Page 75 of Legacy of Thorns
She gazed at Barlowe so trustingly that he hesitated, clearly unsure how to remove Finley without turning her against Barlowe himself. She had seen Finley, which was a disaster, and yet she still seemed drawn to Barlowe as well. He hadn’t lost hold of the situation, so he clung to the role he had assigned himself.
“These men are only here to keep you safe, Gabrielle,” he said. “If you want them gone, you need only say the word.”
Finley held his breath, but Daphne shook her head. “Oh no, they should all stay. Even him. We enjoy welcoming visitors to our home.” She smiled at Finley again, and he realized why she hadn’t taken the opportunity Barlowe had offered.
If she sent Barlowe’s men away, he would be sure to send Finley off with them. Which left them at an impasse. So far, Daphne had managed to fool Barlowe, but he still had strength and numerical superiority on his side. How long could they draw out the charade before he found a reason to get Finley away from her?
“You should apologize to our new guests, poppet,” the nanny said in a chiding voice, as if she hadn’t been the one insulting them the loudest. “You must never forget your good manners.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Daphne hurried across the room toward Finley and the men who surrounded him.
He tensed as she approached and felt them do the same. But Barlowe glared from behind Daphne, clearly wanting his men to play nice, so they subsided.
Just as she reached them, Daphne tripped, nearly falling to the floor before she managed to right herself. Finley responded instinctively, leaping toward her, but a growl from Barlowemade him freeze. If he pushed Barlowe too far, it could result in disaster for both him and Daphne. He had to trust that Daphne had a plan beyond taking Gabrielle’s place.
“Oh dear!” Daphne looked at something on the ground near the feet of the closest man. “I’ve dropped my yarn.” She beamed at the man. “Would you pick it up for me?”
“Of course he will.” Barlowe started toward them, gesturing for the man to do so.
With a pained smile, the man bent to retrieve the length of plain yarn. He handed it back to Daphne quickly, nearly losing his own balance in the process.
“Thank you.” Her brow creased with sweet-looking concern. “You look a little shaky there. Let me help you.”
She reached out to steady his arm, but he stumbled into her, making her stagger sideways and nearly topple. She collided with another of the men, the yarn trailing from her hand and wrapping over his wrist in the process.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She unwound it as the first man collapsed to the ground.
Two of the others hurried forward to examine him, and Daphne followed close behind them.
“How terrible,” she exclaimed, looking toward Barlowe. “Is he…drunk?” Her eyes widened at the terrible idea, and Barlowe swelled, staring from one to the other of the remaining men accusingly.
“I’ll just check,” Daphne said, ignoring Barlowe’s protests as she bent close to the downed man.
The yarn still trailed from her hand, and one of the remaining men became tangled in it, cursing as he hopped on one foot, trying to untangle himself. Daphne gave a fresh round of apologies, whipping the yarn off him and managing to fling it on the other man bending over his downed fellow instead.
A wordless cry of warning from behind her sounded as another man collapsed. Barlowe gave a cry, finally realizing something was wrong, and charged forward.
Daphne’s sweet air of confusion fell away, energy filling every line of her body as she set her sights on the remaining two men. Leaping forward, she swung the end of the yarn around, whipping it across the face of one of them. He bellowed in protest and batted at it, but Daphne had already pulled it back.
She faced the remaining man, but he had finally realized what was happening. Backing away, he grabbed for his sword hilt, pulling it free. Finley lunged for the man’s legs, bringing him crashing to the ground before he could get his blade into position. Daphne darted in, pressing a length of the string against his arm.
The man struggled for only a few more seconds before he, too, went still.
“What have you done?” Barlowe asked in a terrifying voice, made all the more terrible by its quiet volume.
Finley rolled to his feet and pushed Daphne behind him.
“They should wake up in a day or two,” Daphne said defiantly, her previous false mannerisms gone. “None of them fit the right profile for a Sleeping Beauty, so they shouldn’t be affected too severely.”
“I thought you paid attention to every detail, Barlowe.” Finley stooped to retrieve the dropped sword. “Do you really not recognize her?”
Barlowe’s eyes slowly widened as he looked between Finley and Daphne.
“No,” he breathed. “It can’t be. We left you behind. You can’t be…”
“The real Gabrielle was woken before you arrived.” Daphne stepped out from behind Finley to stand at his side. “She said totell you that she has no interest in marrying an old man and no intention of letting anyone steal her home.”
“You little?—”
