Page 9 of The Sword and the Damsel

“Saint Agatha’s tits on a platter,” Victor grumbled under his breath and followed her, weaving through trees, and steadily catching up. She disappeared again, and for a moment, he thought he’d lost her trail. A branch whipped against his shoulder and caught in his shirt. Breaking it and throwing it to the ground, he turned around in circles, peering through the autumn leaves until he caught a glimpse of her blue gown.

There she was. She had stopped in a nearby clearing and dismounted. She stuck her hand inside a knot in a tree and then peered into a shrub.What the hell?

He dismounted and tied up Socorro before tiptoeing over to the clearing, sword drawn in case a man was hidden in the shrubbery. He edged into the clearing, keeping his back to a large tree, looking out for any suspicious movement. Lady Alais let out a little shriek upon seeing him.

“Why do you have your sword drawn?”

“So I can kill whoever it is that’s meeting you here,” he said, examining every tree and bush.

She sighed and slumped down on the grass. “Put it away. There’s no one here.”

“Then why did you run away from me?” He lowered his sword.

She looked up at the sky in silence for several moments before responding. “Carenza says I must marry because of what happened with Gilbert. I’m not in love with him, but he’s a lot better than some stuffy lord I’ve never met. I thought he might leave a message proposing we run away together, but he didn’t.” A tear dripped down her cheek. If she didn’t look so red-faced and angry, he would have been certain she was putting on a show. “He’s gone, and he’s not coming back, the coward. So I’m stuck. They plan to marry me off to a stranger by Christmas.” She sniffed and wiped her tears. “Are you going to tell my sister I ran off?”

Mentally cursing his aunt for making him come to Winchelsea, he slid his sword back into its scabbard and sat on the ground across from Lady Alais. He was a military commander for God’s sake. How was this his job? He almost wished that Gilbert had shown up so that he could detach his head from his shoulders and be done with this ridiculous assignment. He liked Lord Daniel, but this was too much to ask.

“I’m not here to spy on you for your sister,” he said through clenched teeth. “My only job is to keep Gilbert and any other men who might try to endanger your virtue away. No one was here, so as far as I’m concerned, I have nothing to report. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to come here again looking for secret messages. I can see my way to forgetting this happened once, but if it happened again…”

She wiped her eyes. “It won’t. You have my word.”

“Where’s your maid, by the way? You and I probably shouldn’t be sitting here alone like this.”

Lady Alais waved a dismissive hand, then wiped a few more tears. “She’ll get here eventually. Why? Are you worriedImight endangeryourvirtue?”

He laughed incredulously, trying hard not to imagine how pleasant it would be to have Lady Alais de Vere endanger his virtue.

She sniffed and looked him in the eye. “Since we’re alone and there’s no one to hear, now would be a good time to sing me the song about the cat.”

“What?”The song about the cat? Where did that come from?“No.”

“It really would cheer me up.”

“No.” If Lady Alais de Vere ever heard the song about the cat, it wouldn’t be from him. For God’s sake, where was Dora?

They stared in opposite directions in silence, looking anywhere but at each other for several agonizing minutes.

“Do you think we should look for Dora?” he asked. “I’m starting to worry about her.” He wasn’t, but hewasworried about being alone with the beautiful woman all this time, unchaperoned. He’d hate to be forced into marriage with her because of a rumor of inappropriate behavior.

“Fine,” she said, dragging herself to her feet. “Let’s get her and go home. I’m finished with my ride.”

He knew he should agree and be done with this travesty of a morning. He had no business offering her distraction or comfort. Besides, anything he might propose was bound to exacerbate his profound discomfort in her presence. Nonetheless, he heard himself saying, “I have a better idea. Let’s head down to the beach and race.”

Lady Alais gave him a dubious look. “I love Snow, but she’s no match for Socorro.”

“I’ll let you have a head start.”

“Let me ride Socorro, and you have a deal.”

“But, my lady, he’s a war horse.”

“He’s a sweet boy.”

He let out his breath slowly. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. Your family will never forgive me if you get hurt.”

“I won’t,” she said with cheerful confidence as she dusted herself off. “My brother used to let me ride his destrier when I was younger.”

“Your brother? No, wait. I think I knew you had a brother. I met him once or twice when I was young. His name is…Charles, I think?”

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