WolfeBlade: de Wolfe Pack Generations by Kathryn Veque (top 20 books to read .TXT) 📗

the room where we were – she was hysterical because she could not find the exit. I merely helped her find her way out.”

“And?”

“And nothing. It was foggy, she could not remember where she lived, she tried to drown herself in the river, and I took her to an inn to wait out the mist.”

He said it so fast that they almost didn’t catch the part about the river. “She tried to drown herself?” William repeated, confused. “Why? What happened?”

Andreas stuffed his face with bread. “In truth, I still do not know,” he said. “She’s a sweet lass once you get past her hysteria. We had a pleasant conversation and I took her home at dawn. I am going to sleep a few hours and then we are going across the river to the entertainment over there.”

Will’s eyebrows lifted in surprise that Andreas should actually make a date to see the woman again. He looked at Tor, who shrugged, but Theodis was far less discreet than those two were.

He wanted answers.

“You must like her,” he said. “What is her name?”

“Gavriella.”

“Ah,” Theodis said. “Gavriella. A lovely name. Where is she from?”

“I do not know.”

“What is her family name?”

“I do not know.”

Theodis frowned. “What do you know about her?”

“Enough,” Andreas said, washing the bread down with wine. “Stop pestering me or I’ll tell you nothing more.”

Theodis backed down, but it was only to rethink his strategy. They continued to eat, with servants moving around the small hall delivering more food to the table, but Theodis was eyeing Andreas, as they all were, only Tor and William were more discreet about it. They didn’t want to hammer their cousin too much, although they were quite curious.

Andreas and a woman was a rare thing, indeed.

“When did you want to leave, Dray?” Tor finally asked, mouth full of warmed-over beef. “With our business here finished, I see no reason to remain. Have you thought about heading home soon?”

He spoke the truth. There really was no reason to remain in London because everything they’d come to accomplish had been completed. Yesterday, Andreas was ready to head home, but now…

Now, not so much.

“We need to make it home before the September rains come,” he said. “That gives us about five or six weeks at most. There’s plenty of time.”

Will shook his head. “Not for me,” he said. “I have a family to return to. I have already been gone overlong. No offense, lads, but I want to get home.”

No one argued with him, not even Theodis. They all knew the situation with Will, how his wife had been ill for the last year. A tumor in her belly, the physic said, something he couldn’t remove, so pretty and frail Lily had been fighting for her life ever since. Will was a devoted husband and father, strong in the face of his wife’s illness because he had to be. Outwardly, he was in control, but inwardly, that was another matter altogether.

He was struggling with a world turned upside-down.

But no one brought that up. There was no need. Still, it had been good to see Will enjoy himself, at least for a short time, something that was rare for him. When all of the puking and purging and scandalous guilds had passed, the fact remained that Will had enjoyed himself, even for a short while.

“As do I,” Andreas agreed after a moment. “In truth, I miss home when I am away from it overlong, but I would like to spend the afternoon with the lady I saved from Gomorrah. I did promise her entertainment, after all. If you are agreeable, then we can leave on the morrow.”

Will and Tor shrugged in agreement as Theodis smiled wickedly from across the table. The man was oozing lascivious suggestions even if he wasn’t speaking them. Rolling his eyes, Andreas shoved the last of the bread in his mouth and got up from the table.

At dawn, Lothbury House was already busy with preparations for the coming day. Andreas could hear his young cousins upstairs, preparing to come down to the small hall to break their fast. There were four young girls and a new baby, his uncle’s first son. He could hear the girls squealing and the baby crying, and he grinned as he hurried towards the wing of the manse that housed the young men.

His chamber was at the end of the corridor, a small one that overlooked the yard of the manse, the wall, and the street beyond. As he headed towards his room, he caught the attention of a big, sweaty servant who was bringing fresh water to the rooms. Andreas not only wanted the water, he wanted a bath because he smelled like fish guts, so the servant went running for a tub and hot water.

Andreas was fairly certain that Lady Gavriella would not like him to smell like fish guts.

Opening the door to his chamber, he stepped into the cool and dark room. There was a small hearth, but it lay dark and cold, so when the servants began to bring the buckets of hot water along with the tub, he sent them for firewood as well.

Since the room was so small, Andreas stood out in the corridor while the servants prepared his bath and stoked a fire in the hearth. As he stood there wearily, he realized that he was still hungry, having only really left the table because of the way Theodis was looking at him, so he sent for more food which was promptly brought.

With the fire burning in the hearth and a big copper tub half-filled with hot water, Andreas finally chased the servants away and entered his chamber, closing the door and bolting it. His saddlebags were underneath his bed and he pulled them out, slinging them onto the bed. Digging around, he pulled out a razor, soap, and a comb. He put everything onto a table near the tub and begin to peel his smelly clothing off.

Unfortunately, he was wearing a chainmail coat,