The Mermaid's Knight (7 page)

It did. Before she could even swim out to sea, the pain from her legs was gone and she was free again, her spirits light. Her laughter rippled over the surface of the water with the waves, her heart carefree for a few moments at least. Eventually, she dragged herself back on the shore and lay in the sand at the edge of the tide, tail flipping casually in the water. Muffin sat nearby, folding Leah’s under-dress with great care. “It’s day three,” Muffin said. “What have you accomplished?”

Leah propped her chin on her hands. “In regards to Royce? Not much.” The fairy godmother’s lips thinned with disapproval. “You’re going to waste all your time. I’m not allowed to give you a third chance, Leah Marie Sunderland. Don’t mess this up.” Leah said nothing, simply running her hands through the sand and thinking hard. “This whole thing is so new to me.”

Mollified by Leah’s apologetic tone, Muffin gave a cheerful nod. “That’s more like it, girl. Just think of this as the second chance you never had in your own life. Do all the things you wanted to do before and you couldn’t! Don’t let it all go to waste now that you know the expiration date, child.” She leaned forward on her rock, squinting at Leah with intense eyes.

“Can’t you think of anything you wanted to do before you died, no matter how foolish? How selfish?”

I didn’t want to die a pathetic virgin
, Leah thought to herself and flushed. She’d never say
that
aloud. She’d always thought there’d be time to date seriously after college. Guess not.

“I’ll give it some thought.”

The old woman nodded, her eyes twinkling merrily. “See that you do. I think you’ll be much happier for it.” She glanced up at the skies and tilted her head. “We’d better get you back soon.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, and reluctantly pulled her tail out of the water. “Time to go shake my money-maker for the king of the castle.”

#

She was back in her room and snuggled deep in the hard bed before the sun came up. Her eyes were just drifting shut when she heard the latch at the door lift. Muffin must have come back for something. She rolled over in bed to greet her.

No words came out of her throat.

Leah sat upright in bed, staring out into the darkness. Her mouth worked silently, and fright gripped her when she realized she couldn’t even scream for help. A figure loomed at the side of her bed and then bent in. Leah lifted her hand to strike – to fight back, anything – and then she recognized the angle of the jaw and the shadows of the eyes.

Royce. In her bedroom?

Surprised, she lowered her hand, though she remained wary. What did he want?

He simply stared down at her. Then, finally, he said, “I thought I heard something.” Oh. Maybe he’d heard her coming up the secret passage. She made a mental note to be quieter the next time she used it.

“No, I suppose that’s foolish, eh?” He sat down at the edge of the bed and she watched him. His face seemed tense, shadowed. “Foolish to think that there might still be a traitor in the

castle after all. Or to think that you might be in danger – or that you might
be
the danger.” A hard, humorless chuckle escaped him. “When you spend enough years in battles, everything seems to be related to it. There is no place that is not a battlefield, even your own home.” He touched her hair thoughtfully, and a shiver of pleasure shot through Leah’s body at the gentle touch. “I remember the smell of the sea from long ago, when I was a boy. I never thought I’d smell it again in my own home… and yet I find that it’s you that smells of the sea more strongly than anything.”

She said nothing, holding her breath.

His rough fingers experimentally stroked the edge of her jaw. “Get some rest.” As if she’d be able to sleep.

Chapter Nine

The next day, Ginny showed her a room called a ‘solar,’ which had charming window seats and a loom that looked to be long out of use. She had no idea how to use the loom, but the window seats were the perfect spot to work on her sewing. Leah spent the day letting the seams out of her other dress and waiting for Royce to find her again.

Eventually, there was a knock at the solar door.

Once again, her inability to speak proved to be a frustrating experience. She waited patiently until the door opened, and, to her surprise, Father Andrew walked in, a gentle smile on his face.

“Hello, my child,” he said. “Do you mind if I join you for a time?” Pleased to see him again, Leah shook her head and returned his smile. The priest’s presence was a soothing one.

“Are you busy?” Father Andrew took the window seat across from her and sat down, his hands clasped on the lap of his robes. His hair was mussed and a faint sheen of sweat lay on his brow. Leah assumed he must have been outside, for he looked rather flushed.

In response to his question, she lifted her sewing and gave a wry smile of demonstration.

“Ah, mending. It is good work for women with idle hands.” He beamed at her.

Leah’s hands stilled at the rudeness of his words. Perhaps it wasn’t an insult to mock a woman’s intelligence in this time, but she was smart enough to realize condescension when she heard it. She put the sewing aside.

“If you are done with your sewing, I have some things that need patching as well.” When Leah quirked an eyebrow at him, he had the grace to flush. “It’s for a man in the village. He—his wife died a short time ago and he’s got several small children, and no family to help him.” Leah immediately felt like a heel. Of course Father Andrew had the highest of intentions.

And she, suspicious woman that she was, had dared to question him. Ashamed at her own response, Leah nodded.

He seemed very relieved. “That is wonderful. I shall have him bring the clothing tomorrow and I’ll drop it here in the solar, if that’s all right.” At her assent, he leaned forward again. “My dear, if I may be so forward as to offer my advice…” Perplexed by his shift in manner, Leah wrinkled her brow and studied him, her face openly questioning. What was wrong?

“I’m concerned about your… relationship with the lord of the castle.” Oh? Leah quirked an eyebrow.

His features had a fatherly cast to them as he looked out the window, uncomfortable with the confrontational topic. “The rumor is that you were the leman to the prior lord of the castle.

That Lord Royce found you in a… compromising situation when they took the castle.” Leah shrugged. She was starting to get a pretty good grasp of what a ‘leman’ was and it didn’t sound too great.

“But my dear, I was here and served the old master faithfully. And I can safely say that I have never laid eyes upon you before Lord FitzWarren claimed the castle.” She froze in place. What should she say? What was a plausible excuse for showing up naked on the beach?

“I wonder… I wonder if your intentions are honorable toward Lord Royce or if they have a sympathetic slant toward Lord Rutledge.”

Leah blinked at him, unable to come up with a gesture that would articulate her answer.

He patted her on the hand. “You don’t have to answer me today, child. Remember, I am a priest. Anything you confess to me is sacred.”

She tapped her lips with her fingertips, reminding him that she couldn’t speak.

“Ah, yes.” His brow furrowed. “I had forgotten. Can—“

“What are you doing here, priest?”

Both of them turned to stare at Royce, who dominated the doorway of the small solar door. Leah slid her hands out of Father Andrew’s and stepped to the side, eyeing Royce warily.

Father Andrew remained calm and unruffled. “I was speaking to the girl. She has graciously offered to do some mending for some of the townsfolk in need.” Royce’s scowl did not lighten in the slightest. “She can’t exactly refuse you, can she? She can’t speak.” A servant scurried in behind him and left a small basket by the door, then scurried out just as fast. Royce didn’t twitch a muscle, simply stood, staring down the priest as if he were a viper.

“Of course,” the priest murmured. “Forgive me. If I have imposed—” Leah cleared her throat and shook her head, trying to hide the smile on her lips. How odd that Royce should try and protect her, from a priest of all things. It bordered on absurd.

Absurd, but sweet. Totally gave her the warm fuzzies.

Father Andrew exited rather quickly, the door slamming behind him. Royce remained in place, his body still stiff and questioning, and his eyes turned to Leah.

“I heard you were hiding up here, lady. I thought to bring you dinner, if it’s privacy you wish.” He gestured at the basket and turned to the solar door, closing the latch behind him.

She studied him as he dragged a small table from the corner of the room and produced two small stools. He was dressed in dark colors today – a dark blue tunic with a yoke collar edged in plain blue, and darker leggings. She liked the color choice on him – it made his icy-gray eyes almost blue, and they seemed warm when they looked at her. His hair was slightly damp as well, which told her that he had just bathed before coming to visit her. She had seen him in the yard earlier, training his men, and had noticed the hard work they were putting in.

The fact that he’d cleaned up and bathed just to visit her… it made her smile. It was sweet that he’d care what she thought, even if she was just an uninvited guest.

“I thought you should eat, even if you’re not feeling well enough to be seen about the rest of the castle.” He eyed her as he pulled the basket over and placed it atop the small table. “How is your wound?”

Leah sat on the offered stool and gave him a thumbs-up. She forgot the wound was there half the time. It still ached, to be certain, but it was a less aggressive sort of pain than her legs, and she tended to forget it.

He took her raised thumb in his hands, examined it, then gave her an odd look. “Does this pain you?”

Whoops. She pulled her hand from his and shook her head.

“Your wound. Any fever? Redness?”

She shook her head again.

He chuckled again, which only caused her ire to heighten. “You’re an odd one.” At her scowl, he just grinned and began to pull items out of the basket. A thick wedge of cheese, some

cold meats, something she didn’t recognize. Two bowl-shaped pieces of bread, one of which he handed to her. “I wonder how a girl like you became so… arrogant. Most women are meek and silent. You cannot talk, but the air is filled with your opinion and there is no doubt what you are thinking.” He studied her face again, then added, “Perhaps it’s that expressive mouth of yours.” The man was trying to make her blush. Leah looked away, flustered.

“Eat.” Royce sat down across from her and broke off a good portion of the cheese and placed it inside his flat bread-thing, and did the same for some of the meat.

Oh. It was a plate.

He pulled something else out of the basket – two goblets and a big floppy thing that looked like some sort of odd canteen. “I apologize for the fare, but if you will not come to the food, I can only bring you what will easily carry.” He placed a goblet in front of her and began to fill it with a dark liquid that smelled like wine.

Leah filled her own plate as he poured. The meat was unfamiliar to her, but she was so hungry that it didn’t matter. She stacked some in her plate and took an egg as well, pausing only for a moment at the small size and brown color of it.
Food here hasn’t been processed to death
, she reminded herself,
or shot up with growth hormone. It’s going to look a little different.
The cheese was white and creamy, though. Her throat was dry and she reached for the goblet and took a hesitant sip of wine.

It was awful. The taste of it burned the inside of her mouth and she barely managed to swallow before beginning to cough. At his concerned look, she put the wine goblet down and waved her hands at him, dismissing his fears, and tried to regain her breath.

Good god, but that stuff was rancid. She made a mental note to hint that she preferred water.

Royce began to eat as he watched her, studying her movements. She wanted to laugh, because she wanted nothing more than to study his motions as well, but instead she mimicked him and picked up a piece of cheese, nibbling daintily at the edges and trying to seem ladylike. It was delicious, the flavor unlike any cheese she’d tasted before – thick and rich and tangy.

After a few moments of silent eating, Royce tilted his head and reached for his wine goblet. “You’re a mystery, Leah. One I intend to figure out.” She arched a brow at him. That sounded like a challenge.

He raised his glass and saluted her, grinning. “You don’t believe me? Think I won’t follow through?” Royce took a lazy bite of food. “I’m a man who gets what he wants…” His gaze roamed over her figure in the tight dress. “Regardless of what it might be.” That certainly wasn’t a surprise. She sipped at her wine and found it wasn’t nearly as bad on the second round. She sipped more of it and gestured at the walls around them, a sardonic half-smile on her face. It was obvious the man got what he wanted – they were living in a keep he had conquered only days ago.

He seemed to be able to follow her train of thought and grinned when she gestured at the castle itself. “Indeed. This is not the first time – nor the last – I will see something and conquer it.” His eyes grew dark, and she flushed at his double entendre.

He was very… blatant in his plans for her. Rather than frightening her, though, they filled her with a nervous sort of excitement and tension. Like he was stalking his prey… chasing her.

And she wanted to be chased.

She felt heated at the thought. What had Muffin said to her? Live life as you always wanted to? Take this second chance to do everything you wanted and more? She didn’t want to die a virgin. She wanted to experience love – or at least lust. And this powerful, sexy man

wanted her. The feeling was a heady one, and she gave him a faint smile over the rim of her goblet.

“Do you know the story of this castle, Leah?” He changed tactics on her, staring at the walls around them, his eyes serious and expression grave. “Did you grow up here?” He glanced back at her.

She remembered Father Andrew’s words and shook her head. It seemed a safe enough answer.