Page 31 of Beholden
She needn’t have worried. I’d made a mistake and had no intention of repeating it.
When the dust and noise began to settle, she lifted her long lashes and gazed up at me shyly. For several heartbeats, I lost myself in the beauty and tenderness in the depths of her soul, and in spite of my resolve, I found myself fighting the overwhelming urge to bend down and kiss her again.
“Gabi?” Curly broke through the last of the barriers.
I released her, but somehow felt as though she’d captured and kept a part of me.
“The rats?” he asked, his tools outstretched as he glanced around.
“We were in the dark but a few seconds.” Gabriella maneuvered carefully through the rocks.
His gaze landed on her bare feet and then on the blackened remnants of the fire, now mostly covered in debris but showing the burned remains of one of her boots.
“Stand aside,” someone commanded from the opening.
Curly climbed farther into our drift, filled with more rocks and allowing little space to walk. An armed knight ducked through the opening. He’d divested his helmet, revealing a battle-scarred face framed by dark hair streaked with silver. A second and third knight followed him.
Their attention fell upon Gabriella, and they bowed.
“Lady Haleigh,” said the oldest.
“Sir Lucan?” Surprise and happiness laced her voice.
“Yes, ’tis I, my lady.” He kept his head bowed in subservience.
“But I thought the duchess condemned you and your men to the dungeons.”
“She all too quickly realized she’d reduced her defenses to nothing without us.”
I tried to follow the exchange and make sense of who these knights were. From what I gathered, they’d once served Gabriella and remained loyal to her after the duchess condemned her.
“They helped us clear away the rubble,” Curly interjected.
“Then we owe you our lives.” From the confident way Gabriella lifted her chin, I could envision her as the lady of her manor, leading her knights and earning their respect.
“They’ve come to be taking ye away from here.” The adoration in Curly’s expression matched those of the knights—and no doubt reflected mine as well.
“Praise be.” I couldn’t hold back my relief that she would soon be out of this pit and returned to civilization. It was much more than I could have hoped for, especially as I’d struggled with thoughts of what would become of her once I finished my Testing.
I expected Gabriella to react with a measure of gratefulness to the news. Instead, her expression was somber. “Does the duchess agree to release Benedict and Alice as well?”
The older knight nodded. “Aye, my lady. She will free them as requested.”
As requested? Had Gabriella been in touch with the duchess recently to petition for the liberation of herself and her servants?
“Very well. Then I shall go.”
Was there any question of accepting the offer? If she refused, then I’d make her, and I had no doubt Curly would too.
She stepped forward. “Let us be on our way.”
Sir Lucan glanced briefly at her bare feet before he politely averted his eyes. “Your shoes, my lady?”
“I burned them to keep the rats away.”
I quickly bent and began to loosen my boot. “You shall wear mine.”
“No.” She stopped me with a touch to my arm. “The way is too treacherous.”
