Page 35 of Married By Treachery

Thus caught, the little girl ducked out of sight. Raquel waited, hoping, perhaps, the little girl might make herself known, and then Raquel spotted movement above, in the loft amidst the hay bales.

She didn’t turn to look this time but noted a small shadow up above, observing her from behind the hay. Curious.

Raquel smiled to herself but got to work, feeling those eyes all the while. She slipped the saddle and harness on the horse, and she had just finished adjusting the bit when the child ducked away. The next second, she felt someone’s presence directly behind her.

She didn’t appreciate the effect it had on her body.

“You’ve collected an audience, I see,” Jake mused.

“Yes,” she said, finishing one last adjustment. “Apparently, hard work is a rarity around here, and everyone gathers to watch.”

He chuckled.

Raquel looked back to see Jake leaning against the stable doors, his arms folded over his chest, his glamoured coat slung over one arm. Whatever had left him so uncharacteristically addled earlier was gone. His eyes were back to being warm as honey, and those full lips curved with something that made her heart stutter.

“Yousaddled my horse?” he asked.

She didn’t like the condescension in his voice. “And it’s a good thing too. Has no one ever taught you how to fit a harness?”

“His harness is fine.”

“For an amateur.”

He smirked, pushed himself from the door, and approached, then stopped so close his arm brushed hers as he bent forward to check her work. He looked over all the straps and fastenings, standing far too close for Raquel’s comfort, but Raquel could not bring herself to step away.

“You loosened the harness,” he said.

“Yes, well, you’ve over-oiled the leather. The stitching is rotting out here and here”—she pointed to each in turn—“and then you overcompensated for this by tightening the straps, which has put undue pressure on the mouthpiece… see where it’s cracked?”

Jake looked from the metal to her, and Raquel’s cheeks warmed.

“Anyway, I don’t have time to fix it,” she continued, “but I’ve made adjustments that should keep dear Vizzi mostly comfortable. At least until we get to….where are we going?” She let her words dangle, hoping he’d answer.

But he only stared at her, a glint in his eyes, as he said, “I see swordplay isn’t the only hobby you found.”

“I was raised with horses. My father kept studs, and I often helped him break in the foals.”

Still his eyes were on her, and Raquel’s heart beat an erratic rhythm in her ears.

“There you are!” A woman’s voice slammed through the moment like a gavel.

Jake abruptly stepped away from Raquel as a woman stepped into view. It was the same woman from the battle, the one Raquel had seen fighting beside Jake, and she was probably the most stunning woman Raquel had ever seen. Her long dark hair was plaited and draped over one shoulder, and she had the physique of a warrior but the grace of a queen, a strong nose and high cheekbones and eyes that cut like the blades she had wielded.

“Sienne,” Jake said, and she stopped at attention a few paces before them.

“You said ten minutes.”

“And?”

“It’s been twenty.”

Jake raised his gaze to the rafters. “Meet my cousin, Sienne.”

Sienne.

Raquel’s lips parted, and she took a step toward the woman. “You’rethe one who purged the Depraved poison from my veins.”

Sienne leaned back as if overwhelmed—and maybe even spooked—by Raquel’s warmth and sincerity. Meanwhile, Jake looked as though he was fighting back a smile.

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