Fighting like a woman—he'd snarled the words in the heat of humiliation, but if others had heard him… would they dismiss his words as the angry rambling of a sore loser? Or would they wonder?
"His frustration was understandable," I said carefully. "Grace in defeat isn’t always easy."
"No. But his insult was... telling."
My stomach dropped. "His insult?"
She tilted her head slightly, her voice soft but clear. "I believe he said something about you… fighting like a woman, was it?"
I feigned ignorance. "I don't recall."
"Rest assured—most see Balan's reaction as a reflection of his own weakness, not yours."
"That is rather reassuring."
I didn't know what to say to her. Nor why she was here. And that brought up another interesting subject.
"You went to quite some effort to find me," I said, glancing back toward the heavy oak door that led back into the castle proper.
The climb to the battlements wasn't a simple jaunt through Camelot's halls. Elenora would have had to leave the great hall, navigate the narrow spiral staircases up two flights of steep, uneven stone steps designed to favor defenders in a siege. Then she had to come through the cramped guard corridors that wound through the walls themselves, past sentries who wouldn't typically grant passage to a courtesan without question.
"I did go through some effort," she admitted.
I was surprised the guards had even granted her access. I'd been allowed entrance because of my status as a knight. But Elenora?
"The guards let you through?"
"I can be quite…persuasivewhen necessary." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Still. It's not exactly an evening stroll."
"No," she agreed. "But then, neither is seeking solitude on the battlements when one should be celebrating their victorybelow. We both went to considerable effort tonight, Sir Lioran. The question is—which of us has more to hide?"
I looked at her with interest. "I have nothing to hide."
She laughed. "Is that so?"
I nodded.
Then she came closer. "Do you know what I find curious?"
"What's that?" I kept my voice steady even as unease coiled through me.
She reached out slowly, her fingertips barely grazing the fabric of my tunic, and it was all I could do to keep from stepping back. Her feather-light touch sent an involuntary shiver through me, her fingers moving with the confidence of someone conducting an investigation rather than offering a caress.
"Why haven't you returned my interest?" Her voice was low and pouty.
I blinked. "Your interest?"
"Of all the knights, you're the most standoffish." She cocked her head to the side then. "Well, with the exception of Galahad, but he's such a bore; no one wants him around anyway." She studied me with those calculating eyes. "But you're different."
I swallowed hard. This was the last conversation I wanted to get into. "How so?"
"No matter how wildly flirtatious I am with you, you respond with polite indifference." Her fingers traced the edge of my collar. "Certainly you must know I desire you, Lioran?"
My throat went dry. "I did not know."
She looked up at me and smiled. "Have you noticed how all the other knights fancy me? How they watch me with hunger in their eyes?"
