[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
when it landed beside Dominick's bed a few seconds after she arrived in the eighth century.
Small as the mirror was, she was glad to have it, for mirrors were a scarce commodity. The few
she had seen at Feldbruck were made of polished metal that barely reflected at all. Using her
mirror, Gina applied powder, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick.
From the supply of newly altered clothing Hedwiga had packed for her, she chose a dress of deep
burgundy silk with gold embroidery at the neck and sleeve edges, because it looked to her like
the kind of gown a lady would wear to meet a king.
After pulling it over her head and tying the gold sash, she brushed her hair carefully, making it
curl as much as possible. Once her preparations were completed, there was nothing left for her to
do but grow more nervous with each minute.
Dominick and Ella appeared at her door at the same time, and Gina learned to her dismay that
she was expected to remount a horse and ride to the palace.
"Can't I walk?" she asked. "Riding will ruin this lovely dress."
"The streets are too muddy for walking," Dominick said. "But I can take you up with me, and
Harulf can do the same for Ella. You can sit sideways and thus spare your gowns from
wrinkling."
"I'd like to ride with Harulf," Ella said at once. Gowned in bright blue wool, with her blond hair in
twin braids tied with blue ribbons, she was looking exceptionally pretty, her cheeks rosy with
excitement.
"I wish I could feel as cheerful," Gina said, watching Ella hurry ahead of her to meet Harulf.
"Dominick, I assume you are going to insist on speaking alone with Charles, which means you'll
be leaving me to fend for myself."
"I wouldn't dream of deserting you," Dominick said. "Nor can I request a private interview with
Charles until I have unquestionable proof of the plot that's being formed and names I can supply
when Charles asks for them."
"In other words, we are off to the palace to seek the very proof you need."
"Exactly. Pay attention to everything you hear or see while we are
As if Dominick had known what Gina was planning to wear, he was clad in a red wool tunic and
matching woolen trousers just a shade or two lighter than her gown. His trousers were
cross-gartered with strips of gilded leather, and he wore shoes instead of boots. His only other
decorations were the gold chain and pendant of a count and a gilded leather belt with his plain,
serviceable eating knife in its sheath at one side. Swords, he informed Gina, were not usually
worn at court unless war preparations were under way. With his sword or without it, he was the
most imposing specimen of manhood Gina had ever seen, and just standing next to him made
her shiver with pleasure.
While she was lost in appreciation of his masculine splendor, he caught her by the waist and
tossed her lightly into the saddle. Then, before she could begin to worry whether she was going
slide right off without a leg on either side of the horse, he mounted and put an arm around her
waist, holding her securely.
It was a remarkable sensation to be sitting so close between his thighs, and it quickly became
obvious to her that Dominick wasn't indifferent to the position, either. Startled by his immediate
physical reaction, she looked directly at him and found his eyes filled with laughter, though his
face was perfectly solemn.
"I'd kiss you," he said, "but it would be most improper to do it in public and would likely smear
your face paint."
"Do that, and I'll bite you," she retorted. She was rewarded by his hearty laugh.
Between Dominick's teasing and her own yearning, by the time they reached the palace gate
Gina was ready to turn around and gallop at full speed back to his house.
"Feeling better?" he asked as he lifted her down from the horse.
"You teased me on purpose, to make me forget about being nervous," she accused him.
"Did it work?" he asked with a straight face. "Answer later, and punish me then if you want. When
we are alone I'll let you do whatever you like to me. For now, remember that you are a
noblewoman. Take my arm. Just put your hand on my wrist. Harulf, Ella, stay with us," he ordered
over his shoulder.
This time his teasing wasn't enough to calm her nerves. Though intensely aware of Dominick at
her side, Gina still couldn't forget where she was and what she and Dominick were trying to do.
With her knees shaking and her heart beating double-time, she entered the great hall of the
palace to meet Charlemagne.
Knowing he'd had four wives and several concubines, Gina expected the king of the Franks to
look like a movie version of the similarly licentious Henry VIII, all beefy and bloated and missing
a few teeth. She wasn't prepared for the tall, handsome man who stood in front of the throne set
at one end of the long hall. Charles was simply dressed in a blue woolen tunic and trousers, with
no jewelry and no crown. His hair was silver-blond, cut just below his ears, and he was
clean-shaven except for
a droopy Frankish mustache similar to the facial hair worn by many other men in the room.
Dominick had told her that Charles was past forty, I and middle-aged spread was catching up with
his midriff, though no one could have called him fat. In his mature features Gina could detect an
older, slightly fleshier version of Pepin's more delicate face.
What impressed her most was the personal warmth that Charles radiated and the way his smile
made her feel he was her friend when Dominick brought her forward to present her. This was no
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]