercing pain stabbing the back of his eyeballs. There could only be one reason Buckingham would name the princes bastards. He was the leader of the rebellion. “Buckingham intends to seize the crown.”
    Lady Ives blew a gust of air that smelled oddly of mint leaves and dropped her arms to her sides. “Someone put poison in those vials, and ‘twasn’t me, nor Edlynn.” From beneath her lashes she looked up at him, her eyes pleading her innocence. Did she have any idea how much danger she was in? He tucked a loose tendril behind her ear and cupped her cheek. His desire to protect her felt achingly familiar. “Your knowledge alone places your life in danger. Why do ye risk so much?”
    She stepped forward; her skirt brushed against his shins. Her soft hand slid over his as if to bind him to her. “In exchange for the information, I intend to plead with the king’s brother to relieve my father of his duties.”
    He held her head while his thumb moved over her scar, already accusing her father of the deed. “Is a man of his ilk worth saving?”
    “I believe everyone is worth saving.”
    “And who will save ye?”
    Wet spiked lashes lay against her cheek. “Mayhap I am not worth saving.”
    Chapter 6

    Lizzy pulled her mantle around her and followed Lord Maxwell to the stable through a curtain of rainfall. Sleep deprived and fraught with anxiety, she felt certain her sanity was slipping behind the deluge of emotions in her head. Grief was no stranger to her, nor was hatred. Lord Hollister took Edlynn from her, as he had her other loved ones. She felt more determined than ever to see the man brought to heel and her father released from his charge.
    The cloak John provided Lord Maxwell poured over his broad form like black oil, grimly reminding her of the executioner. Her steps slowed as Father’s likeness flashed through her head, his bloody ax clutched in one gloved hand. Angst seized her. She stopped. The rain quickly separated her and her vision.
    He pivoted and took two strides back toward her. Her gaze shifted to Lord Maxwell’s ungloved hands, which held no weapons of death. One arm carried her