Braya covered her mouth with her hand and smiled at her knight’s boldness. But he was correct, and her father knew it.
“We will not be fighting for him,” her father assured. “Though I do not know why I’m givingyoumy word.”
“Because your daughter will not be able to stay away if she does not hear you say it.”
Her father settled his loving gaze on hers, and she wiped her eyes yet again. “We will not fight should the Scots come.”
She flung her arms around him and thanked him in his ear. When he let her go, she wanted to throw herself into Torin’s arms next.
“Galien?” she asked her brother. “How about you?”
He scrunched his face at her. “I would never lend my sword to a bastard who had you kidnapped freshly out of your bed and then struck you.”
She smiled at him, though with her wounded jaw, it pained her to do so, thankful for the millionth time that God had sent Torin, a man of peace, into their lives. Even her brother had stopped being so argumentative.
“I will bring her back to you,” he vowed to her parents. “I will bring her to the place Adams suggested earlier.”
They were going to Rothbury then, Braya thought. She would miss everyone terribly, but part of her was thrilled at the idea of a journey into Torin’s past. What were his years like in Rothbury? What would it be like being alone with him every day while they—
“Robbie,” her father said, turning to Mr. Adams. “I would like you to help escort my daughter to her safe haven.”
“Of course,” Mr. Adams said, amused by Torin’s dark glare. Apparently, her knight wanted to be alone with her. She wanted it, too.
“Fine then,” Torin brooded, turning for the doors. “We should go now.”
Braya said her farewells through tears and promises to see her loved ones soon. It was the most difficult thing she’d ever had to do in her life. She made a vow to herself never to do it again. She was glad Torin was staying.
She met him outside a few moments later with Avalon, Archer, and Mr. Adams, ready to go. She knew what the warden had done was unforgivable, but Torin saw him as a threat worthy of his urgency. She hurried to Archer, gained her saddle, and turned her mount north.
An hour later, Torin still hadn’t brought up marrying her. She was beginning to worry that he hadn’t truly meant them. “Why did you come for me?” she asked him, keeping Archer close to Avalon, who didn’t seem to mind at all.
Torin slanted his glance at her and shifted around in the saddle, making Avalon bob her head angrily. He stopped. “Because I was not about to let a man have you through kidnapping.”
That was a pleasing response, but not a personal one. Would he let a man have her through other means? “Hmm,” she murmured. She wished she hadn’t questioned him. She wasn’t prepared for his detached reply.
“What do you mean,hmm?” he asked—demanded really. “What would you have preferred me to say?”
She glared at him. “What do you mean by that? Do you think you are under some kind of spell and you cannot say whatyouwish to say? It must be what I want?”
“In truth, I do not know—”
“You said what you wanted the first time!”
He blinked as if she slapped him. She smiled at him. She hadn’t realized she’d snapped at him. She didn’t want him to think she was so affected by him.
“What did I say the first time?”
This time, she really did want to slap him. She managed to keep her smile intact while she spoke, “You came for me because you were not about to let a man have me through kidnapping.”
He slanted his gaze toward Mr. Adams and said nothing.
Braya figured it was best this way. He would avoid getting poked with her sword if he kept his mouth shut. She stared at the treetops for a moment or two before her next question popped into her head. “How did you get through the guards in the village and into John Armstrong’s house?”
“Aye,” Mr. Adams agreed. “You have not told us that part. When I arrived and spoke to Braya’s father about your promise to go in alone, find her, and get her the hell out, he told me you said you had done it before, many times.”
Many times? Braya thought. When? As a child thief? A soldier for the Governor of Etal? When he was in Rothbury? There was so much about him she did not know.
“In the past…” he began and paused, then continued. “I have found myself in situations where I needed to get in and out of a place quickly.”
