Magic in His Kiss by Shari Anton Page A

for both her person and belongings irksome.
    Still, Nicole admitted she rather liked the way the blue gown hugged the curves of her body. Though she didn’t possess the fullness of Lucy’s bosom or the blatant outward thrust of hip, Nicole believed she wouldn’t be found wanting.
    Lucy eyed her critically. “Lady Julia was wont to wear a gold chain around her waist with this one. I do not suppose you have one in that satchel of yours.”
    She’d had no need for any type of belt in the abbey. Indeed, Nicole possessed so few personal items they all fitted in a small satchel with room to spare.
    “Alas, no gold chain, but I do have my gold circlet.”
    Lucy fetched the satchel and opened it. “Blessed saints, my lady! What would you be doing with a dagger!”
    Nicole gingerly eased onto the stool that stood next to the table. She put down the mug and began to undo her waist-length braid, remembering her childhood banishment from home while she’d still deeply mourned her brother. She’d pilfered one of William’s old daggers, wanting to take something of his with her to keep his memory alive.
    Little had she known that she wouldn’t require a reminder, that once every year William’s revenge-needful spirit would spoil her family’s Easter visit to the abbey.
    Damn! She’d inadvertently obeyed William’s latest command when she’d left Bledloe Abbey. One more reason to return as soon as she was able.
    “’Tis merely a keepsake, Lucy. Find my ivory comb, too, if you please, as well as my circlet.”
    “As you say, my lady. Oh, this be lovely!” The maidservant set the emerald-studded gold circlet on the table. “I remember Lady Emma’s circlet. Hers is adorned with topaz, is it not?”
    As Gwendolyn’s circlet was adorned with sapphires. The circlets were gifts from their father, who’d fondly dubbed his daughters his jewels. Then Father had been killed in battle, along with William, and the girls had been left with little to call their own but their circlets.
    In answer, Nicole merely nodded and closed her eyes. While Lucy attacked the snarls with the ivory comb, Nicole pondered her next move. Somehow, she must convince the earl to allow both her and Rhodri to quit Oxford.
    “Is the earl in the hall?”
    “Last I saw, he were in the solar. An odd thing, too. Lord de Chesney invited the earl to fly the falcons, which the earl dearly enjoys, but the earl said he was waiting on some messenger and wished to be in the castle when he arrived. Must be important, that message.”
    William de Chesney knew his duty as a royal castellan and kept a mews full of excellent hawks and falcons for visiting royalty and nobility to enjoy. The awaited message must be important, indeed, for the earl to foreswear a chance to hunt.
    Nicole suppressed a shiver, then chided her foolishness. She’d been here less than a day. Surely the message the earl expected didn’t concern her and an impending marriage.
    “Do you know the whereabouts of Rhodri ap Dafydd?”
    Lucy sighed. “Is it true this Welshman is a bard?”
    Apparently, castle gossip spread as efficiently as ever, which Nicole hoped would work in her favor. “Aye.”
    “A damn shame, then, that the earl ordered him locked up in the north guard tower. ’Twould be a fine thing to listen to a harp at supper.”
    Nicole’s heart sank at the news she’d expected to hear but had hoped for better. Locked in a tower—not good.
    “I need to see Rhodri. Can you take me to him?”
    Lucy tied a strip of leather to the end of Nicole’s braid. “The guards are under orders to allow no one to see him but his lordship. If you can get the earl’s consent, then I can show you where the bard is being held.”
    Nicole voiced her greatest fear. “Is he being treated well?”
    “Cook says his platters come back to the kitchen empty.”
    Which didn’t mean Rhodri ate the food sent to him. Soldiers were notorious for taunting captives. Eating Rhodri’s food might be the least of