Page 7 of The Warrior's Innocent Captive

She waited, expecting a funny retort in response, but only silence greeted her statement.

He ran his hand over his face and stroked his long fingers along his jaw. It was hard to guess at what he was thinking, but he looked annoyed. She couldn’t fathom why, when there had been nothing in her comment to irritate him.

‘Imagine it was loose,’ he said when she’d given up waiting for a response. ‘It would be everywhere, flying into your face, probably even into mine. Poor Alban, riding behind you, would become entangled in it and be flung from his horse.’

Linota turned in her saddle and saw Alban, a young page, riding close in her wake. He caught her gaze and a deep flush crossed his ruddy skin.

‘I think you’ve made a conquest there.’ His words were light, but there was something about his tone that was off.

She waited a few heartbeats and then said, ‘Are you quite well, Master Ward?’

He turned to her suddenly, his bright blue eyes meeting hers. Her breath caught in her throat. Gone was the usual sparkle of laughter and instead something else lurked there, intent and watchful. Her heart quickened. She couldn’t have turned away from him for all the wealth in England.

He blinked and the spell was broken. She turned away, raising her fingers to her lips.

‘Everything is fine, Mistress Leofric. Why do you ask?’

‘You look...’ She wanted to say sad, but she didn’t think he would like it. She settled on, ‘Preoccupied.’

She held her breath as she waited for his reply. She wondered if he would confide in her, whether they could make this friendship deeper.

‘I’m merely hungry and thinking how long it will be until our evening meal. I’ve stopped at the tavern we’re aiming to reach this evening. I know you enjoy a good cut of meat and their roasted pheasant is particularly rich and succulent. I think you will enjoy our evening repast.’

Her heart sank and she had to grip hold of the pommel to steady herself. She’d hoped for a moment that he would be serious with her and tell her what was troubling him, but she had been mistaken. It shouldn’t matter that he hadn’t. There was no reason to expect more than a polite response. She’d hoped he would be different from everyone else though, that he would treat her like an adult rather than the naive girl everyone else saw when they looked at her. While she was hoping to make a friend, he was merely keeping her company on the long journey.

‘Did you know that we are currently on Borwyn’s land?’ asked Erik pleasantly.

‘Having no memory of life outside Ogmore’s fortress, no, I didn’t,’ she said sharply.

Erik didn’t pick up on her changed mood, which only had her tightening her fists as he continued with his commentary about the scenery. This was the fifth time he had done this in as many days.

Every time they rode together he would tease her gently for a while, causing her heart to do the strange flutter it only did when talking to him. Then he would turn to the topic of the Earl of Borwyn and his greatness, whether it was to do with the Earl’s land or his wealth and influence.

These interludes were strange. Erik’s voice would change, becoming less chatty and more like a priest reciting evening prayers.

It was almost as if Erik was trying tosellBorwyn to her. But that couldn’t be true. She was the penniless daughter of a treasonous father and an insane mother. Although Katherine wanted a match between Linota and Borwyn, Linota couldn’t see what the Earl, who had only given her polite interest so far, would gain from the match.

There was no way Erik could be pointing out the Earl’s assets to makehimmoreappealingtoher.

Maybe this was Erik’s way of passing the time, but it sounded a little to her like the merchants she’d heard from her chamber window, hawking their goods to uninterested passers-by and she couldn’t, for the life of her, understand why.

Chapter Three

Linota peered into the fast-moving stream. It rushed past her boot-clad feet, speeding towards an unknown destination. The riding party had stopped to rest near the water for the horses to take a well-earned drink. She dropped a twig into the swirling current and watched how it spun quickly before disappearing out of sight.

She rocked back on to her heels and glanced around at the men milling about nearby. Some had their arms crossed over their chests; others were staring at the surrounding countryside. The deep rumble of masculine laughter she’d become used to over the days of travelling with them was missing.

Today was different, although nobody would tell her why, no matter how many times she asked. When she’d awoken this morning she’d been alone in her bed, which was very unusual. She’d pulled her clothes on quickly and headed down to the taproom of the inn they’d been staying in. No sooner had her feet hit the wooden floor of the room than Katherine had bustled over to her and informed her that there had been a change of plan.

Instead of heading to their brother’s home in Castle Swein, they were changing destination and were now travelling towards Borwyn’s fortress.

Until now, the journey had taken place at a sedate pace with frequent stops. Today, they had raced along; only stopping when it was clear Katherine could not handle the speed.

The new destination didn’t bother Linota. It gave her a chance to see so much more of the kingdom than she’d ever dreamed possible. But it was clear she was the only one being kept in the dark as to why the change in direction was happening and that really irritated her.

Even Katherine knew. Her slim shoulders were tight with tension and her eyebrows had settled into a permanent frown. But when Linota had approached her, Katherine had only said not to worry and that had Linota curling her fists in frustration.

Once again, Linota was the cosseted little sister who had to be protected from unpalatable truths. She knew she shouldn’t be upset, Katherine had treated her this way for as long as she could remember, but there was no getting around the unsettled feeling in her stomach. She hated being kept in the dark. It hurt that Katherine still saw Linota as someone to be sheltered from unpleasantness.

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