Midnight Warrior Read Online Free

union was as ardent as the day they had wed. “
Merde
, I didn’t ask you to assess his virility but his character.”
    She shrugged. “Clever, hard, guarded … hungry.”
    “Hungry? You mean ambitious?”
    “Perhaps …” Her brow wrinkled as she tried to define that vague quality she had sensed in Dumont. Then she shrugged. “Hungry.”
    “Did he take the bait? He must know Hardraada also wants the English throne. Will he take his forces to Norway and offer them to his father?”
    “I think not.” She frowned thoughtfully. “I sensed a certain bitterness.… There is little affection there. However, he may decide to stay here in Normandy and gobble up the fiefs that are left behind instead of chancing defeat in England. As I said, I judge him to be a very clever man.”
    William shook his head. “If he stays, he remains a wealthy merchant who can only pull the strings behind the scenes. He has no liking for being scorned by my nobles. I’d wager he’ll pay my price to stand on equal ground with them.”
    “Then why did you ask my opinion, if you’d already made up your mind?” Matilda asked tartly. “I have better things to do with my time than listen at doors in the dead of night.”
    He moved at once to soothe her. No one could make life more unpleasant than Matilda in a fury. “You know I always value your opinion.” He changed the subject as he slipped his arms about her. “Except as regards the man’s capability as a stallion. Admit it, you merely said that to annoy me. The man has no attraction for you.”
    Matilda opened her lips to reply and then thoughtbetter of it as she caught the slight frown on his face. She reached up and gently stroked her husband’s cheek. “How very wise you are, my love. I was but teasing you a trifle. Of course I do not find this Gage Dumont in the least attractive.”
    “You’ve been a long time.” Malik didn’t turn around from his position at the open window as Gage strode into his chamber at Bellerieve. “Did he offer you the entire world, or just a part of it?”
    “Knighthood, a barony, the property of my choice in England.” Gage moved to stand beside him. “He seemed to think he was being very generous.”
    “But you do not.” Malik still didn’t look away from the comet. “Do you not trust him?”
    “He summons me to his presence near midnight so that his barons will not know he’s dealing with me. He threatens to take Bellerieve if I don’t give him what he wants. Should I trust him?”
    Malik did not answer.
    “And why should I take the chance? I have everything I could want or need here.” His gaze went around the chamber, taking in an exquisitely crafted golden elephant on the table, the magnificent tapestry portraying a lion hunt in the desert gracing the far wall. He had made sure every corner of the castle brimmed with finely carved furniture and ornaments of gold and silver and ivory. When he had furnished Bellerieve he had tried to emulate the luxury and beauty of the palaces he had visited in Byzantium rather than the sparse comforts of the manors of Normandy or his father’s hall in Norway.
    “Not everything,” Malik said. “Here you must fight for respect and to keep what is yours.”
    “England would probably be the same. Only I would have to fight the Saxons as well as my Norman brothers. Yes, I should stay here.”
    “But you will not.” Malik smiled. “You are a manwho was born to rule, and England is a step in that direction.”
    “A barony is not a kingdom.” He raised his brows. “Or do you believe I intend to overthrow William?”
    “It is a possibility.”
    Gage did not deny the thought had occurred to him. At times the slights and rejections he received goaded him to the point where he was tempted to ride roughshod straight to the throne. “I’m a rich man, but it would take the wealth of Solomon to gain support enough to oust William.”
    “True. Ah, but you will still go. You’ve grown too