Another punch. Torsten barely managed to sidestep it. Not a man used to getting himself into trouble, he was already getting tired. They had better put an end to this quickly, before he got hurt.
“This isn’t about you, or even me,” he said, aiming a kick at Sven’s shin. “Yield. I’ll explain later why. This is important and I’m sure you’ll agree with me when you know what it is.”
There was a pause. Then a sigh. “I’ll yield if you at least make it look like you know how to throw a punch. I have a reputation to maintain, you know.”
“If that’s what you want.”
Putting all his strength behind the blow, Torsten hit him square on the jaw. Sven went reeling backward, arms flailing, before collapsing flat on his back, his head thrown to the side. Torsten wiped his mouth, hiding his smile. This would do very nicely. His little brother had always had a flair for the dramatic.
Panting, he made his way to the two women, who were looking at him with wide eyes. Edita seemed impressed by his performance, but Aife’s blue eyes were veiled with worry and incomprehension. Before she could ask why on earth he was fighting with his brother, he put the basket she was holding on the ground and took her hand in his.
“Aife. That’s the fourth of your suitors I’ve sent to the ground now. What more can I do to prove to you that I can take care of you? Please say you’ll consider having me.”
The air around them seemed to still.
“Men are fighting over you?” Edita asked Aife, blinking hard. The sheer disbelief in her voice was an insult in itself. Torsten’s stomach twisted. The woman was vile and that blasted Wulfric was welcome to her.
“Men arelosingover her,” he growled, not even looking at her. His attention was wholly focused on Aife, who had gone a bright red color. He found himself thinking that it was rather adorable. “It’s not the same thing at all. But I’ll make sure I’m the one she chooses. Please, Aife, say you’ll at least consider me.”
Aife’s throat went dry when she understood what Torsten was doing. He was making it look as if she were as popular in their village as Edita was claiming to be in hers. Even though she had hurt him, he’d come to her aid, he wanted to help her put her cousin in her place. Her heart wobbled, a most unusual sensation.
But what should she answer? Torsten was still holding her hand, looking at her with eyes full of hope. Though he’d only asked the question for her cousin’s benefit, after the kiss they’dshared, she couldn’t help but wonder if she should consider him as a suitor. When she’d seen him fight with Sven she’d worried about the outcome, but oddly enough, she’d been more worried about the damage he would do to himself than to the man she was interested in. It was all very disconcerting.
“I, too, have had men fighting over me,” Edita piped up, unable to bear not being the center of attention for once. “And I told them I would not?—”
“I care not what you told them,” Torsten snapped, not even looking at her. “In fact, you can leave. I need a word with Aife, alone.”
Could a silence be loud? Apparently. Aife could practically hear Edita’s outrage, and it took all her inner strength not to burst out laughing. At last, someone who had the courage to speak to her cousin the way she deserved, someone who took her side. She had never seen this uncompromising side to Torsten before and she rather liked it.
“You did that for me?” she asked, once they were alone.
“Yes. And no.” He shrugged. “I did have a score to settle with Sven anyway, so this was as good an opportunity as any.”
Why did she have the impression that he was lying? She was touched, all the more so that they had not parted in the best of terms and she had feared he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her.
“You’ll have a bruise, I fear.” She brushed his left cheekbone. It was red, testimony to the violence of the blows he’d received for her. She could only imagine how much a hit from a man of Sven’s bulk would hurt. “Here and likely all over your body.”
“Bruises are nothing,” he answered roundly, as if annoyed she thought him too weak to bear a little pain. She didn’t, but she hated the idea of him suffering on her account. “Listen, Aife, I’m sorry for snapping at you the other day. I didn’t know what to think of what you told me, but after what I just heard, Iunderstand why you would have wanted to put the woman back in her place. She is vile.”
“Yes, she is but that is no reason for you to get hurt. It was my issue to deal with, not yours,” she said quickly. “And I too am sorry for what I did. It was inconsiderate of me. I should have at least asked your permission before I kissed you. Or at least explained afterward why I had done it and not let you?—”
Torsten cut her off by covering the hand she was still holding at his cheek. “Hush. It’s all in the past now. Or…perhaps it doesn’t have to be.”
“What do you mean?” With his body so close to her, his gaze planted into hers and his hand cradling hers, she was finding it very hard to think.
“We could carry on pretending. For Edita’s sake. I mean.”
Aife blinked, afraid to have misunderstood, hoping she had not. “You want to pretend we’re involved?”
“Why not?” He shrugged again. The gesture made it appear as if he cared not one way or the other, but the light in his eyes belied that first impression. That was the good thing about warm, brown eyes, she decided. They had the ability to catch fire when a thought crossed their owner’s mind. Blue eyes could only shine brighter, a much less devastating effect. “If I can help you survive your cousin’s visit, isn’t it my duty to do so?”
Well, no, it wasn’t. It wasn’t anyone’s duty. Aife knew she should say no. This was all wrong. She slid her hand from under his and took a step back.
“Yes. Please,” she said, before she could do the wise thing and refuse his offer. “That would be most helpful.”
Helpful. What a dreadful word to describe what she had felt when she had kissed Torsten. It had been incredible… She had enjoyed their kiss, more than she had expected, more than she had the right to.
“Well, then it is decided.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Feel free to kiss me whenever you see Edita watching us.”
