“This will show him.” Once she cleared the bush’s foliage, she stood up. A man clearing his throat sounded behind her and she wheeled around, coming face to face with Horland.
Heat coursed into her cheeks. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” He took the litter. “Well done.”
“Give it back to me, I’m starting the fire, remember?”
He gave it back but most of it fell to the ground before she could get her hands on it.
“Great. Now look what you’ve done.”
“You wanted it back.”
“In my hand, not on the ground.”
He let out a laugh. “You need to be quicker if you are to survive the Forest of Uther.”
“I doubt my being able to catch leaf litter is a detriment to my chances of survival.”
“The deeper we go into the forest, the darker and colder it will get. We might become separated and you will need fires to keep you warm and without litter, you will die.”
Bree dipped her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you thinking of trying to ditch me?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Do you have plans of leaving me stranded somewhere in the forest?”
“No. I am a knight and knights don’t leave women in distress stranded anywhere.”
“You were going to on the road.”
“You weren’t stranded, you knew exactly where you were.”
Bree opened her mouth to say that she didn’t know where in blazes she was but caught herself and swallowed. “Maybe, but you still left us.”
He looked her up and down. “Are you going to light a fire?”
She bent down and scraped as much of the leaf litter as she could off the ground and piled it on top of the tiny sticks of wood she’d already layered on the dirt in the middle of the small clearing. Then she set about getting flames to ignite from the stick she rubbed vigorously in her open hands.
Horland stood over her and when she finally achieved a small spark, she harrumphed and left the clearing.
Bree worked to grow the fire and when she thought she had succeeded, she sat back on her heels and looked around for Horland. He appeared out of the trees and threw a skinned rabbit on the ground.
She looked at the rabbit and gazed up at him, raising one brow in question.
He raised his brows and tilted his head. “I thought you would cook it.”
She stood up. “Me? I built the fire; you can cook it while I go for a walk.”
“Me? I am a knight; you are a woman.”
“I might be a woman, but men are quite capable of cooking too, mate.”
“Mate? I am not your mate.”
“I didn’t mean you were my mate, ugh, how could you think that?” She walked away. “I need to go for a walk.”
“Do not stray far.”
