Chapter 6
Bree stopped dead. Had he just said he was going to leave them alone on the same road where they’d escaped the meanest ruffians she had ever come across?
She narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
“You what? You can’t just leave us. Aren’t knights supposed to save damsels in distress?
Well, there’s two damsels here if you haven’t noticed.
And you must save us. You will take us to Frother and King Pradwick. ”
The oaf raised his brows at that, but then let out a laugh and kept walking. “Keep up or you’ll get lost.”
He disappeared behind a group of bushes. The girl tugged Bree’s hand and Bree blew out a puff of air. They trotted around the bushes. Horland was standing with his hands crossed over his chain-mailed chest.
“If I wasn’t here, which way would you choose to go?” He pointed to the track he was standing on and then another to Bree’s right.
Bree studied the tracks and, figuring she had a fifty-fifty chance of being right, pointed to the track nearest her.
He bowed. “If you so choose, go right ahead. However, as I am a knight and you are a damsel, I must be honorable and warn you, that way leads deep into the forest where bears and wolves and all manner of hungry animals await.” He turned and strode away.
“Oh, you’re funny,” Bree called after him. She clasped the girl’s hand and hurried to catch up to him.
After an hour or so, Bree noticed the trees thin out and more bushes encroached on the path. Even the sun’s rays found holes in the forest canopy. She spied black berries on the bushes and stopped.
“Hey, Horland.”
He turned.
She plucked some berries off. “Are these safe?”
He peered at her hand. “Yes.”
Bree grinned and she began picking and eating the berries. The girl yanked on her cloak and Bree flicked her hand away.
“But,” said Horland, “if you eat too many raw, you will be sick in the stomach.”
Bree spat out what was left in her mouth. “How many is too many?”
The corners of his mouth twitched, and heat rose in her cheeks. She knew he was laughing at her.
“About what you’ve already had.”
Bree smashed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, you’re hilarious.”
The little girl was picking berries and placing them in her coat pockets. Bree bent her head close. “You knew that, didn’t you? Are they okay if we cook them?”
The girl nodded and Bree picked as many as she could and put them in her outer pockets.
“That’s enough,” Horland said and began walking off again.
If Bree didn’t need him, she would have let him go, but she had the girl to think about and being lost in a thick forest wasn’t the smartest move. Plus, now she had the worry of getting stomach cramps. Ugh, he could have told me before I ate the darn berries.
They walked in silence and Bree fretted over being poisoned, but by the time the sun was high in the sky and she had no signs of cramps, she figured she was okay.
She glanced up at Horland’s profile. His nose was long and straight, and he held his head in such a way that if he turned to face her, he would be looking down his nose at her.
Pride goeth before a fall. The phrase popped into her head and she laughed. Horland looked down his nose at her and she laughed harder. Holding her hand over her mouth, she said, “Sorry, I just thought of something funny.”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing you would understand. Are we there yet?”
“No, but we should make a fire and cook the berries before they turn to juice in your pockets.”
Bree hadn’t thought about that and slipped her hand into one of her pockets to check.
They were a bit squashy but otherwise, still intact.
She gazed at Horland’s smiling eyes. It was as if he knew she was laughing at him earlier and once again he had turned the tables on her.
She decided not to take the bait. “Good thinking.”
The girl was already collecting kindling and Bree picked up some larger branches. Once they’d started the fire, Bree stared at the growing flames and put her hands on her hips. “We got something to cook them in?”
Horland took out a small pot from his pack and gathered some stones. He got down on his haunches and placed the pot on them.
Bree’s hands felt wet. The berries were in the pockets on her hips. She stared at the purple stain. Great.
She pulled out what berries she could and plopped them into the pot.
Horland threw his head back and laughed.
Bree glared at him.
He stopped and stood up, smirking. “I did warn you.” He moved in close to her and put his hands in her pockets. “Here, let me help.”
He was so close she could feel his breath on her ear. The touch of his hands through her clothes made her skin tingle. She pushed him away. “Don’t. I can do it myself.”
He shrugged and sat down. “If that’s your wish.”
She scooped up a handful of leaves and tried to use them to mop up what was left in her pockets.
As she worked away, scooping up the squashed berries, she could feel him laughing at her.
Once she’d gotten as much out as she could, she couldn’t do anything about the stains.
It didn’t matter though. She’d rather have a residue of berries in her pockets and stains on her cloak and hands than have him help her.
Once they’d finished the stewed berries, Horland handed them pieces of bread. Bree noted he’d kept the smallest bit and her heart warmed to him. He might be a smart aleck, but he was honorable.
Horland finished his food and leaned back on a tree.
The girl curled up near the fire and instantly fell asleep. Bree felt bad then. She should have known her little legs would get tired much more quickly than her own or Horland’s.
He closed his eyes and although Bree tried, she couldn’t relax, let alone sleep.
She was used to working long days on her little farm.
Deciding to be ready to leave when they awoke, she cleaned up the pot as best she could with the cloth it was wrapped in and put out the fire, making sure no cinders remained.
The last thing they needed was to set the forest on fire.
Once she’d finished, she sat back on her heels and gazed at the knight. He was everything a knight should be. Dark and handsome. She thought about the fight at the camp. And brave, maybe stupid, but nevertheless, brave.
His lashes twitched. They were as dark as his hair and so long they rested on his cheeks.
His nose once again drew her attention. It was long but it wasn’t straight—it had a slight bump in the middle.
Maybe he’d broken it at one time. She wouldn’t have been surprised.
He seemed to like fighting and while he easily bested her and survived battling three brigands, there had to be someone more skilled than him.
She poked around making sure the fire was completely out. She regarded Horland again. He was as perfect a man as she had seen. She wondered then who had broken his nose. She chided herself. That wasn’t important. What was important was finding her father and getting back to Garrett and Laura.
Feeling something or someone watching her, she snapped her head around to find Horland studying her like she had him only minutes before. She couldn’t help but wonder what he saw, what he thought about her.
HORLAND COULDN’T TAKE his eyes off the woman.
She wasn’t only beautiful, with her wild red locks and heart-shaped face framing her large eyes, and the most kissable lips Horland had ever seen.
He imagined how soft they would feel under his mouth and blinked.
Why had his mind gone there? He was in search of Sir Garlain and his wife; he was not looking for a wife for himself.
In fact, the very thought of sharing his abode and time with a woman was more frightening than he could bear.
He was used to being his own man—at least when he wasn’t being the king’s man, he came and went as he pleased.
He knew from his friends that wives commanded their husbands’ time and expected them to be at their beck and call.
And although his friends didn’t seem to mind the inconveniences, that wasn’t the life for him.
So then why had his mind drifted to those thoughts?
She pushed her hair back over her head and tied it with a green ribbon.
This woman was clever, but although she acted strong and confident, he’d noted insecurity in her eyes more than once during their short time together. It was as if she wanted to take charge but not having the skills to do so, reluctantly demurred to his demands.
She turned her head and he smiled. She had a blotch of ash on her cheek and that only made her more compelling. He wanted to wipe it off but decided to keep his hands to himself. She was more than capable of cleaning her own face.
His gaze found her eyes and he saw an enquiry there. Not knowing the question nor the answer, he broke eye contact and looked down at the child asleep at his feet.
He nudged the girl awake. “Time to go, little one.”
The girl awoke and groaned, but she leapt to her feet and curtsied.
Briana snorted.
Horland threw her a black look but smiled at the child. “You need not curtsy every time I speak to you.”
The child glanced at the woman and, beaming at Horland, nodded.
Horland picked up his bag. “We must make haste if we are to get to the road before sunset.”
He paused as he passed Briana.
She looked up at him, either the same or a different question in her expressive eyes.
He could stand it no longer and lifted his hand toward her face, but before his fingers touched her skin, he made a gesture to wipe his own face. “It’s soot from the fire,” he said. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Pink rose in her cheeks as she took the kerchief.
He turned to the child. “It’s time we continued on our way.”