Page 39 of Chivalry in the Meadow
“Do you want to know who?” Lilly asked.
“Yes.” Mia pretended to brush something from her gown.
“Both Sir Cedric and Sir Alaric have looked your way,” Lilly said. “More than once.”
As Mia glanced up and over at them, she saw both looking at her, in between signing.
Mia pun back around, her cheeks heating as she flushed. “Yes, I see, let’s go.”
But then, just for a heartbeat, Mia caught a shadowed figure beyond the lists.
Felt it watching from under the trees. A flicker of movement.
A hint of something small and quick darting between the tree trunks. Her pulse stuttered.
What was that?
Despite the sun shining down on them, it felt as if something dark watched them.
Goosebumps spread along her body along with the knowing that it was true.
Since her reading from Madame Merlina, she was paying attention, not ignoring it.
She shivered.
“Are you cold?” Lilly asked. “It’s warm out, not cold. I hope you aren’t getting sick.”
“No,” Mia said. “I just don’t like the feeling of being watched.”
“When it’s a handsome man, you should enjoy it,” Lilly said. “Could be your true love.”
A sudden gust whipped across the field, rattling pennants, lifting fine dust into the air.
The scent of it, musty, earthy, made Mia’s stomach tighten.
Lilly wrinkled her nose. “What’s that smell?” Lilly murmured.
Mia’s gaze flickered toward the tree line.
A sudden shiver traced Mia’s spine, as though a cold breath had brushed her ear.
Beyond the list, a great horned owl perched in the oak’s shade, its gaze locked on her. She’d thought that she felt eyes watching her earlier.
The final tilt had ended in a deafening cheer right about that time, so she hadn’t turned to see who it might be.
Mia looked back at the tourney field. The six knights sat on their horses still signing autographs. There was a time when she would have wanted one. But not today.
Mia’s gaze returned to the tree, where the owl had been just a moment ago.
The branch now hung empty.
Chapter Six
“Idon’t see the owl now,” Mia said.
“It’s long gone,” Lilly said. “Let’s go shopping.”
“Okay,” Mia said, and they headed for the candle shop.
