Gaultier made a low hiss.He took another step and she heard a rustle of cloth.
Could she stall until Quinn came to the solar?She feared not.
“Come here, my lady,” Gaultier whispered as if she were so witless as to be enticed to her own doom.“We have not much time.I do not want to injure you.Trust me.”
Trust him.The very suggestion sent fury through Melissande.What did this vermin know of trust?No man of merit kidnapped a woman or struck her.A knight vowed to defend those weaker than himself!She heard a faint sound of a boot on stone and knew it was too distant to be Gaultier.
Who else was in the solar?If he had an accomplice, she was lost.
But Gaultier froze and she thought he turned toward the sound.
He was surprised.Did someone come to her aid?
Melissande scratched her nail against the floor, trying to convince him that he had heard her and not another.He chuckled and took a step closer.“There you are,” he murmured, and when he took the next step, Melissande kicked the brazier with all her might.
It fell with a thud, scattered coals and debris from the fire across the floor.Gaultier swore again and she hoped it had injured him.She saw one fiery coal began to smolder as it came to a rest on a carpet, but it was too far away to reach.The smoke rose immediately and the flame sparked to life shortly afterward.
In its light, Melissande saw Gaultier lunging toward her, rage in his eyes.She hurled herself under the great bed.She heard him roar then snatch after her, but she scurried to the opposite side to evade him.Her eyes widened when she saw a second pair of boots appear behind Gaultier.
He swore again and stood, then Melissande heard the clash of steel on steel.The two pairs of boots quickly becoming indistinguishable as the men circled and fought with increasing vigor.
Who had come to her assistance?
It was beyond infuriating that she could not see the battle.The flames grew brighter and she squirmed across the floor, emerging on the other side of the bed.Gaultier battled a knight in a green tabard who still wore his helmet.
Melissande shook in her relief.
Bayard had guessed her fate somehow and she was heartily glad of it.She hurried around the bed and began to stamp on the carpet to put out the flames.Now she could see the bucket of washing water, not far away.She hurried to it and kicked it over so that the carpet was doused.
The fire went out, plunging them into darkness again.
The helmeted knight swore with gusto and Melissande turned to stare at him in astonishment.Quinn?Surely she had not recognized his voice.The knight wore Bayard’s tabard and helmet.He must have swung his blade, for she heard it whistle through the air, and she ducked, cowering against the wall.No doubt Gaultier would have been glad to seize her, and Melissande scarce dared to breathe.She heard blades clash and men grunt, then a heavy weight fell to the floor.
There was silence.
She feared the import of that.If it had been her benefactor who had fallen, she was at Gaultier’s whim.A boot tread sounded on the floor and she closed her eyes in dread.
“Zounds, my lady, but you could have let another measure of the carpet burn,” Quinn said with frustration.“I feared to miss the villain and there is no honor in an untidy execution.”
ItwasQuinn!Melissande made a choked sound of relief and heard him cross the chamber.She heard his helmet land on the carpet.A flint was struck and a lantern lit.She glanced down at the fallen man and it was Gaultier.His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, and his blood flowing with vigor from his wounds.
She wished she had given him more than one herself.
Then Quinn blocked her view, ushering her to the other side of the solar.He removed the cloth bound over her mouth and untied her hands, his own brow furrowed in concern as he examined the rising bruise on her temple.He touched the rope burns on her wrists, his hands roving over her as he checked for injuries.
“I am well enough,” she said, hearing the quiver in her own voice.He met her gaze and she smiled at him.“I feared you trusted overmuch in your companion, but you never left Annossy.”
He grinned and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.“There is no advantage in leaving the prize undefended,” he said and touched his lips to her brow.It was far less than she wanted of him in this moment.
“This was a trap you set,” she whispered.
“That it was.”He left her for a moment to open the portal and call for assistance from below, then stopped by the bed before he returned.He lifted Gaultier’s unsheathed knife, which he had retrieved from the floor.“I am glad I returned it to you.”
“I was surprised that you did.”
“I think it is right and good for a woman to be able to defend herself against a man determined to take what is not his to claim,” Quinn said, his voice a low rumble.“And I trusted you not to use it against me.”
“A confident assumption, sir.”
