MacAlister, Katie by Hard Day's Knight

Author:Hard Day's Knight [Knight, Hard Day's]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-12-28T19:23:36+00:00

Chapter Eleven

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Once I got over the mortification of believing Veronica wanted to have a lesbian fling with me (not to mention the little pang of disappointment that I wasn’t as seductive in my bodice as I had surmised I was), our conversation settled down to something a little less out of Pepper and Veronica’s Amazing Crosstalk Show.

“What I said before is still true, Veronica. I’m not practicing to joust professionally.”

“You also said that you had no intention of learning how to joust, and yet I’ve heard that you spent an hour and a half today learning how to do just that.” She picked a tiny bit of dried leaf out of my hair as proof of my perfidy.

I raised my free hand in a gesture of denial. “I didn’t intend to learn anything, but I sort of got myself railroaded into it. Bliss is difficult to say no to when she’s got a lance in her hand and she’s galloping toward you. Besides, I did kind of throw a challenge to Farrell, and I’ll be damned if I give him anything more to gloat about. That man’s ego badly needs to be taken in hand.”

“Granted, but there is no reason why you cannot do so under my auspices. Pepper”—she smiled a persuasive smile—“a little bird told me that you and Walker have found pleasure in each other’s company, something else I believe you decried. Your relationship with Walker aside, do you really think his troupe offers you the best opportunity for instruction?”

I prepared to bristle on behalf of everyone in the troupe. “Well, as a matter of fact, Bliss is very good—”

“Yes, she is,” Veronica interrupted me smoothly, taking the sting out of it with another friendly smile. “But she is also relatively new to the sport, and has never taught anyone, whereas I have jousted professionally for almost eight years, and was taught by the best.”

She waited a couple of beats until I couldn’t help asking, “Walker?”

Her smile put Moth’s smug look to shame. “I believe you will agree with me that he is a very talented man

in many ways.”

Ding, ding, ding! We were stepping into relationship territory, somewhere I definitely didn’t want to go. “Mmm. I’m afraid I’m just not dedicated enough to do your team proud. If Farrell wasn’t acting like such a butthead, I wouldn’t be learning to joust at all, so it really wouldn’t be fair to the rest of your team to have me hanging around their necks as an alternate when everyone knows I’m a rank novice at the sport.”

“You underestimate your natural ability,” she said, clearly wanting to talk about it some more, but I hoisted Moth higher on my hip, ignoring his growl of unhappiness as I scooted around Veronica toward the door.

“And I think you’re overestimating it. Thanks for the invite, but I just can’t do it. Good luck with your runs today. I’ll be rooting for your team.”

I escaped without further argument, but I couldn’t help mulling

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