Chapter 17
I followed my leige down the main road a mile before he stopped at one of the fields we had passed. A chest-high wooden fence surrounded the crop to keep wayward horses from taking their fill. Cassian ducked through one of the gaps and sauntered into the field.
I scurried up to the fence and grasped the upper railing. “I know you’re the king and all, but are you really supposed to be doing that?”
Cassian walked with his eyes fixed on the ground, uncorking the bottle. “I’m doing the farmer a favor.”
“By trampling his grass?”
Cassian suddenly dipped down. The high wheat hid him from my view, and he came back up with a smile on his face. “Just a few more, and that should be enough.”
I stood on my tiptoes and stretched my neck, but all I could see was his back. He repeated the dipping motion three more times, and at the last, he came up and turned to me, stopping the bottle with the cork. His eyes twinkled as he tucked the bottle into his coat.
“So you’re still not going to tell me what you’re doing?” I guessed.
“Soon,” he promised as he strolled out of the field and led me back up the road toward the village.
“If you’re not going to tell me what’s in the bottle, could you at least explain to me something you said to the women in the tailor shop?”
“What was that?”
“You said something about ‘people of the dragon realm.’ Is that where we’re at?”
“Naturally.”
My eyes invariably dropped to his arms, and my pulse quickened. “So those scales are-?”
His smile broadened. “Dragon scales, and I am a dragon.”
I blinked at his face before I did a quick examination of the rest of him. “You, um, seem to be missing a few things.”
Cassian chuckled. “Like the wings, claws, and teeth?”
“And the bad breath and a horde of gold, or is that at the palace?”
“My family has stored up quite a bit of gold. As for the bad breath, I try to eat mint between my weekly meals of defenseless villagers.” I stopped in my tracks. He walked a few more paces before he turned to face me. “Is something the matter?”
“You’re not joking, are you?” I wondered as I looked him over. “You really are some kind of dragon?”
A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “Is that so unbelievable?”
I swallowed hard. “I…I just, well, it’s just-”
Cassian strolled back to me and grasped my upper arms. His gentle eyes stared into mine, and I was filled with a soothing warmth. Perhaps too soothing. It aroused in me some very feminine desires.
“Does knowing I’m a dragon make you afraid of me?” he wondered.
I numbly shook my head. “N-no.”
He took a step closer to me. Our chests almost touched. My cheeks blushed. I could hardly look him in those sultry eyes. His low voice didn’t help. “Good. I wouldn’t want that.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and bobbed my head. “Y-yeah. That would make things really awkward.” Like they already were.
Cassian’s soft eyes flitted over my face, and his crooked smile returned. “My bride, you appear to be blushing quite badly.”
I turned my face away. “Y-yeah, well, it’s the sun. It’s too bright out here.”
“Mm-hmm,” he mused with as much belief in my words as he would have believed I was from a different world. He stepped to my side and looped an arm through mine. “Then we shall go forthwith to the villa of the squire. No doubt he’ll offer us some refreshments.”
My eyes flickered down to his arm that was attached to mine. “Are you sure you should be leading me like this?”
“Should I not, my bride?”
“Well, for one, your real bride might not be too happy about it.”
“I have no bride.”
I leaned away from him and lifted an eyebrow. “You’re not married?”
There was that mischievous smile again. “Does that surprise you?”
I shrugged. “I just sort of figured kings needed to marry as soon as possible, and you’ve been king for a few years now, so…”
“I have had many proposals from very willing fathers, but none have offered me what I desired.”
“And that is?”
His eyes fell on me, and damn them for it! I couldn’t help but blush under that intense, handsome gaze. “I shall know it when I see it.”
A snort escaped me. “That’s a little vague.”
“Intentionally so,” he told me as his eyes flitted over me. “If all the fair maidens of the other realms knew my desire, they would rush to please me. I would marry one of them, believing a ruse.”
“And be very disappointed,” I added.
He flashed me a grin. “I would certainly refrain from showing my disappointment until after the wedding night.”
“Unless she proves to be ill-experienced in bed.”
“Indeed. In which case, the wedding will be all the shorter.”
By this time, we had reached the village and now sauntered up the main road. Little shops dotted the thoroughfare, with houses stuck between them.“Excuse me.”
We paused and turned to our left, where a young woman had just exited the grocery store.
She was a pretty thing of eighteen, with thick, long brown hair tied into a tail that trailed far down her back.
She had bright brown eyes and a few freckles on her otherwise unblemished cheeks.
The young woman wore a plain gray and brown dress with a sash around her waist, and a basket hung from the crook of her right arm.
Though I found the day rather warm, especially with how sunny it was, the woman wore a scarf around her neck.
She took a reluctant step toward us and bit her lower lip. “Are you…are you by chance the people who were asking the way to the squire’s house?”
Cassian offered her a warm smile and a nod. “We were. Do you work there?”
A faint blush accented her cheeks. “I do, sir. If you’d like, I could show you the way.”
He inclined his head. “That would be very kind of you.”
She waved a finger at the road ahead of us. “It’s this way, just a few steps.”
“First, allow me to introduce my wife and me,” Cassian insisted as he gestured to me. “This is Mrs. Grace Holt, and my name is Cassian Holt.”
She bowed her head to us. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He used a hand to gesture to her. “And might we know the name of the kind stranger who is offering her services to us?”
She perked up a little at his question. “My name is Vesta. Vesta Cornelia.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, daughter of the Cornelia clan.” He grasped my upper arms and leaned me close against his side. “Now lead on, and we shall gladly follow. My dearest wife and I have had a long journey, and your offer is very much welcome.”
We followed along behind our young guide, and I noticed Cassian’s gaze had settled on the woman’s neckwear. “Pardon my asking, but are you cold?”
Miss Cornelia turned her head, and one eye blinked at us. “Pardon?”
Cassian nodded at her scarf. “Your scarf. I couldn’t help but admire its beauty, but isn’t it rather warm?”
She reached up and clasped the ends in her fingers. I noticed her hand shook a little. “I-I am a little. My master has a very cold cellar, and I was in there all morning clearing out the empty bottles.”
Cassian offered her a gentle smile and a slight nod. “I see. May I see the scarf later? I would like my lovely wife here to knit me one, and she must study the pattern.”
A little color drained from Miss Cornelia’s cheeks. “I-I suppose so.”
“That would be most wonderful.”
I noticed Miss Cornelia quickened her step, and we soon arrived at the top of a gentle incline.
The squire’s house was definitely unmistakable.
It was one of the few homes that featured two floors, and they were both quite large.
The structure had been hewn from thick, ancient logs harvested from the local woods, their massive bodies carved into huge walls that towered above us.
Paned windows were the only interruption to the imposing dominance, but their black molding didn’t add any warmth to the viewer.
A half dozen chimneys stuck out of the steep-pitched roof, where shingles nestled against the local stone as though seeking the warmth that even then flowed out of the tops.
A short wooden fence made of small poles and tied together with wire surrounded the lush green yard, with notices posted every ten feet.
Do not allow your animals to graze here by order of Squire Torquatus!
I stopped in front of one of the signs and studied the bold, dark lettering. A chicken strutted past me and through the slots between the poles. She pecked at a few of the longer blades of grass, eating away at the seeds, before strolling back out.
I watched the chicken meander down the street with a barely suppressed smile. “I think the squire needs to invest in a better fence if he wants to keep things out.”
Miss Cornelia seemed to shrink under my question. “I’m afraid my master is insistent that the owners of the animals mind them.”
The chicken joined its flock a few houses down, no doubt to tell them of the local grub to be found in the neighboring yard. “Oh.”
“Is the good squire married?” Cassian spoke up as we reached the gate.
Miss Cornelia opened the gate and held the barrier open for us. “No, sir. He asks a high price for a bride.”
“Cassian, if you would,” Cassian pleaded as we strolled through the gate. “And how old is the squire?”
“Forty, sir-” A look of gentle warning from Cassian’s bright eyes stopped her. “Forty, Cassian.” She squirmed and grasped the basket in her other hand. “If you would, Cassian, I must address you formally if you’re to stay here.”
Cassian studied the imposing manor with a smile. “That is perfectly understandable. I hope your master will allow us to stay.”
Miss Cornelia paused on the front step and half-turned to face us. There was a sparkle of hope in her eyes. “As do I, sir.”