Esme nodded, her mind whirring.
“This morn, I will teach you how to hold your weapon. And how to stand—”
“How to stand?” she interrupted.
“How to stand ready for an attack.” He raised his eyebrows. “Or does milady already have this knowledge at her disposal?”
“Milady does not.” She pressed her lips together. “Sir.”
The crashing of the waves onto the sandy cove far below them could not match the roaring of blood in her ears when he reached for her hand. Adam’s fingers were warm and strong. They rearranged Esme’s grasp of the handle whilst she watched, wide-eyed.
“Like this.” He swiveled his head to look at her sharply, ensuring she was paying attention.
She nodded. She had rarely been so attentive in her life.
“Straighten your arm.” Standing by her side, he lifted her wrist so that her arm and weapon were at shoulder height. “Do not bend your elbow. ’Tis a point of weakness.”
“Yes sir.”
Ignoring her jibe, he slowly walked until he was standing behind her.
“Shoulders back.” He placed his hands there, tugging gently. “Widen your stance.”
Esme shuffled her feet on the grass, stifling a strong urge to giggle.
“Look up,” he instructed. “Never look at the ground, unless that is where your opponent is.”
Esme lifted her chin and gazed into the swirling white.
“I cannot see my opponent for the fog.”
“All the more reason to be on your guard.”
His breath warmed the back of her neck. Esme felt her eyes closing. He was so close. If she leaned back just a little, her body would be pressed against his.
She did not intend to test this theory, but one of them must have moved, because all of a sudden, she was up against him. ’Twas like leaning against solid granite that had been warmed by the sun. Adam was a wall of muscle.
A wall with hands which came again to her shoulders, resting there lightly.
She breathed out, letting the tension leave her body as that delicious fluttering started up again.
“I will leave you to practice, milady.”
Her eyes flew open. “You will leave?”
“We have done all we can this morn, in this weather.”
His voice came from a distance, and she turned around to see he was already striding away from her.
Her disappointment was acute. But then she twirled her stick in her hands once again and reflected that this was the most entertaining morn she had experienced since arriving at Ember Hall.
Still, I should not have teased him.
He was a skilled warrior taking the time to share his craft with her. Moreover, she had fancied something akin to friendship was growing between them.
Mayhap something more than friendship.
Either way, she should have shown more sincere appreciation for his skills and his time. But he was so darned irritating with the aloofness he seemed to don like a cloak.
