Free The Spymaster's Protection by S A Monk Page A

appetites.
Many men who took the cross in the West came to Palestine and indulged
liberally in all the exotic temptations the East had to offer.
    Gabrielle wasn't sure how people behaved in the West since she
had never lived there or even traveled there, but it often seemed as if the
Holy Land was far from holy for many of the Franks. Or it could be, she thought
ruefully, that she had lived too long with men who failed to live by any code
of honor; men like her husband and father. Their corrupt code was despicably
simple. Whatever they wanted, they took.
    Thoughts of her husband sent Gabrielle's gaze across the room
to him. Lady Silvia had finally found him and was standing beside him, talking
to him. Every once in the while the woman's eyes would shift to her. Gabrielle
was not bothered by her speculative looks or her interest in Reynald. The
widowed Silvia of Milly had freed her from seven years of hell. The heiress
shared Reynald's greed and decadence, and had kept him away from Gabrielle
since their liaison had begun. But his attention had begun to stray back to her
of late, and that worried her.
    Reynald was not interested in resuming a marital relationship
with her. Of that, Gabrielle was certain. He had grown tired of her long before
they had parted ways. Not for the first time, Gabrielle wondered if Reynald had
some sinister reason for wanting her under his eye again.
    She shuddered unconsciously and turned away from her troubled
study of her husband.
    "Are you well, Lady de Châtillon?" Brother Lucien
inquired with a perceptive look.
    She smiled for him. "I am fine, thank you, Brother de
Aubric."
    "How are your charges since last I saw you?" he
checked, scooting closer.
    "They are still talking about being rescued by the
soldiers in white. I think they found the whole affair rather exciting. One of
the older boys even wants to become a Templar when he grows up. They would like
you to come back to play stick ball with us."
    Lucien’s beard sometimes hid his smile, but Gabrielle could
see it in his expressive eyes.
    "I think I could arrange a game of stickball. You made it
look great fun." He laughed. "I can't remember the last time I played
a game or did anything simply for fun."
    As the seats beside her began to fill with women, Gabriella
was acutely aware of all the female heads that turned Brother Lucien’s way. The
sparkle of amusement in his dark, glittering eyes had them all mesmerized,
including her.
    His handsomely chiseled face was singularly attractive, even
when it was set in his usual intense, slightly menacing expression. But when he
smiled or laughed, his dark good looks were transformed into breathtaking male
beauty.
    Lashes that were too long and thick for a man lifted to unveil
eyes that could steal a woman's soul. There wasn't a woman at this end of the
table, young or old, that wasn't staring openly at him now.
    Aware of the attention they were drawing, Gabrielle was
growing increasingly uneasy. Feeling her face heat with much more than
self-consciousness, she was relieved to find respite in the entrance of the
royal couple.
    Everyone rose as King Guy and Queen Sibylla strode up to their
places of honor. Both were regally dressed in sumptuous silk brocades that
reflected Byzantine designs.
    Before the royal couple sat down, the Queen, who was a
fetching woman of an age with Gabrielle, greeted those near her, including
Gabrielle, then turned her attention to Lucien de Aubric, who stood taller than
the men and women around him. "I understand from the tongue waggers that
we have you to thank for the valiant rescue of our dear friend, Lady de
Châtillon," Sibylla said, smiling at Lucien. "As always Brother de
Aubric, we commend your valor."
    Guy Lusignan echoed his wife's gratitude and praise.
"Your chivalry is indeed commendable, frère. My wife would be deeply upset
if she lost her most esteemed friend. What she has done for the orphans of the
kingdom has even caught the attention of Sultan Saladin."