“I suspect I’ll be aroused to the point of engorgement,” he answered. “Assuming the house doesn’t self-destruct around my ears while I’m trying to renovate it.”
“You could always come out to the garden and play medieval knight,” I told him, forcing myself away from his tempting self. “I’d be happy to teach you archery.”
“Another time, perhaps,” he said, squaring his sooty shoulders. “I’m not going to let the house beat me. I’m going to renovate it if it kills me!”
“So dashing!” I said, giving him one last little nose nibble. “I’ll see you later, then. Happy painting and building and whatever-else-ing you are doing.”
A half hour later I was present at the garden when the clock struck nine. I met Alec, the man who handled the armor and took care of the weapons, and was briefed on the day’s schedule.
“The combat classes will be ongoing throughout the day,” Vandal told me as he handed me a sheet of paper showing the day’s schedule. “Your classes will be held five times a day for an hour each session.”
“Gotcha,” I said, tucking away the paper in the pocket of my jeans.
He frowned at the gesture. “You’ll be expected to help out Fenice with the clothing booth when you are not giving classes. There may be some drop-ins, but we are limiting those to the times between the first and second scheduled classes. Is that what you plan on wearing?”
I glanced down. My T-shirt was a size too large, which I preferred since it gave my arms unobstructed movement. “Yes. I’m not very medieval, but it’s comfy.”
Vandal’s outfit was about as authentic as you could make it—leggings complete with cross-garters going up his calves, a long tunic, and a flat-topped wide-brimmed hat that curled upward at the ends. A little smile played along his lips as he leaned close to say, “It may be comfortable, but it also offers anyone who cares to look a view of your lovely breasts.”
I glanced down and realized he was right—the shirt was baggy enough that when I moved, it was fairly easy to see down it. “Oh, crap.”
“Nothing of the sort. I quite enjoy the view.” He leaned in a little closer, and I was reminded of Fenice’s warning about the flirty nature of her brother. “If I told you that you had lovely eyes, would you consider that inappropriate?”
I looked at him, puzzled. “You like my eyes?”
“I do.” His smile grew. “I find them irresistible.”
“Oh, so it was you who wrote that note?” I felt oddly deflated. I’d assumed that it was Alden who had slipped the sweet note under my door, but now... I rubbed my arms. The note didn’t seem nearly so nice now.
“Note?” He frowned, then suddenly his expression cleared. “Ah, the note. You enjoyed it?”
“Well, of course I did,” I said lightly. “It was very flattering, but really, Vandal, I have to say—”
“Good, good.” He bustled past me when Fenice appeared and beckoned him. “We can talk more later about how it made you feel, and what you’d like to do about it, but right now, I must go heed my sister’s call. She looks frazzled.”
I stood for a few minutes, bothered by the idea of Vandal sending me little notes of admiration. It seemed all right with Alden, since he wasn’t a flirty soul, but Vandal... I shook my head. He was handsome and all, but I wasn’t particularly interested in him.
“Patrick, two cars just pulled up, full of what looks like a rugby team.”
“That would be the morning session,” he said, and hurried off to greet them.
Fenice fussed with the registration papers at the small desk that served as our administrative center, before eyeing me. “You should get dressed.”
“Well, I thought I’d wear this—”
“That’s not the Hard Day’s Knights way. People expect us to be in some sort of costume, or else they feel cheated. Go pick out something from the wardrobe bins to serve as your official on-duty ensemble. Oh, and I’d advise you to make it something practical,” Fenice warned as the first of the attendees strolled around the side of the house from the designated parking area. “Not only are you going to be in it all day, but you have to be able to shoot in it. So don’t go for anything tight or too revealing.”
“Gotcha.” I dashed to the section of a small storage building where Fenice had hung a long metal rod, from which a variety of Faire clothing hung in a number ofsizes and colors. Most of it was laceable, which she had told me allowed them to cover a wide range of sizes by cinching it down to whatever circumference was needed.
“Let’s see... full-on lady of the manor?” I shook my head at a lovely rose velvet kirtle. “Nope, not at all what an archer would wear. How about standard Robin Hood?” I held out a forest green leather jerkin that was likely the twin of Fenice’s. “Naw, not me. Oooh, pretty blue... oh. It’s torn.”
A lovely summer-sky blue gauze chemise peeked out of a rattan basket that I vaguely remember Fenice telling me was for items that needed repairing. I held the chemise up, admiring the simple sleeveless scoop-neck design, but knowing there was no way I could wear it with half the skirt torn off and muddied. It looked like it had been chewed up by a lawn mower. I set it down again, unhappy that I would have to wear something that didn’t appeal to me as much, but after browsing through the remainder of the items, I returned to the chemise.
Two minutes later, I emerged into the sunshine of a lovely late summer morning, pleased with the resulting outfit of chemise topped with a black under-bust corset. I’d cut off the mangled part of the chemise, leaving it at a very nontraditional above-the-knee length, which didn’t scream Medieval Faire wear, but neither was it a T-shirt and jeans. “Plus, I like the blue,” I said aloud to myself as I hurried over to where three people were waiting at the archery butts. “It’s my lucky color, and if there’s any day I need luck on my side, it’s today.... Hello! I’m Mercy, your instructor for the day. Are you all ready to rumble?”
Three pairs of startled eyes turned to me. I gave them a bright smile. Maybe this wasn’t going to be aseasy as I’d first thought. “In an archery sense, that is. You know, nailing the bull right in his eye.”
The three people—two women and a man—just stared at me.
