Free Devil's Dominion by Kathryn Le Veque Page A

upon it. It didn’t fit her very well and was secured around her waist with a rope made from woolen strands.
    Since she wasn’t fully consecrated, her hair was still long and usually worn in a tight braid. That braid had come out long ago and the loose hair had given Bretton the opportunity to grab it and cut it. Pushing her heavy hair out of the way, she struggled to remove her simple leather shoes and proceeded to untie the knotted belt around her waist.
    The belt fell to the floor. She tried to remove her shoes standing up, but her balance was terrible so she ended up sitting down on the bed to do it. When the shoes came off, she struggled to her feet to remove the breeches, untying them and letting them fall to the ground. By the time she stepped out of them, the knight returned with a bundle in his arms.
    Allaston watched with as much curiosity as she could muster as the knight tossed the bundle onto the bed. He began pulling it apart, setting things aside that he had wrapped up in the fabric.
    “Here,” he said, pointing to a few items he had set aside on the mattress. “I found soap and oil and something for your face, I think. It smells like mint. And here are a few shifts and surcoats. The lady that was here before you was bigger than you are so these might not fit properly but at least they are clean. I would suggest you bathe, dress in these clean clothes, and go to bed. I will send a physic in to tend to you.”
    Allaston simply stood there, watching him as he picked up one of the items he brought, a small alabaster pot, and sniff it. “Where is the lady of the house so that I may thank her?” she asked weakly.
    The knight turned to look at her, realizing her fever-muddled mind was perhaps not very sharp based on her question. “She is no longer here,” he said. “Hurry, now. Take your bath and get to bed.”
    He turned to leave but Allaston stopped him. “What is this place called?” she asked.
    He paused at the door, hand on the latch. “You are at Cloryn Castle.”
    Allaston thought hard. She believed she had heard the name before. “Cloryn?” she repeated. “And who are you?”
    “I am Grayton.”
    Allaston’s fogged mind emerged for a brief, lucid moment. “Thank you for your kindness, Grayton.”
    He didn’t acknowledge her. He simply left the room and shut the door, leaving Allaston alone in the chamber that was growing progressively warmer with the heat from the fire.
    The lure of the bath proved too great for her to delay any longer. Allaston took the soap off the bed and pulled the coarse gown over her head. Then she proceeded to peel off the rest. She left a trail of clothing to the tub, tossing her garments off as she went. By the time she reached the old iron tub, she was completely nude and she climbed in, slipping and landing heavily on her bottom in the tub and sending water sloshing everywhere. But she hardly cared. She dunked her head beneath the waterline and lingered there for a few seconds before emerging. Already, she felt better.
    The cake of white lumpy soap in her hand smelled of lavender and she proceeded to soap every inch of her body from her head to her toes. The hair was washed, her face washed, and everything else on down the line. She didn’t have a scrub brush so she simply used her fingers, scrubbing until she could scrub no more. Everything was washed, rinsed, scrubbed, and smoothed.
    Not only did the bath clean her body but it seemed to clean her mind as well. She was still fogged with fever but not nearly as bad as she had been. She was thinking much more clearly, so much so that she perked up and began to really look at her surroundings. The chamber was very well appointed with a comfortable bed, a big wardrobe, a small table with two chairs, and a big tapestry near the bed that seemed to depict a knight and lady in a romantic setting. In truth, it was a wealthy room, much like the rooms at her home, Pelinom Castle.
    Cloryn Castle . She had heard of it