Page 235 of Historical Hotties
Her gaze lingered on him. “Another miserable life,” she finally said. “I’ve already had two. I do not need a third.”
“How do you know it will be miserable?”
She didn’t have a quick answer for him. She simply turned away, eyes averted, as the older woman next to her continued to watch the situation carefully. Mostly, she was looking at Caledonia, perhaps to get a sense of what was going on and if she needed help. After several long moments, the older woman turned her gaze to Thor.
“You were here earlier,” she finally said to him. “With the knights that entered. You were with them.”
Thor glanced at her. “Mayhap,” he said, but it was all he would say. His attention, and the conversation, was on Caledonia. “My lady, what makes you think a marriage to me will be miserable? Am I not given the opportunity to prove otherwise before you condemn me?”
“You killed two of our guards,” the older woman said before Caledonia could answer. “You had no reason to do that. Why did you come here?”
Now, Thor turned his gaze on her in full. “Woman, if you do not go away and leave me to this private conversation, you will not like my reaction,” he said, his voice rumbling like thunder. “You are not part of this. Leave this table. I will only tell you once.”
The older woman’s jaw moved as if she wanted to reply but thought better of it. Sanity was in control and not a death wish. Standing up, she left the table without another word, leaving Thor alone with Caledonia. She was watching the older woman walk away.
“You did not need to be rude to her,” she said.
Thor’s gaze was fixed on her. “You will answer me,” he said. “Am I not given the opportunity to prove that you will not be miserable before you condemn me?”
Caledonia finally looked at him. “What do you want me to say that I have not already said?” she said. “You know I do not wish to marry you. I do not wish to marry anyone.”
“You do not have a choice,” Thor said. “As the heiress to Tamworth, you must marry. It is your duty.”
Her delicate jaw twitched faintly. “And you have come to force me back to Westminster.”
“If it was my intention to force you, we would already be halfway back to the palace,” he said. “It is my intention to bargain.”
That had her interest, but only slightly. “Bargain?” she repeated. “What bargain could you possibly make?”
Thor glanced at the table, at the empty cups. It gave him an idea. Clearly, the lady was unlike any woman he’d ever met. She wasn’t the sweet, delicate, obedient type. Not that all the women he knew were like that, but all of them, to varying degrees, were at least obedient. But not Caledonia—she had another level of stubbornness tucked down inside her. It was almost a mannish type of stubbornness. She had no fear and seemingly did not care what people thought of her. She was an enigma, but one he intended to crack.
Now, it was a matter of principle.
“Do you gamble, my lady?” he finally asked.
She nodded slowly. “I have been known to.”
“And if you lose, do you keep your end of the bargain and pay your debts?”
“Always.”
“Then you consider yourself a woman of honor.”
“Honor is all I have left, Blue Eyes. What is your point?”
Oh, but she was bold with the apparent nickname she had for him.Blue Eyes. She had such an unrestrained and bold way of speaking. It was in her manner. It was in everything about her, this boldness that let everyone know she was strong and sharp and more than a formidable opponent. Thor had to admit that he was appalled by a woman like that, but he was also strangely fascinated.
“My point is that we can settle this matter now,” he said. “Until this moment, I have put up a weak fight. I will admit that I am conditioned to obey the king, no matter what, and my resistance to this betrothal had been strong at first but I quickly succumbed to the inevitable. That is why you’ve not seen me put up more of a battle, my lady. I have more to lose than you do, so obedience is my only real choice. However, you do not have the same conviction. You continue to fight, but you cannot keep it up forever. Henry will win in the end if you fight alone.”
She was puzzled. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I can fight with you. Or not.”
A flicker of interest came to her eyes. “Explain.”
“We can wager on it,” he said. “A fair game can decide if I fight with you or against you.”
Her eyes narrowed as she realized he was approaching her on level ground, on terms she could understand. They were in a gambling guild, after all. He’d found her here, and when she escaped, she’d come back. Clearly, she was comfortable here.
