A KNIGHT IN TARNISHED ARMOR by Jill Barnett

Author:Jill Barnett [Barnett, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jill Barnett
Published: 2011-03-12T06:00:00+00:00

‘Twas some time before William came back. He had stayed away until his blood had cooled. But he'd had to wade into the stream to cool it. Water dripped from his chausses onto the ground and his hair was soaked and stuck to his neck. He didn't care. He reached up to tie the leads to a nearby tree.

"Oh! You fell in the stream!" Linnet hurried toward him with a blanket. "You'll freeze to death!"

William gave her a long look and almost laughed. "I doubt it."

She stood there with the blanket in her hand, looking completely confused.

Again he was reminded of how very sheltered she had been. He still had no idea how to win her over. He felt foolish and awkward, which was as frustrating as that intense passion he felt for her but had to keep in check.

She had moved to stand close to him and tugged on his arm. He looked down. She reached up and placed her hand on his forehead, then frowned. "Your brow is cool."

"There is a God," he muttered.

"You're not fevered?"

"No," he said more sharply than he intended, then softened it with, "I am tired."

She smiled and patted his chest. "I have just what you need." She spun around and rushed over to a pile of sacks, a large pile of sacks.

"You unpacked."

"Aye," she said and dumped out one of the sacks, then grinned. "Velvet pillows. For our comfort." She dumped out another sack. "More pillows." She dumped out another. "And a feather coverlet . . ."

He leaned against the tree and watched her dump out sack after sack until the small clearing looked like the inside of a harem. Any moment he was certain she would unpack silk hangings for the tree limbs.

"I know it is here somewhere," she mumbled, and two more pillows sailed over her head to land at his feet. "Ah-ha!" She turned and held up a large yellow and red striped cloth. "Look!"

He stared at the cloth, frowning.

"You cannot see? This is a tent."

"I know what it is." It looked to be the type of tent used in a tourney. He could see four bright yellow pennants still lying on the ground behind her.

"I brought it to sleep in. Here." She handed it to him, then stood there looking very pleased with herself. "Now we have everything we need."

"Except the poles and stakes."

"What poles?"

"The tent poles."

She began to chew on her lip.

"Poles that hold up the tent," he explained.

She snapped her fingers. "So that's what those sticks were for."

He began to laugh. And he laughed loud and hard.

She laughed too then said with a giggle, "What a shame we cannot merely use the pickled eel."

He shook his head and his laughter faded, his smile remaining for another moment.

She touched his arm again. "I like it when you laugh," she admitted with that honesty that still jarred him. Then she foolishly smiled back at him.

He stared at her for a long moment, then gave her a taste of his own honesty.

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