Chapter Fourteen #2
Achilles stood there a moment, chewing on his lip, before kicking out the other chair at her table and plopping his big body down.
He pretended not to look at her, but he was; her copper curls were matted and dirty, as was the rest of her, but her cheeks were rosy.
She had pretty eyes, too – quite blue from what he could see, with a fringe of dark lashes.
The more she sat there and sipped at her drink, the more he found himself studying her.
“It will not do either of them any good, sparks or no,” he finally said. “She is to marry Ellesmere.”
“I know.”
“We shall be there in two days if this godforsaken weather eases.”
“I know.”
“Do you know everything?”
She looked at him, then, a smile playing on her lips. “Mostly.”
Achilles sat back in his chair, his focus full on her now. “Somehow, I do not doubt that,” he said. “You said that Baron Coverdale is your father?”
Susanna set her cup down. “Used to be,” she said. “That title now belongs to my brother.”
“I do not believe I know your brother.”
She lifted her shoulders again, only this time, there was some embarrassment to the gesture. “I am not surprised,” she said. “My brother tries to stay in the shadows for the most part. That is where he operates best.”
“What do you mean?”
“He would rather be loyal to himself in all things than to anyone else, like William Marshal.”
“Or the king?”
Again, she sighed and looked away. “Sometimes I wonder.”
Achilles thought on that. “What is his name?”
“Samuel.”
Achilles shook his head thoughtfully. “Samuel de Tiegh? I do not know him.”
She picked up her cup again. “William Marshal does,” she said. “He has me return home on occasion to see what my brother is doing. He wants to make sure he is not doing something he should not be doing. Or allied with someone he should not be allied with.”
That statement made her brother sound questionable of character. “It is interesting that you have sworn fealty to The Marshal, but not your brother,” he said. “That is something I’ve not seen before, not in all my years as a knight.”
“Seen a lady warrior?”
He shook his head. “I have seen many a lady warrior,” he said. “But I have never seen a lady serve in the capacity that you are serving in. A bodyguard, a spy…”
“Clearly, that disturbs you.”
“It does not disturb me. But I would not go into battle with you.”
“Nor I, you.”
He blinked, instant outrage on his face as she insulted him.
“Lady, I have been in more battles than you could possibly hope to attend,” he said.
“I have killed men with my bare hands and I have created more widows than you could possibly imagine. The hardships I have had to endure are beyond your comprehension, so if I were you, I would take that into consideration before you sling insults at me. Truly, I am of an order you could never possibly attain so I would watch those insults if I were you. They are too bold.”
Susanna looked at him, steadily. Instead of rising to his anger, as she’d done in the past, she simply shrugged. “I heard that you attended King Richard when he went on the Great Quest,” she said. “That makes you a killer more than most.”
“Now you are coming to understand. I was not called an Executioner Knight for nothing.”
She lifted her eyebrows as if impressed. “Then mayhap someday, you will tell me of your exploits,” she said. “I can stand it if you can.”
He was about to become angry again but he couldn’t seem to muster it.
She annoyed him like crazy, but there was something sedate and intelligent about her, something that was both off-putting and alluring.
He couldn’t quite figure it out but, to his chagrin, he realized he was finding her rather interesting.
Sighing sharply, he leaned forward and put his elbows on her table.
“Let me ask you something,” he said. “Why is it that a woman like you pursued a warrior’s life? You are clearly intelligent. You are clearly attractive beneath all of that dirt. A woman like you could command a fine husband. Given those things, why would you choose a warrior’s life?”
Susanna lost some of her composure. Suddenly, she seemed a bit nervous as she sat back in her chair. A hand flew to her matted, dirty hair and she smoothed at it as if self-conscious. She coughed, even self-conscious of that now. Achilles’ flattery had caught her completely off-guard.
“Whatever my brother did, I wanted to do,” she said. “I am tall for a woman, and strong. Men do not like tall and strong women, so it seemed logical…”
Achilles cut her off. “How do you know?”
“Know what?”
“That men do not like tall and strong women. Have you never had a lover, Sparks?”
Susanna’s cheeks turned bright red as he jested with her about what she said about Cadelyn and Kress – I suppose we all hope to meet someone who makes us spark. But it wasn’t simply the jest – it was the question itself.
The answer was embarrassing.
“Where am I to find a lover when I am following around a foolish young woman?” she countered, struggling to regain her composure. “My focus is on her, not on finding someone who will salivate all over me.”
Achilles could see that he had her off-balance. He rather liked it. “Then you are telling me you have never even been kissed?”
Susanna thought her face was going to go up in flames; she was flushing so hard that even her neck was hot. “That is none of your affair,” she said. “Stop asking me silly questions.”
Achilles was grinning openly at her by now. “I would not worry if I were you,” he said. “You are pretty enough to be kissed. But do not punch the man who tries. You just might like it.”
She simply rolled her eyes and looked away, collecting her drink and sipping at it. Achilles kept his focus on her, waiting to see her reaction, but she wouldn’t give him one. He chuckled at her. She was a stubborn one.
“Not to worry, Sparks,” he said as he rose from his chair. “I am sure some fool will try to kiss you at some point. You shall not remain unkissed forever.”
“Are you leaving now?” she said drolly. “Finally, I shall have some peace.”
Achilles felt far less annoyed with her now that he knew how to tame her; any mention of kissing, or flattery, and the woman lost her composure. He would have to remember that for the future.
“Do not get too comfortable,” he said. “I may yet come back.”
“Do not bother. I am going to bed.”
Achilles waited until she turned to look at him before he winked at her. As he’d anticipated, her red cheeks were in no danger of returning to their normal color any time soon. He thought it was rather funny.
And rather sweet.
Turning his back on her, he headed back over to Bric and Alexander as they waited for Kress to emerge from Lady Cadelyn’s chamber.
What Achilles didn’t see was the smile on Susanna’s face when she knew he couldn’t see her.