Page 39 of Saxon Blade Norman Blood
“Cuthbert knows you,” he began when it became clear she was not going to talk. It was not a question, and she had better not pretend it wasn’t the case.
“Yes. He did recognize me,” she admitted in a low voice. “He was a frequent visitor of my mother’s. I have known him since I was a child.”
He arched a brow at this piece of information. That a man of Cuthbert’s consequence consorted with her family could only mean one thing. She was not, contrary to what he’d thought, a simple servant. This was getting interesting.
“When he saw who I was, he naturally assumed I was with you against my will. Which of course, I am.”
William let out a snort. Even now the girl could not resist the pique. He didn’t know whether to be impressed or annoyed.
“He said that such a chance of killing you would never present itself again and gave me the dagger when you went to speak to his groom. But he never ordered me to kill you before this day. He didn’t even know we knew each other before this morning, I swear. If we had been in league together, don’t you think I would have found an excuse not to go to him today? Or at least looked horrified when you announced who you were visiting?”
She had a point, William had to admit. At the mention of Cuthbert’s name this morning, she had not batted an eye. Agirl like her, who could never hide her turmoil at his proximity, her ire or her anguish, would never have been able to hide her dismay if he’d announced he was talking her to her master. His hands relaxed around her wrists. Suddenly he realized how hard he was gripping her, and although she had not complained, the idea that he might have hurt her sent a chill down his spine.
What was he doing?
He did not want to harm her. Hell, he did not even want to question her!
But he had no choice. From the start he had been oddly lenient with her. It was high time he reestablished who was in charge. “Why did you not send him to hell then, seeing that only yesterday you rejected the opportunity to see me die?”
“I-I don’t know. Only…” Only she had her own reasons for killing him, so she’d thought she might as well let Cuthbert believe she was complicit to the scheme. It made sense, in a way. “But I never intended to use the dagger. The important thing was to placate him, so he did not reveal we knew each other.”
“Why? If you are not in his pay, it matters little.”
She shrugged, as if she could not quite make sense of her decision either. This, more than anything, convinced him she was telling the truth. Schemers always have an explanation at the ready and are not so easily confused. Innocent people, on the other hand, sometimes do stupid things they cannot explain afterward.
“I panicked, that is the only way to explain it,” she finally answered. “But you should beware of Cuthbert. He pretended to go along with your plans today, but in reality, he wants you dead.”
“Yes, thank you. I had guessed as much from the fact that he asked you to kill me,” William said wryly. “So much for trying to do the right thing by him. That money was spent in vain, I see.”
“Why are you not angrier?” the girl exclaimed, taking him by surprise. “Your efforts at conciliation deserve better than this. Men like Cuthbert who cannot see beyond their own personal gain will be the ruin of my country. I can’t believe he is being so stupid. Why can’t he just accept the helping hand he had no right to expect in the first place?”
If William had had any doubt about the girl’s sincerity, they would have vanished there and then. She didn’t have to reveal what Cuthbert had told her, but she had chosen to warn him. And she looked genuinely disgusted by the man’s double dealings.
“I am not angrier because he is only one man,” he told her with a sigh. “And I always knew this would be a long-drawn process. Now. Let us get back to the castle. I’m hungry.”
The girl opened wide eyes. “You… You are not going to punish me?”
“For what? You never actually tried to strike me, did you?” He ran a hand through his hair, moving away from her. “It seems I have gained a lot by taking you with me, for if I had not, I might still believe Cuthbert a potential ally. Now I am on my guard regarding an enemy I can’t actually keep an eye on at all times.”
Unlike her, who was so well guarded, she slept in his arms night after night.
He went to retrieve the dagger lying on the ground. Then he walked to the girl weapon in hand, drawing himself to his full height, wanting to see if she was still afraid of what he might do. She swallowed hard but did not recoil. Good.
“Did you honestly think I had dragged you into the woods so I could cut your throat and throw your body in a ditch?” he asked in a low voice.
“I… Yes. I did.”
He shook his head in dismay, hating to be her enemy. “I would never have killed you,” he murmured in her ear, leaning in to cage her in. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to let her see that she was safe, but he could not bear the idea that she was afraid of what he would do to her.
She let out a shaky breath. “I know it now. Had you really wanted to get rid of me you would have brought me to justice, not strangled me like a dog.”
“No. Never that.”
William clasped his hands behind his back. Though he badly wanted to touch her, draw her into his arms, he could not. He had just found a dagger on her person, and she had all but reiterated her intention of killing him.
It wasn’t safe for him to get too close to her.
In all senses of the word.
