Darkest Knight (17 page)

As they made their way through the moors, Anna tensed. It wasn’t until they were away and had traveled another hour or so that she felt like she could relax. The horse was content to follow along or walk beside John’s horse.

“While the countryside is beautiful, I’m already sick and tired of this journey.”

“Do not worry. I will not let you fall into another bog.”

“At least this time I’m with someone who knows how to make a fire. And we have horses.”

“And do not forget. You have me to protect you.”

She smiled at him. “How could I forget?”

They stopped for a late lunch. Afterward, Anna looked for a place to relieve herself. She heard the sound of running water and followed it, happy to find a place to refill her water jug.
 

During the afternoon, she’d been surprised at how few people they encountered. If it was a well-traveled road, then they saw a good number of people. But on smaller paths, they might not see anyone. Most were friendly, though some seemed wary. And she could understand why John wanted to avoid everyone. More soldiers had been spotted nearby. They were closing in. Yesterday, she’d seen his face on a broadsheet in a town they had to pass through. When she pointed it out, he brushed her concerns away.

“None this close to Blackmoor will turn us in. They are loyal, or at least I hope they are.”

That night as they made camp, she watched how he started the fire.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that.”

“I will start your fires, my lady.”

They talked deep into the night until Anna found herself yawning and barely able to keep her eyes open.

“Go to sleep. I will take first watch.”

She didn’t think she answered him before she was asleep.

Wasn’t it the same with everything? Anna had been afraid to ride by herself. But the more distance they covered, the more she enjoyed riding. She had an entirely new appreciation for horses. Sure, cars were so much faster, but people might not be as stressed out in her own time if they rode a horse to work. A quiet giggle escaped.

Instead of bring your child to work day or bring your pet to work day, it could be ride your horse to work day. With stables and pastures next to office buildings instead of bike racks.

Daydreaming about Popsicles and milkshakes, she jerked in the saddle as the horse came to a sudden stop

“Why are we stopping?”

John put a finger to his lips. “Silence.”
 

He dismounted, helped her off the horse, and leaned forward. For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her again.

Then he whispered in her ear, “Soldiers. Close. Follow me.”

The kiss would have been better. No matter how she strained, Anna didn’t hear anything. John had lived as an outlaw for a long time and obviously knew what he was doing. She followed as he led the horses into the woods. He found an area with fallen brush and a patch of grass, making a natural screen. He tied the horses to the trees.
 

“We will move the branches. They will conceal the horses.”

Anna had to admit, it looked pretty convincing. “Won’t the horses make noise?”

“Not enough to be heard. We will conceal ourselves over there.”

How was it possible the man could move without making a sound? She, on the other hand, sounded like a herd of elephants, as she trailed him through the brush. No matter how gingerly she stepped, a twig cracked, sounding like a gunshot, or she made some other horribly loud noise. But no one came galloping after them, so maybe she wasn’t as loud as she sounded to her own ears.

John led her around an outcropping of stone and pointed to the base, where she could make out a small, shallow opening.

“You want to hide there? What about snakes?”

“There are no snakes. We will be safe.” He pulled her down onto the ground. “Do you trust me to keep you from harm?”

“Of course I do. Snakes are a completely different story. If you had seen the size of some of the snakes we have in Florida, you’d be taking me more seriously.”

He put a finger to his lips and whispered, “You can tell me all about the wee beasties once we are safe.”

Anna shut her mouth, but not before sticking her tongue out at him. His mouth twitched. It looked like he was biting his cheek to hold back the laughter. Annoying man.

They pulled brush in front of the opening and waited. Anna hoped she wouldn’t need to go to the bathroom. As soon as she had the thought, of course she had to go. Knowing it was purely psychological didn’t make the urge go away. Wearing a dress would have made things easier. None of the women wore undergarments. You spread your legs and went. Could go wherever you wanted. But now she was basically wearing leggings, there was no way she could pull them down to go. Then again, she wouldn’t have peed in a dress scrunched into a small hole with John either.

You’ll just have to wait. You will never live it down if you pee your pants in front of the man you’re crazy about.

A touch on her arm made her twitch. His lips brushed her ear. “They are close.”

The crack of a twig made her mouth dry. She heard the sounds of horses and the low voices of men. There were several voices, but she couldn’t make out how many. The horses made it sound like a large group.

Anna strained to see through the brush. Just when she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, she spotted the men. All dressed similarly, and many wore serious expressions. Her heart beat faster, pounding in her chest.
Please don’t let them hear.
For it certainly seemed as loud as a drum at a rock concert to her ears. Her throat dry, she swallowed several times so she wouldn’t cough.

The space was narrow, and John was pressed against her so tightly she felt the tension in the stiffness of his body, which made her even more nervous. What would happen if their horses made a noise?

She was dying to ask but didn’t dare. The soldiers were so close. She could smell the horses. The sweat of men who hadn’t washed in a long while. Her stomach heaving, Anna pressed her lips together so as not to make a sound.
You will not barf.

If she reached out, she could touch the leg of the man closest to her. Her breathing slowed, and she tried to remember a meditation class she’d taken a long time ago. Every molecule was focused on keeping quiet.

She’d seen the cells in the tower up close and personal, and while she wanted to get back so she could go home, Anna had no desire to be a guest. The soldiers’ voices sounded loud even though she knew they were speaking in normal tones. Everything sounded louder when it was quiet. Did they know how close they were to their quarry?

“Water the horses and rest for a bit. The Thornton bastard can’t be far.”

No. They couldn’t be stopping right here. But as she watched, the men dismounted, some of them pulling food out of packs, others leading the horses off for a drink. A few sat down, stretching out their legs. One of the men leaned against a rock next to them, so close she could make out the color of his eyes.

If the man shifted his body less than a foot, he would lean right into them. Anna could see the hand stitching on his clothing. The gray in the beard on his face. If the man turned his head, he could see them hidden behind the brush.

It was as if she was hyperaware of their surroundings. Every sound magnified, every color brighter. Pain radiated down her arm. For a moment she panicked, thinking she was having a heart attack. Rationally, she knew she wasn’t, but she couldn’t figure out what was wrong until she realized she was pressing so tightly against the rock that her arm had fallen asleep. As the tension left her body, a sigh escaped. Anna pressed a hand over her mouth. The man leaning against the rock shifted as if he felt the air, but didn’t turn. Talk about a close call.

How did John do it? He was as motionless and still as the stone surrounding them. Men came and went, leading the horses to drink, eating and making jokes. A small part of her wanted to talk with them. Everyone she’d met so far fascinated her. After all, how often did you get to travel to another time? And talk with the people. Hear about their daily lives, their hopes, fears, and dreams.

The soldiers were men doing a job. She was pretty sure it wasn’t personal, but all the same, she had no interest in going to prison.

A soldier approached the man leaning against the rock, who had fallen asleep. He nudged the man with a boot.

“’Tis time. Get up, Ned.”

The man grunted and got to his feet. “Hold on. Need to take a piss.”

As the soldier moved away, the one called Ned turned, reached in his pants, pulled it out, and started peeing. Anna almost called out; in fact, she would have if John hadn’t clapped a hand over her mouth, seeming to know what was about to happen.

She looked at him and he looked at her. Saw the humor in his eyes. Pee spattered through the brush and landed on their feet. His body shook but he made no sound.

It wasn’t funny at all. It was completely disgusting. She’d never been peed on in her entire life. And, quite frankly, Anna didn’t think she’d ever get the sight of the man’s junk out of her mind. It was something you that couldn’t be unseen. Not to mention he smelled and his little snake looked like he didn’t wash very often.

He finished, set himself to rights, and turned round, making his way back to the group of men. It seemed to take hours before all the men were mounted and riding out of the wood. Even when she could no longer hear them, John kept a hand on her arm, holding her still. He shook his head, so he must have heard them, even though she couldn’t hear a thing.

Finally he released her. He moved the brush away, staying quiet. Somehow she managed not to run screaming for the water. Instead she waited, trusting he would let her know when it was all clear.

She followed John, stepping where he stepped, as they made their way across the open space to where the horses were hidden. She couldn’t believe none of the soldiers had spotted the animals. Guess they were far enough away.

When John moved the brush aside, Anna saw them contentedly munching on a patch of grass. She looked at him, raising her eyebrows, and he nodded.

“Oh my gosh, I have never been peed on. Never, in my entire life. I don’t think I will ever forget it.” She choked out before bursting into laughter, so hard that tears ran down her face and her stomach hurt. John laughed, his eyes twinkling, the deep sound echoing across the wood.

“My apologies the lady had to see such a sight…even though ’twas rather small.”

They were still laughing as they made their way to the water. Anna scrubbed at her boots and hose to remove the spots. Once done, she drank her fill. Helping her on the horse, he touched her knee, the heat traveling to her stomach.

“We shall ride for a few hours before we stop for the night, to put distance between us and them.”

“I think I’ve been scarred for life. I’ll never be able to go the bathroom outside again without being worried someone is nearby, watching.”

He looked at her, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Makes one beware the woods, aye?”

The more time John spent with Anna, the more he yearned to keep her by his side forever. After the close call with soldiers, they rode hard the rest of the day, stopping only when it was too dark.

She helped him make camp. He couldn’t resist. “Tell me about the snakes.”

Her face burned. “You mean the solider?” She gave him an odd look, and he realized she had called the man’s member a snake.
 

He responded with a rude jest, though in Norman French so she wouldn’t think him uncouth. John grinned. “The lady has a wicked mind. Not
that
snake. The beasties you said live in Florida.”

Pink spread across her neck and face, making her eyes sparkle.

“Oh, I knew that.”

He resisted the urge to tease, instead waiting for her to tell him about the creatures.

“In Florida, there’s a large swampy area.” She shuddered. “Not unlike a bog with shallow water hiding all kinds of things. There are more than a million alligators in Florida alone. Many other warm states now have alligators in bodies of fresh water.”