Page 37 of Quest for her Knights
“We were hoping you might have a selection we could choose from,” Blaze says, stepping to her side.
“Oh, ah, well—yes, of course,” he says, then practically runs to a cupboard and pulls out several canisters. He opens each and pushes them toward us. “I could make all of them so you can try each one?” he asks hopefully.
“What?” Elora asks with a laugh. “No, we don’t need a cup of each. Let’s smell them all and choose one,” she says as she grabs the first canister and sniffs it before passing it to Blaze. The man watches her nervously as he shifts from foot to foot, his eyes constantly flicking to the back door. The hairs on my neck rise. There’s something he doesn’t want us to see.
His eyes meet those of the cook, who’s stirring a large pot on the stove. The cook glances between the pot and the back window. Slowly, I move around the room to see what’s caught his attention. A man starts to come into view, and I quickly understand what has the cook so preoccupied. Out in the garden, one man kisses a woman, while another man kisses her neck from behind.
A smirk begins to tug at my lips, until I recognize the man. Archie. And the other man is Cameron. I inhale sharply. My eyes shift to Elora, who’s frowning at me. I’m frozen, unsure whether to shield her from the sight or expose it. But I know I can’t keep this from her. I let my eyes flick toward the window, then back to her, making her frown deepen. She places the canister down and steps toward me.
“Your Highness, how about this one?” the man behind her asks frantically. But she ignores him and moves to my side. I step back to let her take my place. She glances at the window but then looks back at me.
“What is it, Ranger? I don’t see anything.”
“Your Highness, your room has a grand view of the yard. Why don’t you head up there, and I’ll bring you some tea?”
Ignoring him, I realize she’s too short to see over the flowers hanging outside the window. So I bend down, wrap my arms around her hips, and lift her up. Her arms shoot out to wrap around my neck, and I know the moment she sees them, she gasps, just like I did.
After a moment, her resigned eyes meet mine. “You can put me down now, Ranger.” I gently set her on her feet, and she moves back to the counter beside Blaze and resumes sniffing the canisters.
The others watch her with concern before each of them comes over to see what we were looking at outside. Draven swears under his breath, but we all just watch her and wait for a reaction. She continues sniffing the canisters, then picks one and holds it out to Blaze.
“This one?”
His jaw clenches for a moment before he places his hands over hers and leans in to smell it. “Yes, that’s a good choice. Will you make us five cups and bring them to her room?” he asks the man.
“No, I want to wait here for it,” she says, surprising us. Her eyes meet mine, and I see strength and determination cross her face. She isn’t going to run and hide from this. A surge of pride fills me at her attitude, and I let a small smile touch my lips as I nod at her in respect.
There’s a hint of pleasure in her eyes, and I know she’s pleased by my reaction. I feel my cock stir and force myself not to adjust.What the hell was that reaction?
We stand off to the side as the man goes to work heating water and setting out five mugs. I’m so distracted wondering how she’s feeling that I jump when the back door opens.
The woman who enters gasps when she sees us all standing there, staring at her. “Oh!”
“Marigold, this is Her Highness, Princess Elora,” the man introduces quickly, keeping his eyes averted as he returns to making the tea. If he were thinking clearly, he’d have realized his mistake in introducing them the wrong way around.
The woman, Marigold, offers a deep curtsy, looking around nervously.
“Marigold, was it?” Elora asks, taking a single step forward.
“Um, yes, Your Highness,” she says nervously, her eyes avoiding Elora’s.
“I’m going to ask you something, and I want the truth, understood?” Elora’s boldness surprises me.
“Of course,” she says, ducking her head in submission.
“Do you love them?”
“What?!” she gasps, lifting her head to meet Elora’s eyes.
I watch as Elora’s expression softens. “Do you love them, the lords? You can tell me the truth, no harm will come to you, Ipromise.”
“I—Yes, I do.”
Elora nods before she asks. “And do they love you?”
“I believe so, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Marigold.” She turns to the man making her tea. “I’ve decided I will take the tea in my room, do you mind bringing it up when it's ready?”
