“Where did she go?”
“Eh?” The old townsman looked up with a start as Kenrick thundered into the bailey, peering at him from over his grazing horse's head. “She, m'lord?”
“The woman--where is she?”
The graybeard looked to and fro, then shrugged his rounded shoulders. “I've seen no one a'tall, m'lord.”
“You must have seen something. She was spying on me in the graveyard and ran this way not a moment ago. You must have heard her footsteps at the very least?”
“Nay, sir. 'Twasn't no one come through here in a fortnight, save the both of us. I saw nothing, I assure you.”#p#分页标题#e#
Kenrick swore under his breath. He was not imagining things, surely. A woman had been there. Watching him. With stealthy strides, he approached the open doorway to the chapel, the only place she could have gone. “Show yourself. You have nothing to fear,” he said, stepping into the vaulted chamber. “Come out now. I wish only to talk to you.”
The barest shift of sound came from a toppled cabinet to his right. The door to the piece hung askew on its hinges. Too small to hide but a child, yet it afforded the sole spot of concealment in all of the chapel. From the darkened wedge of space at the top, Kenrick saw the glint of a wary stare watching him as he approached.
“Who are you?” he asked, coming to stand there. He wished not to frighten the chit, but he wanted answers. Needed them. “What do you know of this place?”
When no reply came, he reached out with his booted foot and began to move aside the broken door of the cabinet to reveal its cowering occupant. There was a whine, then a fearful, animal growl as he bent down to peer inside.
“Jesu Criste.”
It was not his stealthy observer after all.
A small red fox glared at him with hackles raised and teeth bared, trapped between the unyielding back of the cabinet enclosure and the dagger-wielding man who blocked its easy escape. The instant Kenrick withdrew, the little beast dashed out and fled the chapel for the safety of the outlying moors. Kenrick turned and watched it go, letting out his anxiety in a long, heavy sigh.
Where had she gone?
Whoever the woman was, she had managed to vanish.
Into thin air, he was tempted to think, as he scanned his surroundings and saw no trace of the lovely intruder.
“I wager it don't take long for the animals to come nosing about when there's no one here to shoo them off,” said the graybeard from the village. He clucked his tongue as he ambled forward to where Kenrick stood. “Nothing of worth in this place for anyone now, man or beast. They burnt it all, save the stone of the keep and chapel. Sorrow is all that dwells here.”
Maybe so, Kenrick thought, unable to argue that the destruction of the place had been as thorough as it had been brutal. But there was something else lurking here, too. Something beyond the death and cinder, and far more elusive than an errant forest scavenger hoping to root out its next meal from amongst the ruins. That particular something had a riot of long, rich red hair, and the most beautiful face Kenrick had ever beheld.
And as sure as he had seen her, wherever she'd run to, he was certain she hadn't gone far.
HEART OF THE FLAME is available now, wherever ebooks are sold.
~*~
HEART OF THE DOVE (Book 3)
“A sensual paranormal . . . malevolent shapeshifters, long-kept secrets
and a thread of pure evil add a sinister twist.”
–Library Journal
“Fast-paced . . . as usual, RITA award finalist (St. John) peoples her tale with
vibrant and engaging characters.”
–Publishers Weekly
Everything that Randwulf of Greycliff loved was torn from his grasp in a night of fire and terror. His wife and child slain, his manor destroyed, Rand now lives for one thing alone: revenge on the man who ordered the attack. Armed with a part of the legendary Dragon Chalice--the object his enemy most desires--Rand embarks on a deadly voyage to trap his foe. He will avenge his family . . . and let no one stand in his way.
On a stormswept shore in the wilds of northern England, a gentle maiden discovers a man lying on the beach, shipwrecked and in need of care. But helping him is forbidden. Serena has the gift of Knowing: with a mere touch, she can see all the secrets in a man's heart. It is a gift that has kept her secluded from the outside world, wary of those who would use her powers for their own gain. But Rand's wounded heart beckons, and his passionate nature draws her to him--daring her to surrender to a dangerous seduction that could destroy them both. . . .#p#分页标题#e#
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EXCERPT
Sunshine streamed through the thick canopy of summer foliage, glossy green leaves limned in golden light as they rustled in the soothing summer breeze. The morning had dawned in tranquil hues of pinkish rose and yellow amber, tinting the thin clouds that smudged the pale blue sky at the outlying edge of the forest grove. The soft skitter of woodland creatures foraging in the bramble mingled with the gentle waking of the day, while above, perched on a sturdy bough of an ancient sheltering oak, a dove cooed to its snuggling mate.