The Promise (10 page)

Günter threw him a look sharper than a dagger. “I said it is not necessary.”

“It is a good idea,” Alonsa offered weakly, having recovered her wits. She turned to Inés with a pleading gaze and gripped her hand.

“Inés, you must come with me to Toledo. My father will find you a position there. He would pay handsomely for your attendance on me; I am sure of it. This difficult life could be put behind you.”

“She will slow us down,” Günter said quickly. “No doubt you are in a hurry to … commit yourself to Christ.” He lowered his voice. “If you do not agree to marry me first, of course.”

Alonsa ignored him.

“Besides, Inés has her work here to consider,” he added. “What would her soldiers do without her?”

“They will find some other market woman to break her back tending to their laundry, their cooking, and their possessions,” Alonsa retorted. “Someone else’s pay to short when they run out of theirs. Someone else to scavenge bodies for gear while the dying men are still bearing it. Someone else to wear out before her time.”

Inés stared at her, and Alonsa could feel her wavering. She patted Inés’ hand.

“But with my father, she could find so much more. A position in the household, perhaps.”

“What kind of a position?” Inés said suspiciously. “I will be no man’s whore. I would only accept something … respectable.”

“Inés, to even suggest it would be otherwise simply proves you do not know my Papa. Come with us. You will see!” Alonsa encouraged her, happy to be able to do something to give Inés a chance at a better life.

Inés hesitated only a moment longer. She shot an apologetic glance at Günter.

“Very well. I will go. Allow me to gather my things and to leave word. I will be back quickly.” She darted away under Günter’s thunderous gaze.

Fritz cleared his throat again. Günter turned to him and folded his arms across his chest.

“You have something else to say? Some other havoc you wish to wreak upon my plans?”

Fritz colored and smiled sheepishly. “Mayhap you will agree protecting two ladies alone is harder than protecting one?”

Günter continued to stare at him. “Your point?”

Fritz shifted, clearly uncomfortable, and Alonsa watched the exchange between the two men with some amusement. It seemed Fritz had an ulterior motive for his suggestion all along. Alonsa wondered if it had anything to do with an auburn-haired beauty with eyes the color of doves.

“You will need someone to act as scout.” Fritz’s words came rushing out, babbling on into the ponderous silence. “To go before you and ensure the terrain is safe. To help with the extra baggage. To fetch. To carry.”

“Why, what an excellent idea, Fritz,” Alonsa interjected before Günter decided to hoist him on the end of his blade as his foreboding look implied. “And I am certain Inés would be glad of the extra help. Do you not agree, Günter?”

Günter opened his mouth and then closed it. A muscle worked in his jaw. He took a deep breath.

“Why not? The more the merrier,” he finally grumbled.

Fritz smiled and stuck out his hand. It fairly dazzled, his smile, and it seemed even Günter could not resist it, for after a few moments, he shook his head with a wry grin and gripped Fritz’s hand.

Goodness. Inés will have to take care with that one,
Alonsa reflected silently.

Alonsa clapped her hands together, bringing the attention of both men to her.

“Then it is settled. We shall be as the people in that book of yours, Fritz, about the knights with the round table. Boon companions, the four of us, traveling the roads together, seeking adventure.”

“With this group, we will be hard-pressed not to find it,” Günter muttered.

And with so many distractions, Alonsa knew she would have a little more time with Günter without fear of his falling in love with her. She could protect him just as he meant to protect her.

Perhaps it would be well after all, she mused, and smiled cheekily at Günter.

She laughed aloud at the startled expression on his face.

CHAPTER SIX

T
HE SMILE SEALED
A
LONSA’S FATE
. A
ND THE LAUGH.
Husky. Seductive. Purely feminine. Günter had never heard it before, and it made him ache for her in places he did not even know he had. It made him want to pick her up and carry her away to the nearest tent and cover her like a rutting stallion. Nay, worse. It made him want to throw himself down and kiss the arches of her tiny feet, swearing devotion to her for all eternity.

He saw her flirtatious smile and thought:
Mine. Now. Forever.
The blood rushed from his head to his nether regions. While he struggled for control, Alonsa stared at him, her smile fading, her eyes going round as if she recognized too late the dangerous passion she faced.

He’d stopped himself from kidnapping her, barely. Feigned precious control, smiled, reassured her with his light banter. Called for Fritz to finish the loading of the cart. Discussed some last-minute matters with Inés. Arranged for another horse for Fritz and hitched the donkey to the cart since only the women would be riding in it. Got everyone loaded and on the path.

As his horse trotted along beside the cart, Inés and Alonsa murmuring together on the bench seat with their heads close, Fritz astride his horse, Günter thought,
Dear God, how will I ever make it to Genoa without ravishing her or going mad?

There had to be a solution to this stalemate. A quick one. He wouldn’t last much longer this way. He set his mind to discovering a strategy, because he could not, would not ride all the way to Genoa in the condition he was in right now.

The cart rumbled along the muddy road constructed of dirt, loose stones, and ruts to guide the way. Even in wintertime, the broad flat plain near the Po River held its own appeal. The clouds blew a cool mist across the landscape, covering the early morn with crystal frost. White peaks of froth tipped the ambling waterways dividing it. Farmland interspersed with meadows, bare orchards, and dormant vineyards dotted the countryside. To the south, forests of umbrella pines and poplars stretched upwards, their branches holding up the intensely blue sky.

By mid-morn, the frost on the ground would melt, leaving moist droplets to glisten like jewels in the sun. By afternoon, however, the same dewy blessing would turn the dirt roads to mud and make travelers curse the ground. Still, the going had proved amenable thus far, and their little party would likely reach lodgings just outside the village of Broni by nightfall if they kept at this pace.

Once there, Günter would have to find a way to rid himself of their “boon companions”; convince Alonsa—will she or nil she—to marry him; find someone to do the honors; and then bed the woman until her eyes turned blue. Despite his haste, he would leave plenty of time for
that.
He was not insane yet. All of this while avoiding bandits and gendarmes along the way.

He shook his head. How did he get himself into these situations?

The distance they must cover lay in friendly territory, with the exception of Genoa itself. The city was still in French hands, but its greedy citizens tended to look the other way for well-paying pilgrims and foreign merchants going on to the ports. Still, these regions had changed hands so many times that it paid to be cautious. Even now, while he mulled in silence, his eyes scanned the landscape around them for unwelcome visitors, and he kept his
Zweihänder
close at hand.

Fritz slowed his horse and came alongside him.

“You are very quiet.”

Günter glanced at him but said nothing. Obviously, Fritz had something on his mind.

“You are not still … angry I invited myself along?”

Before Günter could respond, Inés turned toward them and reached behind her to the tarp covering the cart. She hiked one leg over the bench seat and a very shapely calf exposed itself. As she leaned over, her skirts rode up more and the bodice of her dress sagged, revealing two plump mounds and a generous cleavage between.

Günter watched with amusement as Fritz’s mouth dropped open at the display and he stared, agog. Günter suspected a mace to the forehead couldn’t have distracted Fritz from the sight of Inés’ bosom.

“Ah, here it is,” Inés declared, retrieving a small sewing basket from the cart. She looked up just in time to catch Fritz’s rapt gaze focused on her ample breasts.

Caught in the act of adoration, Fritz instantly turned as red as a ripe strawberry, a shade that deepened further when Inés merely winked and turned back to her conversation with Alonsa.

Fritz groaned and closed his eyes, shifting in the saddle. Günter felt some kinship with him in his agony and smiled.

“If you are trying to be chivalrous to
her,”
he observed, “you are doing a poor job of it.”

Fritz opened his eyes and stared at Günter mournfully.

“I know it, but my loins do not.” He shifted again. “What am I to do? She will not take me seriously because I am younger than she. I thought mayhap to get her alone someplace, prove to her it does not matter, but…”

His voice trailed off as he stared at the back of Inés’ head with longing in his gaze.

“Ah,” Günter answered, enlightened. “So that is why you intruded on my little seduction, er, abduction scene.”

Fritz hung his head. “Forgive me. I was desperate.”

Alonsa chose that moment to laugh at something Inés said, and Günter winced at the shooting desire attacking his loins. If the boy endured half of what he did, Günter had nothing but sympathy for him.

He clenched his teeth. “I know the feeling.”

Then it occurred to him: he and Fritz shared the same predicament. Why not work together to solve it? He scanned the landscape around them. Tufts of poplars dotted the flat land covered with mossy rocks.

“Nay.” He muttered and shook his head. “We will need more concealment. I do not wish to get us killed or robbed by any who might see us from the road. We will go farther down, where the trees are thicker and clutched together.”

Fritz stared at him with curiosity. “What are your plans?”

“To get some time alone with our women. Do you object?”

“Nay!” Fritz bobbed in the saddle. “Only tell me how it may be done, and I will be your most abject servant forever.”

Günter shushed him, not wishing to draw the women’s attention.

“That will not be necessary. Pay attention, son, and let me show you how the
master
does it.” He grinned, and the Devil was in it.

“What do you mean, we must stop? There are no lodgings here,” Alonsa complained with some frustration.

She did not mean to whine, but the journey in the cart had been bumpy and uncomfortable. She had looked forward to the comfort of a public inn, but now Günter instructed her that after crossing the wide stone bridge stretching over the river, they must cease their journey for the day.

“Yes, what is the meaning of this delay?” Inés twisted on the seat. “Do you intend to kidnap us and have your way with us in the brush?” She aimed a coquettish smile at the men.

Fritz made a choking sound and coughed violently into his hand as though he had swallowed his own tongue. Günter sat still as a falcon atop a perch, slanting his protégé a glance rife with barely concealed impatience.

Inés peered at Fritz with concern.

“You had best take care of that cough, sparrow. Do you require a hot poultice for your chest?”

Günter stared thoughtfully at Fritz, who still tried to catch his breath. “Aye. He was just complaining of an approaching … ague. Weren’t you, Fritz?”

Fritz managed a hesitant nod and a wan smile.

Günter’s eyes glinted. “We should stop now to give him a chance to recover. A chest cold could be dangerous in this sort of weather.”

Inés nodded with concern. “I will mix the
Señora’s
healing herbs tonight. If needed, we will raise the tent for you, to capture the steam from the boiling mixture. I will lay the herbs on your chest myself.”

Fritz, who had been looking disconcerted, seemed to brighten at the prospect. He coughed once more—with great drama, it seemed to Alonsa—and directed a pitiful gaze at Inés.

“I would be so grateful, my lady,” he said in a reedy voice. Inés beamed back at him.

Alonsa stared at Fritz with suspicion. She transferred her gaze to Günter, who looked impassively back.

What
can
they be planning?

She had no doubt in her mind they were planning
something.
She gestured with the reins down the road. “Will it take much longer to reach Broni? Surely the night air cannot be better for his cough than enclosed walls and doors.”

Günter shrugged, shifted in the saddle, and shook back a lock of golden hair playing with his broad forehead in the wind. “Mayhap. However, it is unlikely we will arrive before nightfall. Do you wish to risk his health in the attempt?”

“Not before nightfall?” Alonsa asked, startled. “But I thought our progress better than that.”

Günter said nothing, only offered his inexpressive shrug again.

When she still hesitated, he sighed.