“His life is very different than yours.” She thought of Brian, a top IT technician making seven figures and his easy life with the best of everything. “He doesn’t even know how to fight.”
Nicholas stopped walking and stared at her. “How can he not know how to fight?”
She was so tempted to smile at him but she didn’t want to make him feel in any way inadequate, as if she smiled out of pity.
“Battles are fought differently. Men and women only fight if they join the armed forces.”
“Armed forces,” he echoed softly.
She understood the appeal of watching one’s lips while they spoke.
“You probably would be in Special Forces,” she told him, and then told him what she knew about such thigs. “But not Brian. He’d be the one making sure the generals stayed in immediate contact with their superiors online. It’s technology.” She finally laughed at his perplexed expression. “Most men and women don’t join and don’t get called to fight. Brian is one of them. There.” She took in a gasp of air. “That’s who I left behind. Before him, Tom Eddings broke my heart. At first, there’s all this romance and then it fizzled into nothing and he decides he loves someone else.”
“And these are the men you wish to hurry back to?” he asked, his smile fading into something curt.
“Are they any different here?”
He cast her a playful smirk. At least, she thought he was being playful.
“That depends on the man, I would suspect.”
“Oh?” she put to him. “What about you?”
“I am not one for romance. But if I had a woman, I would put her first and not betray her.”
She worried there might be hearts coming out of her eyes. Why did hearing him talk about having a woman make her mouth go dry? And why did she believe him?
Because it was hard to keep a clear head around him. He exuded virility with every move he made. She was especially weak against his accent and the soothing resonance of his voice.
Where was Elia? Why had Kestrel just gone off with him anyway?
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the castle. Elia doesn’t understand how dangerous ’tis for you to be talking to others—”
“What? So I can’t talk to anyone?” She stopped and tugged on his sleeve to make him stop, too. “That’s not ok with me. Am I a prisoner here?”
“No. Why would you be?”
“But you want to keep me locked up?”
“Locked away,” he corrected as if that made all the difference. “Kept safe,” he started over. “You do not seem to understand the danger of what you say. Word travels fast, even without your pone.”
“Phone,” she corrected. “Yes, I know. I’ve already heard about Margaret, the maid. But not to deviate, do you think I’m stupid and will tell everyone the truth about where I’m from? I’m the one who could be burned.”
“But you do not have to tell them any truths, Kestrel. You have odd ways of thinking. Standing up to me and beating the laundry for Claire. I do not want tongues to start wagging about you.”
“You don’t think they’ll wag if you lock me away?” she demanded. “You just don’t want to be around me. You want to lock me away so you don’t bump into me around the castle.”
“That is not true,” he defended.
“No? Are you planning on avoiding me all day today the way you did yesterday?”
“Am I avoiding you now?” he countered sharply.
“Until you get me to the castle where you can lock me away.” She pushed out a feigned laugh. “Do you even get how that sounds? What’s next? You hit me over the head with a bat and drag me to your cave?”
“Since I left the bat at the wash house, I would say that opportunity has passed.”
She was quiet after that. He was clever and charming, and she didn’t want to be charmed.
“I have no intention on hitting you with anything,” he let her know when they reached the castle. “One thing you will find different here is me.”
“Then don’t lock me away. I’ll be more careful.”
He stared at her for a moment, thinking it over in his head. “Very well,” he said finally. “But no roaming around alone.”
“Then you’ll have to stay with me,” she said, knowing it was not what he wanted to do.
“I usually practice in the lists with the men at this time.”
“Perfect! I’d love to watch!”
“You would?” he brooded.
“Yes. You don’t really expect me to sit in a castle all day without anyone to even speak to, do you? I’ll go nuts. I can’t text and now I can’t talk!”
He looked at her as if another eye had just appeared on her face. Then he shook his head as if to clear it. “There are many people to speak to inside the castle. You would not be alone.”
“Like who? Cook doesn’t like anyone in his kitchen. I didn’t tell you, but he clapped my knuckles with his wooden ladle twice yesterday. I warned him that if he did it again, I would knee him in his nuts. He understood me then and let me make my cupcakes.
“Who else should I speak to?” she asked, ignoring his smile. “The maids and servants who all think you’re wonderful? I’ll make my own judgment on that, if you don’t mind. And hearing it all the time gets boring, you know?” She didn’t wait for him to nod. “I’ve spent more time with Elia in the last couple of days than I have with my closest friend in the last six months!”
“You are upsetting yourself, Miss Locksley.”
“You shouldn’t blame me,” she said, sounding terribly sad to her own ears.
He stopped and set his worried gaze on her. “I do not.”
Chapter Nine
Nicholas dodged a blow to his head and leaped to the right, narrowly avoiding his lieutenant’s heavy sword. Charlie had come close. Nicholas couldn’t let that
