A Knight's Duty by Dana D'Angelo

Author:Dana D'Angelo
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dana D'Angelo
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The sound of a door closing pierced into her consciousness. Amelie brought a hand to her eyes, wanting to keep them closed. Off in the distance, she could hear the busy chatter of birds, interspersed with the heavy clopping sounds of horse hooves and rickety carts. Dogs barked, children laughed. She smelled freshly baked bread in the air, and someone, somewhere was frying fish.

She let out a loud groan. It had taken her hours to fall asleep, and she spent most of the night tossing, turning, and wrestling with impossible questions. And then finally, when she exhausted herself from her internal war, she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

The floor creaked as if someone walked toward her, and she ceased her movements. Slowly taking her hand away from her face, she opened one eye and then promptly closed it again, the morning sun nearly blinding her.

Trying again, she opened both eyes and blinked rapidly several times in order to get her bearings, to understand why the noises she heard seemed excessive and loud, and the scents overwhelming and strong.

“How did morning arrive so soon?” she murmured, sleepily scanning the small, room. The first thing that caught her attention was the worn furniture that looked as if it needed repairing. She went to push a strand of hair from her face when her hand stopped in mid-motion. Suddenly full realization hit her. This was not her bedchamber at Stanbury Castle. Sitting up abruptly, she rubbed her eyes. “Where am I?”

“The Fox Trail Inn,” a male voice answered.

Amelie spun her head around at the direction of the voice, and saw Derrik grinning at her a foot away from the bed.

His cheerful disposition caused her mood to blacken. She didn’t know what he was so happy about. Her back was sore from sleeping on the hard straw mattress, and even though a linen sheet and a wool blanket covered it, she could still feel the prickly lumps underneath.

His eyes wandered over her as if she lay naked on the bed.

“What are you staring at?” she demanded, pulling the woolen blanket out from under her and wrapping it around her body. The rough blanket felt slightly cool to her skin.

“My, that was not quite the greeting that I hoped for,” Derrik said, his voice slightly sardonic. “I think I prefer it when you were asleep.”

Amelie pursed her lips. “I did not sleep very well,” she said, her voice low and cranky. “This bed is decidedly uncomfortable. The inn keeper should be hanged for offering such a poorly stuffed mattress to paying customers.”

“I had no problems sleeping,” he said, shrugging. “In fact, I found it exceedingly comfortable. I especially enjoyed the knowledge that I could sleep soundly without having to worry about wild animals roaming about and looking to devour me.” He tossed her a piece of bread. “Perhaps if you eat something, your temperament might improve.”

She caught the bread before it fell onto her lap, his thoughtfulness momentarily silencing her. The steam came off the coarse barley bread as she broke off a piece.

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