Mathias reached out and grabbed his ruffian brother by the arm. “Wait,” he told him, pulling him back. His focus was on the brute, now wallowing in the mud. “Were you trying to abduct that girl? Answer me or I shall turn my brother loose on you. It is better now to speak than suffer his wrath, I assure you. Answer me.”
The brute, now covered in mud, only grunted as he rolled to his knees and attempted to crawl away. Mathias and Sebastian looked at each other, shrugged, and Sebastian went after the man as Mathias turned to the two terrified women. As Mathias approached the pair, Sebastian leapt on the man’s back as he dragged himself through the mud and began to ride him as one would a wild horse. He grabbed the man by the hair and rode him right into the muck, laughing all the way.
Mathias heard his brother but he didn’t pay any attention. He was looking at the two panic-stricken women in front of him.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked the older woman. “I saw him strike you.”
The older of the pair, a young woman of exquisite beauty, gazed up at him with an amalgam of fear and gratitude. It was difficult to decipher her expression. Mathias, in fact, didn’t try. All he could see was beautiful brown hair, rich with a hint of red to it, and enormous brown eyes. Her skin was pale, like fresh cream, and her features were petite and pixyish. He was momentarily taken aback by all of her beauty, none of which he had noticed until that moment. Now, he felt as if he’d been slapped in the face with it.
“He did not hurt me,” she replied, her voice quaking.
“The younger girl, then. Is she well?”
The young woman looked at the sobbing child in her arms. “I… I believe she is well,” she said. “I do not think he hurt her overly.”
Satisfied with the answer, Mathias looked around. “Is there someone here for you?” he asked. “Surely you are not alone.”
The young woman shook her head. “My father and older sister are in town,” she replied. “They are on errands for my mother. My youngest sister and I were sitting in our wagon– that is our wagon over there– when that man suddenly grabbed my baby sister and tried to run away. My lord, I can never thank you enough for coming to our aid. No one else seemed to be willing to help but you and… dear God, I cannot possibly thank you enough.”
Mathias was fairly swept up in her sweet voice and doe-like eyes. He found himself clearing his throat nervously.
“I am glad I could be of assistance, my lady,” he said.
The young woman peered around him to get a look at the big red-haired man as he jumped up and down on the brute. “What will you do to him?”
Mathias turned in time to see his brother roll his burly quarry over onto his back and leap on his stomach. “I am not sure,” he said casually. “I will leave the punishment to my brother because he seems to enjoy it so much.”
There was a touch of humor in what could have been a deadly serious statement. It helped alleviate some of the abject terror the women were still feeling. In fact, the tension seemed to have lifted a great deal now that the young girl was safe and the culprit being taken away. There was no longer any reason for him to remain.
With a polite nod, Mathias turned away because he was unsure what more to say to her and furthermore found himself just the slightest bit giddy. In fact, he was fairly unbalanced but a word from her stopped him.
“My lord,” she called. “I do not even know your name.”
Mathias came to a halt, turning to face her. He thought perhaps she was more beautiful at second glance.
“Mathias,” he said after a moment.
The young woman smiled and Mathias heard himself sigh with satisfaction. Even her teeth were beautiful. In fact, everything about her was beautiful and he was quickly succumbing to her very presence. With a mere glance or soft words, she was a siren luring him to his doom.
“Mathias,” she repeated softly. “I am the Lady Cathlina de Lara and this is my sister, the Lady Abechail.”
Mathias felt as if he had been struck, lifting the delirium of giddy fog he had been feeling.De Lara, he thought. He knew that name all too well. He tried not to linger on the name, that powerful and consequential name, as his attention shifted to the slender girl in Cathlina’s arms, plastered up against her sister.
The child was dark-haired, pale, and very frail looking. When she saw that Mathias was looking at her, she buried her face in her sister’s torso.
“Greetings, my lady,” Mathias said to Abechail, somewhat gently. She looked as if a louder tone would cause her to shatter. “I sincerely pray you were not injured in the struggle.”
Abechail was pressed as close to her sister as she could go. When Mathias spoke to her, she closed her eyes tightly and tried to block him out but her sister shook her gently.
“Abbie?” she said softly. “Will you thank this man for helping you?”
Abechail turned slightly, peeping an eye open from the safe haven of her sister’s embrace. Instead of her sister’s doe-eyed gaze, she had blue eyes that were red-rimmed and frightened. She had tears all over her face and remnants of dried vomit on her neck.
“My… my thanks,” she stammered.
Mathias cracked a smile. “It was my pleasure, my lady.”
Abechail’s gaze lingered on him a moment before smiling timidly. She still looked horribly pale and terrified, however, and it occurred to Mathias that until the brute was properly restrained or imprisoned, the poor young girl might never feel safe. In fact, neither lady would feel completely safe. He turned to his brother.
