LITMIR.BIZ

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is merely a preference…’

      Katherine was ashamed of the coldness in her voice, but she could not help it. Deep down inside her, there was something telling her that Celestine’s friendship was false and she could not dismiss the warning.

      Sir Alain and Marcus had returned to the company now. They spoke briefly to Bryne, and then Marcus clapped his hands and the servants began to serve supper.

      As in ancient times, when the Romans held their great banquets, the company sat on benches or silken cushions piled on the floor and ate with their fingers from low tables. Finger-bowls of silver and gold had been provided for washing the hands, and music was played to entertain them while they ate and talked.

      This was not a great banquet, merely a gathering of a few friends, but the food served was rich and there was what seemed to Katherine to be an endless stream of exotic dishes. She ate sparingly, enjoying most the fruits and dates. Occasionally, she dipped her fingers in the scented water and wiped them on a soft cloth to dry them. The wine was heavy and potent. She drank, as sparingly as she ate, from a wine cup, which was fashioned of silver and studded with precious jewels on the foot. Through the open arches that led out to the gardens floated the scent of night-flowering blooms. The sky was dark, but the stars were sprinkled generously across the velvet blackness.

      ‘It is the stuff of dreams, do you not think so, lady?’ Sir Bryne asked as he leaned towards Katherine. Celestine was laughing with their host and Alain seemed to be lost in thought. ‘Marcus and his family know how to enjoy life, do they not?’

      ‘It is certainly most pleasant,’ Katherine replied. ‘Do you truly intend to make your home in Venice one day, sir?’

      ‘It is the greatest trading nation on earth,’ Bryne replied, looking thoughtful. ‘A man of enterprise might become wealthy there beyond his dreams, and powerful—especially when he has good friends. I have certainly considered it, but I must see my home and family once more before I decide.’

      ‘Have you a large family?’

      ‘My father was elderly when I left England and may not be still living, but I have elder brothers and they have wives and children. I hope to find some of them alive and well on my return.’

      ‘You have no wife, sir?’

      ‘No.’ Bryne frowned. ‘There was a lady once…but she married another, richer man and I put all thoughts of marriage aside and determined to make my fortune. Yet I suppose I may marry one day, if only in the hope of a son to follow me.’

      ‘And Sir Alain…?’ Katherine asked and then blushed as his brows rose. ‘Forgive me. I ask too many questions.’

      ‘I believe he has not thought of marriage as yet, lady.’ Sir Bryne smiled at her and Katherine lowered her eyes. She must be more careful of her words or she would give herself away, and that would be embarrassing. ‘Though with such a man it is not always easy to know what is in his mind.’

      Sir Alain seemed to have shrugged off his reflective mood and was now laughing and talking to Celestine, apparently enjoying the pleasure of her company. It was clear that he found her attractive, which was natural, for she was very beautiful. Feeling a tiny pang of disappointment, Katherine scolded herself for allowing the green-eyed monster of jealousy into her heart. She could not blame Sir Alain for finding Celestine fascinating. The older woman was both beautiful and charming…even if Katherine did suspect her of being false.

      But perhaps she was letting her emotions blind her. She had no right or cause to be jealous. She must put aside these foolish ideas and thoughts that had begun to creep into her mind, plaguing her whenever she was unwary enough to let them.

      Sir Alain had turned his head and was looking at her now. Katherine glanced quickly away, for she could not meet his gaze, which was concerned and thoughtful, but not the kind of look he bestowed on the lovely Celestine.

      She knew he thought her a mere child, and perhaps she was compared to Celestine. Yet she felt like a woman, and her heart ached for the tenderness she was developing towards this man, foolish as it might be.

      ‘Our host was telling me of a shrine in his garden,’ Alain said now. ‘This villa was built on the site of others that had been here since the great days of Rome. There was once a temple to the goddess of love here, and a shrine still remains.’

      ‘How very pagan,’ Celestine said, ‘and rather exciting. I should love to see this shrine—would not you, Katherine?’

      ‘Yes, perhaps,’ answered Katherine a little uncertainly.

      ‘The time to see it is at night when the moon shines, for the goddess loved the moon,’ Marcus Aurelius told them. ‘If it pleases you, I shall show you now, for the moon hath come out from the shadows and will light our way. It is said that, if you please the goddess, your heart’s wish will come true.’

      ‘Oh, we must see this shrine,’ Celestine exclaimed. ‘Do say you want to see it, Katherine!’

      ‘Very well, if you wish it.’

      Katherine rose reluctantly, but it was clear that Celestine was eager to see the shrine of the goddess of love. She was walking with her hand upon her host’s arm, teasing him with smiles and words as they walked just ahead of the others.

      ‘Are you offended by the thought of a pagan goddess?’ Alain asked Katherine. She gazed up at him for a moment, her eyes wide and serious, before shaking her head. ‘Then is it the Lady Celestine that offends you?’

      ‘Neither,’ Katherine replied. ‘I am a Christian by faith, sir, but my father was a great scholar, as I have told you, and we discussed other forms of religion. I dare say there is merit in many of them, but I would not put my faith in anything a pagan goddess might reveal to me.’

      ‘Would you not?’ Alain gave her a wicked smile, which made her catch her breath. Something inside her made her feel as if she would melt in his warmth. How handsome he was when he smiled like that! And how foolish she was to let it affect her this way. ‘Not even if you might gain knowledge of your heart’s desire?’

      ‘I have no desires, sir,’ Katherine replied with commendable dignity in the face of his provocation. Her heart was racing like the wind, but she would give him no indication of the confusion his teasing aroused in her. What was this strange feeling inside her—was it what they called desire? If so, she had no right to feel it for a man who had no such feelings towards her. ‘I am not like to find a lover nor yet a husband, for I have no fortune and my face is unremarkable.’

      ‘You are not a beauty,’ Alain said, looking at her seriously now. ‘But you have something about you, lady, that many would find attractive.’

      Katherine laughed merrily. ‘You are kinder than my father, sir, for though he loved me dearly he never thought me other than plain. He told me that I was unlikely to wed without a large dowry and I have no thought of it.’

      ‘Are men such fools that they must have either a pretty face or a sack of gold?’ His brows rose, but the expression in his eyes puzzled her since she did not know what lay behind it.

      ‘I do not believe that all men are fools, sir. Indeed, I would not think either you or Sir Bryne a fool—but still I do not believe that I am likely to find many suitors…and perhaps no one I would care to accept. I would prefer to remain unwed rather than make an unhappy marriage.’

      ‘That is your choice, of course.’ He hesitated, his eyes making her heart thud in her breast as she felt something stir inside her—a feeling so sweet, like warm honey—and was almost breathless. ‘But what of love and the fulfilment of your destiny?’ His brows rose as he teased her and her foolish heart leaped. Why did she feel so light-headed—almost as if she could walk on air?

      ‘If I found love, that would be another matter,’ Katherine said and her smile lit up her face, though she managed to retain her appearance of cool dignity. ‘But I fear my destiny may be to remain unwed until I die.’

      ‘That would

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