But why should she take on guard duty every day when they had so many capable guards? She’d stayed with him for almost a full night and day when he was sick and stopped in to see him each day since then, albeit, making sure someone else was always there, too.
Each time she attempted to start a casual conversation with the man, she was reminded how incapable she was at small talk. Combined with the way his handsome features drew her gaze like a magnet tugged a compass north, she was better off avoiding him.
She made sure she stayed long enough to allow him a bit of time outside, though. Every human being deserved such, and his spirits always seemed lighter after a few minutes in the sunlight.
Maybe the outings also allowed him a chance to study his surroundings, to examine the best route of escape. But he wouldn’t be allowed the opportunity to flee, so that possibility mattered little.
She tapped once on the storage room door before entering. Perhaps they should call it the holding room now, since all storage had been removed when they first brought Evan here. Or perhaps they should name the area the dungeon, as he had done more than once, sometimes with a glare and sometimes with a humorous tip to his lips.
As she pushed open the door, her gaze immediately found the owner of those lips. His eyes had already landed on her, and their power flowed through her like water in a hot spring, both scalding and soothing at the same time.
She had to work to pull her gaze from his, shifting into her warrior mindset as she turned to Leonard. “I’ll take over for the night.” She spoke in English, as she’d long stopped trying to hide anything she said around Evan.
Leonard nodded and stepped forward, making his way around her to the door. But then he hesitated.
Tension gripped her chest, but she forced her tone to stay casual. “Did anything happen today?” Surely someone would have come to find her if there had been cause for alarm.
A guilty expression crossed Leonard’s face. The knot inside her tightened. The man scratched his nose, as though hating to tell her what he had to. “Marcellus came by. I let him speak to Evan for a short time. Thought it might settle his eagerness. Then I sent him away and told him not to come back until you said he could.”
Anger washed through her, but she swallowed down the emotion to keep control of herself. “I told him not to come at all. I made sure he understood. Over and over, I said no.” She had to clench her teeth with those last words to keep more from spewing out.
Leonard nodded sympathetically. “I know you did. But you know Marcellus.” He switched to Italian. “He said you’d had enough time to decide whether the stranger could be trusted. In fact, he said if you weren’t sure yet, he’d be happy to tell you Evan was a good man.”
A laugh slipped out before she could stop it, and she shook her head, then switched back to English for her answer. “If you see Marcellus, tell him I want a word with him in the morning.”
Leonard saluted. “Oui, Commandant.” Then he headed out the door with a jaunt in his step.
Her mind churned with the impact of Marcellus’s visit as she took her place against the wall. Perhaps Marcellus, with all his innocence, might have pulled information from the man she hadn’t. She should have asked Leonard what they’d spoken of. Had Marcellus said anything that could endanger the village? There wasn’t really anything the lad could share. The people of Laurent had no secrets.
It was Evan who withheld details they needed to know.
10
Brielle held her focus on their prisoner. Evan watched her as he sat on the fur, legs crossed at the ankles. His look was more than a casual glance. No, he seemed to be searching her expression for something. Intensity marked his gaze. What was he looking for?
Why hadn’t she asked Leonard what Evan and Marcellus spoke of? She would simply have to inquire of this man. She could always check with Leonard later to confirm what Evan said. He looked like he had something to ask her anyway.
She worked for a smile, or at least a softer expression. “Have you already eaten your evening meal?”
He nodded, a slow calculating dip of his chin. “Audrey’s food tasted as good as ever. And no more poisoning, it seems.” His lips tipped, as if to prove he didn’t mean the comment. “I assume the fresh elk meat was your doing?”
Although the question couldn’t really be considered a compliment, the way his voice softened made it feel like one.
She gave a single nod. “We have many who hunt, though.” And maybe she had pictured Evan’s delight at the fresh game when she brought the bull elk to Audrey, but she certainlydidn’t want credit for thoughtfulness. This man didn’t need to know how often his image entered her thoughts. He should think he disappeared from her mind the moment she left this room.
She turned her focus back to more productive matters. “Have you need of anything for the night?”
Evan shook his head. “Not unless you have something I can do to pass the time. I’m happy to braid rugs or rope—anything at all that’ll keep my hands, and hopefully my mind, busy.” Again, there was a tip of his lips that could’ve been a smile, but without a sparkle in his eye, the look turned wry.
Maybe it was his words, or maybe it was the thought of how she would feel being locked away in this little room for day upon day, but something compressed inside her. “I’ll see what I can find in the morning. Maybe Marcellus’s mother will have something you can do to help.”
A light slipped into his gaze, reminding her of the discussion they would need to have. She hadn’t intended such a perfect segue but best to grasp hold of it.
She dropped to sit on the stone floor, wrapping her arms around her knees in front of her. She was about to open her mouth to start the discussion, but Evan beat her to it.
“I met Marcellus today.” He nodded in the direction Leonard had gone. “I guess the other guard told you.”
She offered a grim smile. “Marcellus is ... eager. It’s been hard to keep him from coming to see you.”
