“We?”
“Karl, and me.”
“Ah, Karl.” She hesitates, then, “I must remember to thank him.”
“I already did, but you may talk to him yourself tomorrow.”
She says nothing for a few moments, then, “I thought I was going to die.”
Me too.I don’t share that thought with her. “You did not die though. We followed your tracks and found you in time.”
“You came for me.” Her statement is delivered in a tone of near wonder.
“Of course. You are mine. I thought I had made that perfectly clear back there in the courtyard at Hohenzollern. I take good care of what is mine.” My tone has hardened, deliberately so.
“Sir…?”
Ah, she has picked up on it. Good. We’ll be getting to that aspect of things soon enough. But first… “You hurt your ankle? And your head.”
“I, yes. Crashed into the rock as I fled from Eberhard. Then I tripped and twisted my ankle. I could not walk.”
“I see. Is the ankle still painful?”
She attempts to flex it. Her sharp hiss of pain is my answer.
“You will need to keep your weight off that for a while. You have bruised ribs too.”
“Eberhard hit me. He said he would kill me, but I managed to escape.”
More than will be said for that bastard when I get my hands on his miserable carcass.
“Are you injured in any other way?”God, please, no more.
“No, I do not think so. I scraped my hands, but they are not so sore now.”
“That is good. Did you lose consciousness when you hit your head?”
“No, I do not think so.”
“You were unconscious when we discovered you, so I wondered. Do you feel dizzy, or confused?”
“I am not dizzy, and only confused about why you would go to so much trouble to help me.”
“You are my wife. My responsibility.”
“But, why would you wish to marry me? I have no dowry, no lands nor fortune. No influence anywhere. I bring you no advantage. I bring nothing at all to this match.”
“I have my reasons, and I will share them with you. Soon.”
My reasons for claiming her are simple enough. I want to fuck the lady. Now is not the time to say this though. I do however have another related matter to convey to my bride to be.
“I told you to remain here, in my tent. Was anything at all unclear in my instructions to you?”
“I… no, my lord. But…”
“But?”
“But I needed to return to the castle. I had to make sure everyone was safe.”
