The hall was silent but for thescraping of Phillipe’s chair as he stood.
“It was by the captain’sorders that I stayed by Lara’s side during the day.”He spokeslowly, clearly, to the room at large, then he turned to thecaptain, whose jaw was set as hard and unyielding as stone.“Aftersupper, we played Shah in your chamber before I came back down eachand every night.”
The captain nodded wordlessly atPhillipe before glancing at Lara, his expressioninscrutable.
“You, Fulrad.”The captainkept his voice as steady as his glare.“You have slandered my goodfriend and comrade, as well as my lidi, who has done nothing butserve me and my men well.You are no longer welcome at this table.Leave it.Now.”
“I am the king’s cousin.”Fulrad puffed his chest out.“You cannot ban me.”
“Try me,” the captainsaid, and for the first time since Lara had known Fulrad, he madethe smart choice and said nothing.“Now go,” the captain told him.“Go find your corner to squat in and remain there until I returnwith your cousin the king.Then he may deal with you.”
Lara shook as Fulrad pushed himself uponto his crutches and hobbled over to his pallet, muttering cursesunder his wheezing breath.When she looked back to the table, thecaptain was watching her, the telltale scar on his cheek gonewhite.With a quick bob of her head and a dip of her still-shakingknee, she turned and walked as fast as she could without actuallyrunning to the kitchens.
With Wolf at her side, she pushed openthe kitchen door to the outside and then she did run, straight forthe roasting pit.Sitting on the bench, she poked at the fire’sembers and Fulrad’s vile accusations, at the captain’s expressionbefore he heard Phillipe’s explanation, and how the captain hadbelieved Phillipe without hesitation.Worried he wouldn’t havebelieved her so readily, not after she’d practically thrown hernaked self at him.Which she tried desperately not to thinkabout.
Instead, she thought about how she’dset herself up to pose as a lad, a cook’s helper, who would bemarching with the captain’s and the count’s company of men to meetthe king’s army.How once the march was completed, she would havefulfilled a season of military duty in lieu of Fulrad, and how theking himself would have to declare her wergeld paid and her freedomearned.
The slow thump, thump, thump of Wolf’stail interrupted her musings.Looking up from the embers, she sawthe captain walking toward them and hoped he couldn’t see her facein the dark.If she looked as guilty as she felt, she’d be a deadgiveaway.
“Here you are.”He didn’tsound angry, but Lara thought it good to apologizenonetheless.
“I’m sorry, Captain,” shesaid.“I know I shouldn’t have left the hall without asking yourpermission.”
“Don’t worry about it.Itwas probably the smart thing to do.”
“May I quote you on thatfor Sophie when she hears about it?”And she would.
“You may.”The captainoffered a slow smile in the fading embers of the fire, and shesmiled back at him, relieved.The whites of his teeth disappeared,and he coughed once.“Will you return to our chamber with me?I’vea hankering to play a game of Shah, and Phillipe says you’re aquick learner.I’ll even share my pie.”
***
Talon
Talon sat across the game board fromLara, his castle in eminent danger from her knight.Phillipe wasright, she was a quick learner and a smart player, if a bitimpetuous.Charles always said you could tell much about a personby the way they played, and Lara played like quicksilver, quickthinking and mercurial, and cursed beautiful leaning over the boardwith loose tendrils of auburn framing her face, her brow furrowedin concentration.
She took his castle, and he allowedher a moment of gloating before taking her white knight with hisblack.
“Oh.”She sat back with ahuff.“You, you—”
“Truce, lady.”Talonchuckled and held up his hands.“No name calling, in any language,no bedroll kicking, no bloodletting for the next three days until Ileave.Deal?”
She made a show of thinking on it andthen gave him a solemn nod.“Deal.”
She went back to studyingthe game board for her next move, and Talon studied her, memorizedher.She truly was the most intriguing woman he’d ever met.Asintelligent as she was beautiful, as kind and gentle with anycreature that needed her ministrations, including him, as she wasfierce and fearless when fighting for that same friend or creature.She’d shown true grace handling being madelidito him, along with enough spitand fire to make it interesting.
“Lara?”
“Hmm?”
“Speaking of namecalling.”
She looked up from the game board andfixed impossibly big, hazel green cat eyes on him.“Captain?”
“Talon,” he said.“My nameis Talon.I would ask you to call me by it, at least here in theprivacy of our chamber whilst we play.And maybe you can play atnot hating me so much?”
She studied him much as she’d studiedthe board.“I don’t hate you, Talon,” she said at last, her words,his name on her lips, his absolution.“I hate what youare.”
“The king’ssoldier?”