Dragonblade Trilogy - 02 - Island of Glass by Kathryn Le Veque Page A

still, the truth was shocking. A glance at Lucius told
them that the man was stricken. He was the captain and should have been able to
hold himself in check, but his control was shaken. Since no one seemed to have
anything more to say, Kenneth took charge and went to free Lady Aubrielle from
the vault. He suspected she might be interested in what he had to say.
     
     
    ***
     
    “But you do not understand. I do
not want it.”
    Kenneth stood in the small,
cramped chamber that Lady Aubrielle had occupied when she had first arrived at
Kirk.  He was facing off with a surprisingly angry young woman.
    “Want it or not, you have
inherited it nonetheless. Kirk and the earldom are yours.”
    Aubrielle scowled at him. Dirty
and disheveled from her night in the vault, she was in an awful mood. News of
the earl’s death had momentarily saddened her, but the additional news of her
inheritance had sparked a rage.
    “Not if I refuse,” she said. “No
one can force a title and lands on me.”
    Kenneth didn’t understand her
reluctance. “Anyone in England would be pleased and privileged to inherit this
earldom. Do you understand the power and wealth you now have? One thousand men
await your bidding, my lady, including me.”
    She knew that, but the thought
truly hadn’t occurred to her until he mentioned it. She looked at the big blond
knight, remembering his comforting presence in the vault, struggling against
the pleasant thoughts it provoked.  He wasn’t the pleasant type. The thought of
commanding him, though not disagreeable, was nonetheless interesting
    She forced herself to calm and
take in the situation.  Arguing with St. Héver would not change facts; she was
now Countess of Wrexham. Although she’d always known that, for lack of
children, she was by rights Garson’s heir, it never occurred to her that
someday she would actually inherit everything. It wasn’t something she had ever
wanted or dreamed of. Now, she realized it would make her a hugely marriageable
prospect, as her husband would inherit the earldom by marriage. She wanted a
man to have this place, a great warring fortress with a thousand man army. She
had no use for it. All she wanted was to go to Glastonbury and complete her
quest.
    Marriage. It would be the only way to be
rid of her burden, for she simply couldn’t sign over her inheritance. The laws
of the land prohibited it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see St. Hèver’s
silent form. She knew he was waiting for her to start fighting with him again.
But fighting was the last thing on her mind.
    “May I ask you a question?” she
said.
    “Of course, my lady.”
    “What is your lineage?”
    His ice blue eyes clouded with
confusion. “My lineage?”
    “Aye; your family. Where do you
come from?”
    “I come from Northumberland, my
lady.”
    “That is where you were born. But
what of your father and mother? Who were they?”
    He did not answer right away. He
was attempting to figure out why she was asking personal questions. Aubrielle
saw his hesitation.
    “If you are to serve me, I must
know about you.”
    He conceded her request. “My
father was a knight for the Earl of Northumberland. My family has served
Northumberland for four generations.”
    “Was he from noble blood?”
    “On his mother’s side. She was a
cousin to the House of Lancaster.”
    “And your mother?”
    His hesitance seemed to grow
stronger. “I never knew my mother. She perished in childbirth.”
    “But what of her lineage? Was she
of noble blood, too?”
    It was apparent she would not
give up. In fact, he knew from experience that she would be quite persistent
until he told her what she wanted to know.
    “Her name was Cassandra. She was
a granddaughter of Princess Blanche, eleventh daughter of Henry the Third. That
also makes me a cousin to the Earl of Carlisle, Tate de Lara, who is the illegitimate
first-born son of Edward the First.
    Aubrielle’s eyes widened. “You
are Plantagenet?”
    “Three