Page 23 of The Sword and the Damsel

Victor took a deep breath. Robert was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

“We fought together in Spain. He’s the reason I’m still alive. The swordsman that gave me my beauty mark—” he said, pointing at his scar—“was trying to cut off my head. Robert deflected him just in time.”

“How heroic!” Her eyes shone with admiration, which made him clench his jaw, though he couldn’t say why. “You were both fighting the Saracens in Spain, were you not?”

They turned onto Castle Street, when he heard a commotion up the hill. He tried to see what was happening, but too many people were in the way. Suddenly, people began diving to the sides of the street and into doorways. Lady Carenza noticed the danger first, and screamed, “Alais, get out of the way!”

Then he saw it. A heavy cart filled with wine barrels had come loose from its chocks and was rolling out of control down Castle Street, straight toward Lady Alais. Without thinking, he launched himself at her, knocking her over, and rolled with her to the side of the street, out of the way of the cart, which thundered by before it crashed into the side of a nearby inn.

Victor realized with alarm that he was lying on top of her, his arms wrapped around her. For a moment, madness took him, and he lingered, feeling her lush curves pressed against him as the fresh scent of lemon and thyme swirled around them. But then he felt his body start to respond, and he rolled away in a rush before she could notice. “Are you hurt?” he asked kneeling beside her.

She sat up slowly, wincing slightly. “I’m a little bruised but otherwise fine, I think.” She put a hand on his arm. He looked at it and back at her. “Thank you. Truly.” Her eyes shonewith earnest gratitude. There was none of the usual mischief or flirtation in her look. “Can you help me up?”

He tried to ignore the spark of heat as he took her hand in his and pulled her to standing. “Looks like you scraped your elbow, my lady,” he said, turning her arm gently.

“Is she hurt?” asked Lady Carenza, running over.

“Just a little scrape,” he answered, letting Lady Carenza see Lady Alais’s arm. Then he took the deep blue scarf he was wearing around his neck and wrapped it carefully around the injury.

“Thanks to Victor, I’m fine,” Lady Alais said, grasping his arm when he finished tying off the scarf.

Victor swallowed hard and began reciting the schedule for the tournament in his head, as fire radiated through his body from the place where she clung to his arm. He said a silent prayer for deliverance, uncertain how long he could stand physical contact with her before he betrayed himself in some way.

At that moment, Robert came riding up in shining armor, just cleaned for the tournament, his golden curls stirring in the chilly November breeze. He held his white plumed helm in his left arm and looked every inch the fairytale hero.

“Oh dear, my lady Alais, you’re hurt!” he said, jumping down from his horse. “Please allow me to accompany you back to the castle. You can ride my horse.”

Victor’s heart sank to his toes. This wasn’t the deliverance he’d hoped for. Robert might appear to be a perfectly reasonable match for Lady Alais, but he’d always been viciously competitive and more than a little petty in his behavior toward Victor, even if he had saved his life. It was a small wonder that at that moment, Victor wanted to run him through with a lance.

Yet, for some inscrutable reason, Lady Alais turned to Victor, asking permission with her eyes to accept Robert’s offer, as if itwas his to give. He stared down at her and blinked, but could offer no answer. He had no words.

Lady Carenza answered on her behalf. “Thank you for your offer, Sir Robert. I’m sure my sister would be much obliged if you saw her safely back up to the castle. I’ll follow with Sir Victor.”

He watched with gritted teeth as Robert helped her onto the horse and they began to wend their way back up to the castle.

Lady Carenza gave him a sympathetic look as he watched his cousin lead Alais away. “Don’t let her tie you in knots. She’ll be safely married and out of your way soon enough.”

That’s what I’m afraid of, he refrained from saying.

“Shall we return to the castle, my lady?”

They made their way back up the hill.

*

At dinner thatevening, Victor found himself sitting next to Robert, forced to listen to him enthusing about the loveliness and graciousness of Lady Alais.

“Thank the Lord that I was there to save her! If I hadn’t happened by just then she would have been forced to walk back to the castle, despite her injuries,” Robert told a nonplussed Sir Elias. “I don’t know what you were thinking, Victor, letting the ladies walk.”

Victor focused on his roast duck in red wine sauce and tried to ignore his cousin.

Lord Guy elbowed him in the side. “I say, that wasn’t very chivalrous of you. But maybe you’re trying to give your cousin an unfair advantage with Lady Alais. Considering her generous dowry, maybe you’re trying to enrich the coffers of Guestling.”

Victor gave Lord Guy a look that made him blanche.Weaselly fortune hunter…

“The money’s nice, but it’s not the only appeal,” said Lord Alphonse, oblivious, taking a drink of wine directly from the pitcher. “Spirited little filly, isn’t she? Hot-blooded, I’ll warrant. Such lovely lines, and those hindquarters…” He whistled. “Wouldn’t mind saddling her up and taking her for a nice long ride.”

A dagger pinned Lord Alphonse’s sleeve to the table. “You will speak respectfully about Lady Alais in my presence unless you want to become better acquainted with my blade,” Victor said in a voice cold enough to freeze Rye Harbor, even to his own ears.

---