“I must. This is not your trouble. It would be discourteous to pull you into the midst of our difficulties.”
“Even if I am willing to be pulled into the midst of them?”
“Just so.”
Nigel shrugged. “As ye wish.”
“We do thank you most heartily for your kind concern.”
“We?” said Gisele, but Nigel just smiled and Guy ignored her interruption.
“Despite your courteous refusal of my aid,” Nigel said, “be assured that it still stands. Ye ken where to find me if you change your mind.”
Nigel bowed slightly and left. Only feet from Guy’s tent he stopped and looked back. He briefly considered sneaking back and lurking around the tent to listen to what was said, then shook his head. They would be more cautious now, would whisper and guard their words, making eavesdropping impossible. He could only wait and pray that they sought his aid before whatever threat they feared caught up with them.
“That may have been a mistake,” Guy said softly as he secured the flaps of his tent.
“We do not need the Scotsman’s help,” Gisele said as she sat down on a small, blanket-covered chest.
“Such confidence you have in my ability to keep you safe.” Guy sat down by the small, rock encircled pit in the middle of the dirt floor and began to make a fire.
“You are most skilled and highly honored as a knight.”
“Thank you for that accolade, but my reputation, meager as it is, has been earned in battle, in honorable combat. This is different. I am all that stands between you and a veritable horde of vengeful DeVeaux and their hirelings, none of whom are known for acting honorably. Another sword could be helpful.”
“We do not know if he means to use that sword to help us or to prod us into the hands of our enemies. The Scotsman could well be one of those DeVeau hirelings.”
Guy shook his head. “I cannot believe that.”
“You do not know the man.”
“True, but neither have I heard ill of him. We should not discard him completely.”
Gisele inwardly cursed and rubbed her hands over her newly shorn hair. She could not believe Sir Murray meant them any harm, but feared her opinion was formed by the man’s fine face and beautiful eyes. Guy admitting to feeling the same trust in the man only lessened her unease a little. She had been running and hiding for too long to trust easily, even in her own opinions. Some of her own kinsmen believed the accusations against her, had turned their backs on her, so why should some stranger from a strange land offer to help? And would he still offer once he learned why the DeVeaux hunted her, or how much they were offering for her capture?
“Then we will not discard him completely,” she finally said, “but neither will we blindly accept him as our friend.”
“Sometimes one can be too cautious, cousin.”
“True, but do not forget why I am in hiding. Sir Murray may not be so friendly or so ready to aid us when he learns the reason for our caution and this deception.” She smiled faintly. “Many a man finds it difficult to forgive a woman who kills her husband.”
“But you did not kill him.”
“The DeVeaux believe I did, as do some of our own kinsmen. Why should a stranger believe me over all of them?” She nodded when Guy grimaced and softly cursed. “We will watch and make our decision about the Scotsman with care.”
“Agreed. I but pray that the DeVeaux do not find us first.”
Two
“Most pages dinnae wear such bonny amulets.”
Gisele cursed, shoved her garnet-encrusted locket back inside her jupon, and glared at the grinning Scotsman as she hefted her sack of wood over her shoulder. She did her best to ignore his beautiful smile as she started to walk through the wood, back toward Guy’s tent. It had been one full week since Sir Murray had intruded upon her secret. The man had shadowed her every move. She was constantly bumping into him, seeing that alluring grin at every turn. Gisele was not sure what annoyed her more, his persistence or her unshakable attraction to the rogue.
“Do ye want some help with that kindling?” Nigel asked as he fell into step by her side.
“Non,” she snapped, irritated that she was unable to walk faster than he could. “Have you not considered the chance that all of your attention to me could rouse some suspicion?”
“Aye, but I dinnae think that the suspicion will be that ye are really a lass and nay a lad.”
