Page 2 of The Knight Who Loved Me
~oOo~
A dull pounding invaded James’s dreams, and it seemed a long time before he realized it came from his head. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The room was dark, with no windows. By the dim light of a fire, he could see a prickly thatched roof. Where was he?
Suddenly, the fire roared higher, and he noticed a squatting man tending it, his face covered by a hood. The robbery had been no dream.
He remembered the woman then, and turned his head until he saw her. She was watching him through the slits of her mask. The throbbing inside his skull rose and ebbed, and he gritted his teeth. “You have all my money. What more could you want of me?”
She came out of the shadows into the firelight, wearing a man’s short, black doublet, and hose beneath. Her legs were fine and long, her waist narrow but not fragile. Wild hair curled and clung, wrapping itself insidiously about her arms and waist. Of her face, he could only see her eyes and lips, and knew for certain that she had painted them. He saw intelligence and purpose in those eyes, and knew instinctively that she was the enemy.
“My lord, your head is badly bleeding,” she said.
“And?”
“I could not leave you to die.”
James stared at her. “Why not? Then I would not be a witness to your crimes.”
“I have a wealth of witnesses, and one more will be of no consequence.”
She propped her foot on the pallet beside his head and leaned over him. She smelled of earth and greenery, and James could picture her kneeling naked in the forest. He smiled.
She leaned closer. A black curl teased his chest. “Do you find me amusing, my lord?”
“A thief with shocking tenderness for her victims? Yes, you amuse me. You do other things to me as well.” He lifted a hand, and the sword reappeared at his throat like lightning.
“Beware, my lord. I could change my mind.”
Her accomplice moved closer.
James swallowed carefully, feeling the sharp blade at his skin. “You won’t. Just return my money, and I’ll leave.”
She straightened and returned the sword to her side. “A large amount you carry, my lord. I’ll have to keep it.”
He was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. His head pounded with each heartbeat, and he had to concentrate to follow her words. “You could be noble and return it.”
“And you could be noble and understand that you are aiding a lady in distress.”
He chuckled, sensing a lie, yet intrigued by it. “A lady? I have known few ladies who dress as you do.”
She whirled before him and gave an ungraceful curtsy. “I need to ride astride.”
He looked her up and down, as a slow grin moved across his face. “I’m sure you do.”
Her cohort kicked the pallet, and James’s aching head rocked side to side.
The woman studied him. “You are unusual, my lord. Though you have lost a fortune, you have not lost your humor.”
She hesitated, and James found his gaze drawn to her mouth. The sudden slow burn that swept through his body had nothing to do with fever. Why should he be so affected? She was a thief, a masked woman with no scruples. Yet, he sensed something beneath the surface, at odds with what she showed the world.
Over her shoulder, she said to her accomplice, “Keep watch in the forest. Tell me when his soldiers approach.”
“I cannot leave you alone with him,” the man said in a rasping voice.
“He is wounded, and I am armed. I can handle him.”
James blinked sleepily and managed a grin. “Please do.”
After her accomplice had closed the door, the woman silently studied him. James returned the favor, wishing he could see more beneath her bulky doublet. Who was she, and why had she resorted to theft? She seemed well-bred and healthy. Surely she should be tending children by day and keeping her man warm at night.
