Page 17 of Arrows and Gems
“And if your choices put you at the mercy of a bandit?”
Helena lifted her chin. “I don’t need protection as long as I have my bow.” Fudging the truth, she added, “If I had known how fast your bandit is, I would have put my arrow through his shoulder instead of his hood. Perhaps then you would understand why I travel as I do.”
One corner of his mouth pulled up, and his cobalt blue eyes laughed at her. He didn’t believe her. “Then since you have no bow, I will grant you an escort. Erwan.” He turned to the guard and jerked his head in her direction. “She’s your responsibility. See that she makes it where she wants to go.”
CHAPTER 8
Helena
The long drive stretched ahead of her, winding up the side of the mountain. Erwan had told her that they were in the foothills here, but they seemed like mountains to her. The rolling hills around Himmelsburg and Reineggburg were nothing compared to this.
“Is your shoulder all right?” the guard asked, turning concerned eyes on Helena as she sat on her motionless horse, gazing up at the large manor house built into the hillside. “Do you need to rest before we continue?”
Shaking her head, Helena squeezed the horse’s sides with her knees, urging it forward. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” She offered him a half smile. “No sense making you lift me down and back up again so close to our destination.”
The irritation at her helplessness swelled up again. Erwan had been kind during the weeklong trip and had shown extraordinary patience with her inability to mount and dismount on her own. And with their slower pace – her injury didn’t appreciate bouncing along on the back of a horse.
If she had been in his boots, she would have already given herself a sleeping draught, tossed her unconscious body over the horse’s withers, and ridden as fast as was feasible just to get it over with.
Thank the heavens Erwan was more like her brother than like her.
Nerves twisted her stomach into knots as they rode slowly forward. Her cousin was not expecting her and would likely greet her by name. Would Erwan see it? Or would he have already ridden away with her borrowed horse? And what if Marielle was in town? The staff wouldn’t admit a stranger.
Worse, what if Marielle’s parents were in the country? They would insist on sending a letter home, and then Papa would know where to find her.
The house loomed above her, its face an odd mix of stone and wood. But nestled against the mottled pale pink and dark gray rocks and surrounded by an old stand of scrub oak, it looked...right. Like it had grown there instead of being built. It wasn’t tiny, nor was it huge. More like Reineggburg than the castle in Himmelsburg.
But somehow still a bit intimidating.
“You’re sure this is the right place?” Helena pulled the corner of her lip into her mouth, chewing on it with her upper canine. She eyed the door apprehensively.
“Haven’t you been here before? I thought you were friends with Lady Marielle.” Erwan’s voice sounded off; was he rethinking his decision to convince General Valentin of her innocence?
Pasting on a reassuring smile, she twisted in the saddle to face him. “I am. But I wasn’t allowed to travel growing up, so I only saw Marielle when she visited her Ralnoran cousins.” She looked at the front door again, its ordinary size soothing. “I haven’t seen her in several years due to...events that prevented me from accepting visitors. And since then, she hasn’t traveled because of the excitement here.”
She was trying to mask her anxiety, but something must have leaked onto her face, because her companion’s brow furrowed as he examined her. “Are you worried about your reception? Should I come with you?”
“No, of course not,” she hastily answered. “Marielle wouldnever turn me away.”
“Maybe I should wait outside for a few minutes,” he replied with uncertain eyes. “Just to be sure.”
Helena laughed. “If it eases your conscience. Could you help me down so I can introduce myself to her staff?”
It was galling to need the assistance, but she couldn’t deny that his hands felt pleasant on her waist. She would prefer Michael’s, but—
No. Michael was beyond her reach now. And she liked it that way. He didn’t want her, and she didn’t want him.
She gave Erwan’s hand a light pat before he stepped away and flashed him a teasing smile, enjoying the way his ears grew pink while his face stayed perfectly straight. Since she’d written off princes and noblemen, perhaps she should consider the men who watched over them. Especially the ones that did so with a bow.
But right now, she needed to find out if her cousin was home.
Summoning her courage, she straightened her back and marched up the stone steps. The solid wood hurt her knuckles, but the sound was pitiful on her side of the door. Hopefully, it was echoing across an entry hall on the other side.
After a minute of chewing on her lip and forcing her feet to stay still, she risked a glance over her shoulder. Erwan was watching her with a strange expression. “Maybe you should try the bell,” he suggested. When she frowned in confusion, he nodded toward a wooden handle hanging from a chain beside the door. “The doorbell.”
Right. Sheltered princesses might be clueless about doorbells, but anyone else would be familiar with such things. If she didn’t want anyone to realize that there was a Ralnoran princess running around Amitié, she needed to be more believable.
“Oh, there it is!” she exclaimed with a false twitter oflaughter. “How did I miss that before? So silly of me.”
