LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

but I cared nothing about that. So far, he’d managed to find shelter for me each night. Twice, he’d found me an inn and arranged quarters in local stables for the men. Last night, when there was no town or village along our path, he’d set up a tent for me and piled blankets for a makeshift bed.

      The men slept on the open ground.

      Now, we were nearing the end of the fourth day, and we’d not seen a village for hours, but I wasn’t worried. I could always sleep in the tent again.

      Then…a raindrop hit my shoulder.

      Another followed, this one striking my head.

      The captain looked up in alarm. As the rain fell harder, I pulled up the hood of my cloak. In the southeast, summer rainstorms were not uncommon, but the sky didn’t open quite like this, and I wasn’t sure the tent would prove waterproof.

      “There, my lady!” Reynaud called, pointing ahead.

      Squinting through the falling water, I saw a barn in the distance.

      Nudging his horse forward, he led the way. I kept my head down, but Meesha knew enough to follow his horse. Through the sudden storm, I could barely see the men all around us, and I was relieved when we stopped.

      “It appears to be abandoned, my lady,” Reynaud said. “Shall I go in first and check?”

      As the barn indeed appeared abandoned, I didn’t care to sit in the rain while he made an inspection. “No, let us just take shelter inside.”

      Before I could move, he was off his horse and on the ground.

      “Put your hands on my shoulders before I lift you.”

      Though it was hardly acceptable for him to speak to me in such a frank manner, I didn’t offer censure. No matter how well I’d hidden my discomfort, he knew. Following his instructions, I braced my hands on his shoulders. Grasping my waist, he lifted me down. I could barely feel my legs, and he did not let go.

      The rain beat down harder, and I finally nodded to him when I believed I could stand on my feet.

      Men around me were hopping down off their horses, and we hurried for the barn. A young guardsman named Talon opened the doors. Captain Reynaud and I stepped inside first.

      The first things I noticed were two glowing candle lanterns sitting on crates. Then my eyes scanned the rest of the large interior of the barn, and it took a moment for the scene before me to register.

      Five men were already inside, crouched in a circle, and one of them was digging through a burlap bag. Their clothes were tattered and filthy. A small, young woman, perhaps not yet twenty, sat on a crate between them with her eyes down. She wore a fine wool cloak. Her hands were bound in the front, and her expression was that of someone lost to herself.

      Beside me, Captain Reynaud breathed in sharply. “My lady…that is Princess Ashton.”

      “What?”

      He never had a chance to answer, as all five men sprang to their feet, and one of them drew the short sword on his hip.

      That action alone probably killed him, as Guardsman Talon immediately dodged in front of me and rushed. I never saw him draw his own sword, but he slammed the man’s short sword aside and then ran him through with a long blade.

      All of my guards were coming in the doors, but instead of turning to fight, the other four strangers bolted in panic, fleeing for the back door. Captain Reynaud gave chase.

      Though no longer in his prime, he could still run.

      Unfortunately, the young woman stood in panic, staring at my guards in terrified confusion, and then she too turned to run. But she didn’t follow the others. There was a window to her left, and even with her hands still tied, she scrambled up onto a crate, trying to get out that window.

      “Captain!” I called.

      Turning his head, he saw her and veered off in his chase. His men were awaiting orders. Their job was to protect me, and without orders, none of them would leave my side.

      In a matter of seconds, he was up on the crate and had the woman in his arms, pulling her back up against his chest.

      She cried out with a frightened, anguished sound.

      “Princess,” he said. “It’s all right. I’m from the house of Géroux.”

      She didn’t seem to hear him and struggled in his arms. With little idea what to do—or what was happening here—I walked forward, letting her see me.

      As I reached them and took a closer look at her, she struck me as more of a girl than a woman, small and slender with silky black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Even in her current state, she was pretty. But she was also hysterical, and no noblewoman worth her weight should ever give in to hysteria.

      “Princess,” I said, reaching out to untie her hands. “You are all right. These are my guards. Who were those men holding you captive?”

      Reynaud looked around in frustration. One of her captors was dead, and due to the distraction Ashton had caused, the other four had escaped. We’d get no answers from anyone but her.

      Her eyes locked onto my face, and some of the panic faded. “I want to go home,” she whispered. “I want my brother.”

      Then she fainted in Reynaud’s arms.

      It was difficult to hold back my disgust. Useless girl. I couldn’t imagine any situation in which I might ask for one of my brothers and then faint.

      Sighing, I looked to Reynaud. “We’ll need to make her comfortable until she wakes.”

      * * * *

      She didn’t wake until morning.

      We spent a somewhat uncomfortable night in the barn, but at least we’d remained dry. As soon as the sun crested, Reynaud sent a few men outside to see if they could build a fire from straw and a broken crate—so that we might at least boil water for tea.

      Two horses had been found outside. We assumed one had been for the princess and the other for the man Guardsman Talon killed. The other men must have escaped on horseback.

      As soon as the princess stirred, I sent a guard to see if the tea was ready. A hot drink might do her good.

      Kneeling beside her, I heard Reynaud’s heavy bootsteps coming up behind me. As Ashton’s eyes opened, they widened at the sight of me and then moved swiftly up to Reynaud, but she immediately took in his green tabard. This was a good sign to suggest she might be more coherent.

      “Géroux?” she whispered.

      I nodded. “I am Olivia Géroux. We are on our way to Partheney.”

      Her eyes returned to my face. “Olivia? Then you will be our queen.” She grasped my hand. “You will be my sister.”

      While these words caught me off guard, I was beyond glad to hear them. Rowan’s own sister already viewed me as the next queen. This did much to establish confidence in my position. More, she didn’t appear to resent me in the slightest. The moment she’d lost her throne to her brother, her fate as a “princess” had been sealed, never to be queen here. And princesses were married off to foreign kings. In her place, I would have hated me on sight.

      “How did you find me?” she asked.

      “Quite by accident, I fear. We took shelter from the rain.”

      She stood up quickly and glanced around. I stood as well.

      Beneath her open cloak, she wore a wool gown of pale blue. The color made her blue eyes glow. This was the first time I really looked at her. Last night, I’d noticed she was pretty, but I now saw that even with straw in her hair, she was striking beautiful, like one of the dolls I’d played with as a child. Her silky head barely reached my shoulder. Her skin was like pure milk. Her wrists and hands were fragile.

      Standing beside her, I couldn’t help

Скачать книгу