Page 59 of Slippers and Thorns
“First lesson after lunch?” he asked as he finally let her step away. His smile stretched from ear to ear.
“Sure,” she grimaced, peering down at her clothes. “But lunchafterI change.”
Holding her head high, Ella ignored her husband’s chortling as she swept back to the castle with as much dignity as she could muster. She waited until she was through the door to let her own smile surface.
Itwasgross…but even if it lacked the charm most people expected from a prince, it struck her as in keeping with the man she thought of as Mike. A little more carefree than she’d seen him before, but that wasn’t a bad thing.
Maybe if he could learn to be a little more carefree at home, he wouldn’t bury himself quite so deeply in his work.
Her face fell a little at the thought. That was right – this was only temporary. Crown Prince Michael would no doubt make a return shortly after Mike was once again ensconced in Hartford Castle.
So, should she have as much fun as possible with Mike while she had him? Or hold him at a distance so it would hurt less when he left her—again?
CHAPTER 24
Michael
N
o—you want to hold it like this,” Michael instructed as he corrected Arabella’s grip. She obediently moved her fingers to the positions he nudged them into. “Much better.”
Slowly walking around her, he considered her form. The dress she was wearing was a bit too fine for archery, if he was honest, but he knew that she didn’t have anything more practical. Even her riding outfits were made out of fancy (if durable) fabrics. While it was true that he wasn’t familiar with every item in her wardrobe – he wasn’t a controlling husband who kept track of that sort of thing – Arabella wasn’t the type of woman who was obsessed with finery. If she’d had something better-suited, he knew she would have worn it.
He gently made adjustments to her posture, enjoying the opportunity to run his fingers lightly across her back, her shoulders, the soft skin on the backs of her sun-kissed hands, the coarser pads of her fingers that still bore traces of the hard life she’d had before becoming his wife. Not all of it was strictly necessary, but she didn’t know that. While she claimed that Charles had barely touched her during their one lesson, she appeared to be aware of the fact that Charles had deliberately kept his hands off at times when he might have physically positioned her, as Michael was doing, had she been almost anyone else.
Therefore, she had no measure of what was normal, and she didn’t protest the contact. Michael suspected that she liked it as much as he did, but given recent experiences, he wasn’t going to assume that that meant she welcomed it. He was, however, going to make as full use of the excuse as he could.
“Good,” he approved, stopping behind her. “Now, draw your hand back to the corner of your mouth. You want to feel it in these muscles,” he told her, placing his hands on her upper back. The muscles in question tensed under the contact. He leaned a little to the side so he could see her face better. “Relax. You don’t want to start with them contracted.”
Arabella avoided his eyes, but loosened up a little. He restrained his frustration, reminding himself that she wasn’t shoving his hands away. Briefly, he glanced up from watching her struggle with the bow and took in their audience.
The personal guardsmen apparently found too much time on their hands at the isolated castle (although they might argue that they were simply doing their job, as they were certainly watching their charges), because most of them were lined up at one edge of the training yard observing his attempts with Arabella. One of her guards slugged Charles in the shoulder and laughed. Charles rolled his eyes before delivering a sharp jab to his friend’s ribs with his elbow, causing him to double over.
“You can do it, Princess!” her young pup called enthusiastically. Arabella threw him a small smile before focusing back on the bow.
“Keep facing the target,” Michael murmured in her ear. “Use your left hand pointing towards it as an anchor.” He put a hand on her chin, carefully nudging it back into position. Then he placed his other hand under her right elbow. “Remember, elbow up. But not too high.”
When she finally reached the full draw, her face broke into a huge smile. “I did it!” she exclaimed. “Did you see that, Charlie?” she called across the yard, almost defiantly. “And I didn’t even need help!”
Michael might have felt jealous, but she turned to look at him next, her eyes bright with the joy of her accomplishment. “Thank you, Mike! What’s next?”
He smiled to himself, a little smug. Of course she didn’t need help this time, although it would have been nice to wrap his arms around her like Charles had.Hewasn’t a guard trying to avoid the accusation of improper behavior toward another man’s wife; he was a prince and the husband of the woman in question, so he didn’t have to dance around helping her effectively. And, of course, he was a far superior archer.
“I told you he would be a better teacher!” Charles called back to her.
Ignoring the guard, Michael met Arabella’s eyes. “Next, you try to aim,” he informed her. “Elbow down.” He lightly pressed on her right elbow, then placed a hand under her wavering left arm as he bent down to put his face next to hers, facing the target with her. “Hold the bow steady. Look down the arrow and line it up with the target. When you’re ready, take a deep breath, let it out slowly through your mouth, and release the string.”
The point still jumping around a little, Arabella took a breath as instructed, exhaled, and tried to let the bowstring slip out of her fingers. She stopped pulling at the same time, though, so the bow jerked her arm forward, her hand bumped the fletching, and the arrow dove to the ground a short distance in front of her.
Michael chuckled at the disappointed look on her face. He walked forward to pick up the arrow. Holding it out to her, he said, “And now we do it again.”
They continued working for another twenty minutes. Michael wouldn’t have minded keeping her longer, but while the gauntlets he’d given her helped protect her fingers from the bowstring, her upper body needed time to adjust to the new activity. She wouldn’t thank him if she was too sore to move in the morning. Although maybe she would let him massage the aching muscles…that wouldn’t be so bad.
Not wanting to take the risk, however, he decided it would be better to have a shorter lesson. As it was, he stretched it out by having her take brief breaks between attempts while they reviewed the previous one.
At some point, Oliver had shown up. After conferencing with Charles, he and Arabella’s head guard had swept away their minions for a patrol, so Michael and Arabella were alone when he declared practice over for the day.
“You did well, Ella,” Michael praised. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her in for a side hug.
