Page 13 of Loving the Blacksmith
Agnes saw from the way Magnus’ shoulders relaxed that he was pleased to be the one to dismiss his brother for once and she couldn’t help but share in the satisfaction.
“If you’d rather we took him home before getting back to the village, it’s no problem,” she forced herself to say, though in truth she was relieved to be rid of Sven’s oppressive presence. She couldn’t wait to be alone with Magnus again.
“No.” He gave her a smile that went straight to her heart. “Thank you. This is the first time my brother and I part with me having the upper hand. It feels good, and I owe it to you.”
“Me?”
“You gave me a reason to stand up to him. When it was only me, I saw no harm in letting him indulge in his petty games. It seemed to be the way of things, as immutable as the changing of the seasons.” He shrugged, before something hardened in his eyes. “But I will not have him making you uncomfortable in any way. And so thanks to you, at last I found the strength to stand up to him. I can only hope it will be the start of a new relationship between us, a more peaceful one. It’s about time.”
By now a lump had formed in Agnes throat. He was thinking of her, first and foremost, he was being mindful of her comfort again. No one had ever done that before. He was grateful to her for giving him strength when the notion of a woman like her giving a man like him strength should have been ridiculous. She felt on the verge of tears. Magnus saw it and mercifully behaved as if there was nothing more normal in the world than for a woman to cry for no reason.
“Shall we?” he asked, clicking his tongue to the mare.
Agnes could only nod.
CHAPTER FIVE
No sooner had they passed the town gates than the heavens opened.
Agnes let out a cry of dismay when hundreds of cold raindrops hit her all at once. Immediately, Magnus threw one of the furs he had taken with them over her head. She thanked him with a smile, already knowing it would be soaked before they reached the forest. But at least she could not feel the icy pinpricks on her exposed skin anymore, which was a welcome improvement. Would there be no end to his solicitude?
For a moment, they plodded on, in the hope that it would only a be a passing shower but the driving rain showed no sign of abating. On the contrary, it soon became a veritable deluge. Agnes was soon shivering, because as she had predicted, the fur covering her head was now dripping onto her skirt.
“Let us take shelter in that cave over there,” Magnus shouted, his voice barely audible above the din.
She nodded her agreement. Even if it was too late to avoid a thorough drenching, at least they would be able to wait out the end of the storm in a dry place.
He helped her down the seat then gestured that she should go into the wide opening while he saw to the horse and cart. Shedidn’t need to be told twice. The cold had started to spread to her bones.
As soon as she entered the cave, she let out a sigh of relief. Oh, this was better. Shaking the fur off her shoulders, she placed it on a rock, then wrung her hair and her sodden skirt. Feeling marginally better, she waited. A moment later, Magnus joined her in the cave.
Agnes’ mouth fell open.
Water was falling in rivulets down the strong column of his throat and his clothes were plastered to his body, forcing the eye to follow the lines of each bulging muscle. His wet hair, no longer the color of the sun but now a fascinating metallic hue, seemed longer than usual. Raindrops clung to his lashes, framing his blues eyes with pearls she wanted to lick away. Her tongue was aching with the need to taste his rain-soaked skin, which she suspected would be cold and delicious.
Desperate to resist the shocking impulse, she made the mistake of looking at the ceiling—and that was when she saw them. Bats. Dozens of them, huddled in a nook overhead. A squeal escaped her throat. She’d always been terrified of the animals.
It had started innocently enough. One evening while gathering wood for the fire she’d stayed out later than usual and had ended up surrounded by a cloud of the flying creatures. It had impressed her but she had bravely stopped herself from panicking. Back home she had made the mistake of mentioning the incident to her brothers, who had thought it funny to scare their seven-year-old impressionable sister. The following night she had found their little hut filled with fluttering bats. The boys had locked her in and only allowed her out when their mother had come back home a long moment later and scolded her sons for bringing in animals who had left their droppings and awful smell all over the house.
By then the damage had been done, and Agnes was thoroughly terrified of bats, even if she had gotten out of the hut unscathed.
“What is it?” Magnus started to look around in search of potential danger. He obviously thought she’d identified some potential threat while he was outside.
“Bats,” Agnes said, too scared to even think of lying or feel ridiculous.
He lifted his head to the roof of the cave and nodded. “What about them?”
“They’re everywhere!” Could he not see?
“Yes. But they’re sleeping. It’s the middle of the day.” He sounded nonplussed. “You don’t have anything to fear.”
Didn’t have anything to fear? On the contrary. She could already hear them flapping around her, feel them scratching at her skin. It was irrational, but she could not help it. Oh, this was awful. She was about to collapse under the strain of trying to hold on to her composure.
Without thinking, Agnes threw herself against Magnus’ massive body, hiding her face in his chest. Instantly, he closed his arms around her, keeping her tight against him. Thank God he didn’t protest, mock her or even ask any questions. He simply held her, as if he’d sensed she was on the verge of panic and wanted to help. He was so big he completely engulfed her, offering the protection and comfort she needed.
Intent on burrowing further into the embrace, she wiggled against him. Dear God, he felt so warm, so solid, so good. It was exactly what she needed. Thanks to him she was able to distract herself from the horror of being trapped in a cave with bats flying overhead.
Well, she wasn’t trapped, exactly, and the animals were still sleeping, but that was by the by.
