CHAPTER 25
Helena
Setting her knee on the rolled-up canvas, Helena grabbed a rope and began tying it up. They’d been at this camp for three days, but Cap was reluctant to stay in one spot too long. Five camps in two weeks was a lot, but it was better than the week of constant traveling before that.
“Do you need any help with that, Margit?” Alanna asked, strolling up to her. “Papa already finished packing our tent.”
Helena wound the rope under the sturdy fabric. “I should have it in a minute.” She paused to pull it tight. “But thank you for the offer.”
Holding the tension with one hand, she tucked it under itself and tied a simple knot. She tossed the tent onto the pile that she would be carrying and moved along to winding up the excess rope.
Tucker appeared next, holding her cane in his hand. Waggling it back and forth, he asked, “Aren’t you forgetting something? I found this next to the fire.”
“Not today, Tucker.” Helena grinned up at him from the ground. “The splint is off, and I am finished hobbling around. Jean-haut can return the cane to the forest if he wants.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Tucker laughed. He squatted down next to her and ran a piece of rope through his hand. “Did your caretaker give you permission to walk unaided?”
“Stop that!” Helena reprimanded, swatting him away. “Cap isn’t my caretaker. I don’t have to listen to him.”
A shadow fell across them. “If you won’t listen, perhaps I should leave you at the nearest village. I need followers I can trust.”
“You want yes-men?” she quipped. She wound the last bit of rope around her elbow, then sat back on her heels to take in the view. “I’m surprised you’ve put up with me this long.”
Cap held out a hand, and she deposited the coil of rope in it. “No wise leader wants yes-men.”
“Yet you would leave me behind if I fail to heed your every word?”
He looped the rope over his shoulder and offered his hand again. “No.”
And so ended the joke he’d begun. Eyeing his hand, Helena half-heartedly protested, “I don’t need to be rescued.”
“I never said you did.”
His voice was level, his eyes as straightforward as always. But still that gloved hand hung in front of her, waiting.
It would be polite to accept his assistance. There was no deep meaning in giving a lady a hand up.
Even if part of her wished there was.
Relenting, she put her hand in his and let him help her to her feet.
His grip was firm but gentle, perfectly proper but like bottled magic.
By mutual unspoken consent, he’d stopped helping her mount and dismount after he accidentally caressed her palm two weeks ago.
It was for the best, but Helena missed those little moments of being almost held.
“I’ve been walking more,” Helena pointed out, returning her attention to Tucker. Cap’s thumb slid down her fingers as he slowly released her. “And I’ll have to walk from now on – the horses are finding their winter home today.”
“But it could be done with your cane,” Cap quietly pointed out. “Since you are still regaining strength in your ankle.”
“My ankle is fine.” She stared him down. “And since my shoulder is as well, why haven’t we had that friendly archery match yet? We’ve only traveled one day out of three for the last two weeks.”
His mouth twitched. “Soon. I don’t want you to have any excuses when I win.”
“Always so confident.” She tsked as she scooped up her bags and threw them over her shoulders. “It will be so satisfying to beat you.”
“Only in your dreams, milady.”
As they walked, the back of his hand brushed against hers. One would think a man so averse to physical contact would leave more space between himself and the person walking next to him. Accidental touches were bound to happen at this range.
Not that Helena was complaining.
Telling herself she didn’t feel the heat rushing up her arm, she tilted her head toward him. “I would like to come with you. One last ride would be nice before bidding the horses farewell.”
“No.”
“No?” Frowning, she tugged one of the straps into a more comfortable position. “I know we’ll have to walk back, Cap. I’ll be fine.”
“Your ankle is not my only consideration.”
“I don’t need you to protect me.” Her chest began to warm with anger instead of whatever his hands awoke in her. “You know I can shoot, Cap. Why are you babying me?”
Stopping, he turned to face her. “I do not need another archer for this. As your skill level is similar to mine, I would prefer to leave you to look after Tucker and Alanna.”
“Tucker and Alanna?” Helena challenged, ruthlessly shoving aside the smug pleasure from his compliment. “Are you sure you aren’t trying to keep me out of harm’s way?”
Cap met her eyes steadily. “I protect those I care about, Margit. It’s what I do.”
The fight started to leak out of her. Those he…
“And I care about Tucker and Alanna.”
His addition drew her up short, tearing at the old wound. Even if he didn’t feel the same flare of…something…when their hands touched, she’d thought they were becoming friends.
She met his eyes, preparing to fire off an angry reply. But a tiny crinkle at the corners caught her attention.
Smothering a smile, she lifted her chin. “Fine. As I also care about Tucker and Alanna, I will accede to your wishes.” She arched a haughty eyebrow. “But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”
The crinkle became more pronounced as his lips curved up a little. “Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to do as I ask.”
Helena leaned closer. Batting her eyes, she gave him a sweet smile. “Do I claim my own arrows?”
One side of his mouth pulled up farther. “Not this time.” Bringing his hands to his waist, he unbuckled one of his many belts, then pulled a second quiver from under his cloak. “For you, milady.”
She grinned. “Heavens, Cap, you do know the way to a lady’s heart, don’t you?”
“Only yours.”
“Such a charmer.” Reaching up, she grasped the belt below his hand. He released it, trailing his fingers across hers before dropping his hand back to his side.
She resisted the blush that wanted to rise to her cheeks. He wasn’t “trailing his fingers;” her hand was simply too close for the angle.
They walked past Rouge, who was packing the rest of the dishes. The redhead looked up. “Are the arrows for your journey back to Marielle?”
Helena frowned. “What do you mean? I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
Raising an eyebrow, Rouge glanced down at Helena’s ankle. “But weren’t you only staying until you could make the trip? You look fit as a fiddle now. Your cane is gone, and Cap gave you your own quiver.”
He wouldn’t send her away, would he? Not when she finally had a safe place?
Helena buried her unease under a smirk. Setting one hand on her hip, she replied, “Don’t let Adrien hear that. He doesn’t like the term ‘fiddle,’ no matter how much his country playing sounds like he’s using one.”
Rouge rolled her eyes and fastened her pack. “You know what I mean.”
“We’re too far south for Marielle’s estate, if I understand the geography correctly,” Helena lightly said. “I don’t fancy making the trip alone, as I have no funds for a coach. And by foot, I would lose my way within a day.”
“You wouldn’t have to travel alone,” Cap slowly said. Helena kept her self-assured expression, but she felt her heart sinking. “The messages I exchanged with the Cheval family only addressed stabling the horses, but I am sure they would accept you as well, if I asked.”
She peeked over at him. In typical Cap fashion, he looked neither upset nor pleased. But his right hand drifted over the fletching of his arrows.
“Eager to be rid of me before I can beat you at archery?” she teased.
His mouth twitched before resuming its stoic lines. “Hardly. But a life on the run is no place for a lovely lady, and Marielle will surely worry.”
“A lady? Ha!” Pulling an arrow from her quiver, Helena sent it into a tree at the edge of their clearing with only a swift glance. “I believe we’ve established that I’m not a lady.”
“Cap, don’t we have a strict ‘no shooting in camp except in an emergency’ rule?” Rouge grumbled, glaring at the arrow. “She could have hurt someone!”
“I wouldn’t, and you know it.” Helena spared Rouge a brief glance before turning to Cap. “And I won’t do it again.”
His eyes stayed on the arrow. “You may feel as if you do not meet the definition of a lady, but you still have a title. And Marielle will worry. She worries about me. She’ll worry about you as long as you’re with me.”
If he was going to play dirty, then so would she.
She gulped. Except her motivation was personal, and she didn’t want it spread further than she could help.
Wrapping a hand around Cap’s arm, she tugged him gently away from Rouge and the others. He raised a quizzical eyebrow, but he followed without question.
Once they were out of earshot, Helena turned to him and lowered her voice. “Please don’t send me back to Marielle, Cap. I told her that she could try talking me into going home once my shoulder had healed.”
“Is that truly such a bad thing, Margit?” he asked gently. “You speak of your brother, his wife, and her younger sister as if you’re fond of them.”
She hesitated. In the weeks since Cap rescued her from Erwan, she had settled into his little family.
And she had realized that she may have developed a misperception where her own family was concerned.
“You’re right. And I am sure that they would like me to come home.
” She paused, gathering her courage for what she needed to say.
“But I didn’t leave home because of them.
I thought they would be happier without me, but I would have stayed if it were no more than that. ”
For a moment, she thought he would take her hand. But his hand settled on his arrows instead. “Then why did you?”
She rubbed her hands together and faced the forest. “Ralnor has some interesting laws. One of them gives our council the right to require my marriage by a certain date.” She trusted an Amitian guard wouldn’t know why that was.
“They gave me until the end of the year. If I don’t pick a suitable husband on my return, they’ll choose one for me. ”
She heard Cap’s boots shift on the loose leaves, but he didn’t comment.
“None of their choices are desirable. I decided to endure the courting, but I had hoped they would see sense before I...” She trailed off. She didn’t know what she would have done. The law didn’t state the consequences if the heir flatly refused to follow their dictate.
“So if you return home, they will force you to marry?” There was a strange note in his voice. She hoped that it upset him as much as it did her and her family. Even if he could do nothing to prevent it but let her stay.
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and pushed through the rest of it, determined to seal her place in his camp. “The man I expect the council to choose for me is in love with someone else.”
“And you?”
Her eyebrows pulled together. “And me, what?”
He met her gaze for a few moments before looking away. “Are your feelings otherwise engaged?”
She hesitated. How should she answer that question?
“The man who is the most obvious in his desire for my hand tried to kiss me,” she continued, pretending he hadn’t said anything. “It was after that that I ran.”
“You kissed me.” The tiniest trace of amusement colored his calm voice.
She whirled away from him. “That was different! I only meant to kiss your nose to throw you off balance.” Wrapping her arms around her waist, she ground out, “He intended to force the kiss on me. If a guard had not heard our argument and escorted him off the premises, I have no doubt he would have tried again.”
Cap was silent. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw his left hand clenched in a tight fist.
“Now you know my story.” She turned back to the forest. “May I stay?”
She didn’t hear him take a step forward, but she could feel him only a few inches behind her, hear the controlled anger in his harsh breaths.
“My wandering home is a haven for many who had reason to flee.” His gentle breath brushed her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “You are welcome to claim it as long as you wish.”
“Thank you, Cap,” she whispered, meeting his eyes over her shoulder.
“Always.”
He was close enough that if she tipped back a little, he could press his lips to hers. For a moment, as she gazed into his soft eyes, she thought he might.
“Come; we should be on our way,” he said quietly.
His hand skimmed lightly down her arm, and then he was gone.