May Queen_May Day by Elizabeth Rose

Author:Elizabeth Rose [Rose, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: RoseScribe Media Inc.
Published: 2019-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

“I see her,” Ricard called out to his squire, spotting Flora riding her horse right toward them. He wasn’t sure how they’d lost her when they’d been right on her tail, but she’d managed to shake them. Now, she acted as if she wanted them to find her. This girl was confusing him, and he didn’t know what to think. “Flora,” he called out.

Flora stopped her horse in front of them, looking very upset.

“Why are you following me?” she snapped.

“Why are you sneaking away from the castle again, unescorted?” Ricard rallied.

“I wanted to go for a ride to clear my head.”

“Are you sure you weren’t meeting somebody?” asked Ricard.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“He means Druids – the pagans. Weren’t you meeting them?” asked Nash. “And isn’t your father alive and really one of them?”

“What? Why would you even say that?” she asked in surprise.

“I read your lips,” Nash told her with pride. “You were talking about him with your handmaid.”

“Nash, that’s enough,” growled Ricard. “Let me do the talking.”

“You don’t trust me?” asked Flora.

“I worried for your safety,” Ricard explained.

“I see. Well, now that you’re here, you can escort me back to the castle yourself.”

“Not so fast,” said Ricard, looking toward the direction from which she’d come. “Where were you and what’s over there?”

“I got lost riding and I am glad you found me,” she said. “Now, please, I’d like to return to the castle.”

“Mayhap that’s where the Druids are hiding,” said Nash in a half-whisper. “Let’s check it out.”

“I’m feeling ill and would like to return to the castle anon,” said Flora with urgency in her voice.

Ricard wasn’t sure if she was trying to distract him, or if she was really ill. He decided he’d come back later to investigate with more men. Even if the Druids were here, he’d never be able to defeat them with just a squire at his side.

“All right, we’ll go,” he told her, putting her safety before his own personal goal. They rode back to the castle in silence. When they entered the courtyard, Ricard hurried over to help her from her horse. Flora seemed shaken and did not fight him this time. He slipped his hands around her waist. She placed her hands on his shoulders as he lifted her from her horse and gently put her on the ground.

“Thank you,” she said, shyly looking up into his eyes. “I think I’ll go to my chamber and rest now.”

“Flora,” he said, his hands still on her waist. He looked deeply into her bright green eyes, wanting to know the woman he was marrying. He longed to delve past her fortress of a wall that was shutting him out, to find out who Flora was and what she was hiding from him as well. “I thought, perhaps, we could go for a stroll in the castle garden later. Just the two of us.”

“Oh?” she asked. “Whatever for?”

“Just to visit, and get to know each other. It’s relaxing to smell the flowers in the garden.

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