Chapter Two #3
Tiberius couldn’t believe the situation he found himself in, fighting with a woman he was supposed to be saving.
Had he not been so concerned that she might truly be captured by de Montfort’s forces, he would have found the entire thing comical.
But he didn’t have time to laugh. For once in his life, there was no time for laughter.
The carefree brother was now the serious knight.
They had to flee through the only other portal in the room if they were going to save their skins.
Grabbing the only chair in the room, he jammed it under the iron bolt to give it more support as men on the other side tried to kick the door down.
Grabbing Douglass by the wrist, he pulled her over to the window and threw open the shutters.
The stable yard was more than a dozen feet below, crowded with de Shera horses.
Still holding on to Douglass with one hand, Tiberius yanked the coverlet from the bed and spun the startled woman around so that she was facing away from him. Then, he looped the coverlet around her torso like a sling. Holding both ends behind her, he shoved her towards the windowsill.
“If you value your life, you will jump,” he told her. “I will hold the coverlet so it will ease you to the ground somewhat, but you had better jump, lady. That door will not hold much longer and once de Montfort’s men enter, it will be me against a dozen. I cannot promise that I can save you then.”
Douglass could hear the urgency in his tone.
In truth, he was trying to help her, so perhaps he really was who he said he was.
She’d heard her brother speak of Tiberius de Shera and tell of the great and sometimes wild adventures they had.
Garran had also spoken of Tiberius’ arrogance and how the man believed himself to be the greatest knight of all.
The Thunder Knight, Tiberius would claim.
He was part of the Lords of Thunder, after all.
He wielded his sword as the storms wield their thunder.
With that in mind, she eyed him critically.
“According to my brother, you would consider a fight against a dozen men nearly even odds,” she said even as she struggled to climb onto the windowsill. “The odds would be against the dozen men, of course.”
Tiberius scowled. “God’s Bones,” he spat. “Garran did not tell me how disagreeable you were. The man has a harpy for a sister.”
Douglass’ dark eyes narrowed at him. “I am a perfectly sound and agreeable individual around the right sort,” she declared. “A man who would take his hand to my backside is not the right sort!”
Tiberius shook his head, appalled at the woman’s manners.
“You are lucky I was interrupted,” he said.
“I would have beaten you all the way through the floor and you would have ended up lying on the bread oven below. Now, get out of that window, you foolish wench. I am trying to save your life and all you can do is argue with me!”
Douglass opened her mouth but Tiberius put a big boot on her backside, shoving her from the window.
As Douglass shrieked with surprise, and a little fear, Tiberius held both ends of the coverlet and lowered her down as far as he could to the livery yard below.
Douglass ended up falling the last two feet on her own when he released the coverlet, landing right on her feet.
By the time she looked up, Tiberius was climbing from the window, hanging with his long body extended before finally letting go of the sill.
He, too, fell the last foot or so, landing awkwardly and stumbling.
“Now what?” Douglass asked as Tiberius picked himself up. “Do we just hang out here with the horses or did you have more of your brilliant plan in mind?”
With a growl, Tiberius grabbed her hand and pulled her through the collection of horses until he came across Storm, his big, gray stallion.
He lifted Douglass up onto the saddle, or perhaps he actually threw her, because she nearly pitched off the other side.
He wasn’t exactly sure how he did it, only that he did.
The woman was as fine and beautiful as he had ever seen but her personality had him furious.
Mounting swiftly behind Douglass, he gathered the reins and spurred his charger out of the stable yard and onto the road beyond, heading for Isenhall at breakneck speed but wondering if he should just as well dump the lady onto the side of the road and pretend he didn’t see her fall.
Nay, de Moray would figure it out sooner or later that it was no accident.
Worse yet, the running mouth of Lady Douglass would be sure to tell her father what he’d done.
If he hoped to keep peace with de Moray, then he’d better keep the woman safe.
But one more negative word out of her mouth and he couldn’t guarantee that his hand wouldn’t become acquainted with her backside again.
With bunches of wild, red hair blowing annoyingly in his face and blinding him, Tiberius made his way back to Isenhall Castle.