A Knight in the Perished Woods by Tracy Lauren

Author:Tracy Lauren [Lauren, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

In Fenella’s dank little kitchen, the young woman got to work on a meal for the pair. Bennet stood there momentarily, looking about, searching for a way to be useful.

“We haven’t anything in the way of a table,” he noticed.

Fenella blushed. “I usually sit on my cot.” Returning to her work, she added, “One certainly realizes how inadequate their circumstances are once they have company.”

“Don’t think for a moment that I judge you for the things this place is lacking, my dear.”

Fenella smiled at the term of endearment. It had been so long since she’d spoken to another soul, and now Bennet was with her. Bennet was kind and good and treated her with such delicacy. It was hard not to drink it all in. Fenella knew well that she should keep the handsome knight at arm’s length, yet she simply could not bring herself to do so. Not when it had been so painfully long since she had been with another person.

“How can I help you?” Bennet asked.

Fenella’s hands froze. There was no way to help her. She was doomed. They both were.

“I could cut those potatoes for you,” he offered.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, yes. You could.”

He came to her side, and they worked together, elbow-to-elbow, chopping root vegetables and adding spice to a pot.

The work was quick and cheerful, and it felt quite strange for Fenella to feel so cheerful. For Bennet, the feeling was less confusing. He let himself forget where they were and allowed himself to enjoy the girl’s company. He even made a little game of trying to help her forget where she was—for the moment, at least.

“You aren’t half bad in the kitchen,” Fenella told him.

“Oh, it’s more than that,” he assured. “I’m an excellent cook—and an even better baker.”

“And you’re humble, too,” she teased, her eyebrow raised.

“Well, I wouldn’t admit it to anyone,” he told her.

“How did that come to be?”

“My father is a baker back in Pontheugh. I come from a long line of bakers.”

“And you did not choose to continue the family business?” Fenella asked, fixing the pot over the fire. She’d used as many vegetables as she would typically eat in a week; of course, she hadn’t told Bennet that. Something in her wanted this meal to be special. She wanted to impress Bennet—or, at the very least, see him smile.

Bennet groaned. “My father would have liked me to, of course. But no. I didn’t feel called to follow him. I wanted adventure.”

He and Fenella stood before her cot, looking down at it. Both of them wanted to sit, of course. But was it proper?

“We can’t just stand here,” she said with a nervous laugh. She took the lead and a seat. Bennet took his position beside her. There was something about sitting on her bed that certainly felt improper. So, he made sure to give Fenella a gentlemanly amount of space.

“Adventure,” he muttered.

“Well, it seems you got what you were looking for.”

“Be careful what you ask for; is that what you’re saying.

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