“When you left, I was facing my final competition. I lost.”
There was something in his voice that bothered her. Her brows gathered together. “It was just one event. You won many others.”
He shrugged.
“You were still named champion?”
“Aye.”
She didn’t understand why one loss was so important to him, but she sensed that it was. Very important. “It was just a game.”
He gave her a long look. “Not to me.”
“Why is winning so important to you?”
“Because I know what it’s like to lose.”
It was almost as if he were somehow blaming her. “Well, I’m sorry, but as I had nothing to do with it—”
She tried to sweep by him, but he took her by the arm. “Didn’t you? You left before we finished.” Her heart was fluttering wildly.It’s fear, she told herself. “I could almost think you were running away. Just like you are now. If you don’t care, what are you scared of?”
She froze. “Nothing.”
His eyes held hers. “I don’t believe you.”
He leaned closer, and Mary felt a burst of panic. “We were—are—finished, whether you choose to accept it or not. Believe it or not, you are not the only man in the kingdom, my lord.”
His eyes flared. She didn’t know what provoked her to challenge him, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
“You can’t be talking about Felton?”
Something about his attitude infuriated her. Did he think the handsome knight could not be interested in her?
She arched a brow. “Just because I did not wish to marry you does not mean I could not be persuaded to marry someone else. Why not the most handsome man at Berwick?”
She was doing it again. Challenging a man who couldn’t resist a challenge. Who was volatile. Raring for a fight. It was like throwing confections to a bairn and daring him not to eat them.
He leaned closer, and for a moment she feared he would kiss her. The pounding in her chest was because she didn’t want him to. She didn’t want to feel the heat of those warm, soft lips on hers.
His gaze pinned her. “I think you’d better reconsider.”
Her breath was so tight she barely managed, “Why?”
He smiled. “Because I don’t think Felton would like having his wife in my bed, and that’s where you are going to be.”
Mary gasped. But he didn’t let her reply. He opened the door and left her standing alone in the room, gaping.
Fourteen
“When will you go?” Sir Adam asked.
Mary hadn’t missed the slight frown between his dark brows. It had taken most of the day, but she had finally managed to pull Sir Adam aside for a few minutes to speak with him privately. Knowing how much she enjoyed watching Davey, he suggested they sit near a window in the Great Hall that overlooked the practice yard.
The warriors weren’t yet in position, but Mary’s eyes kept straying outside. How she would miss this! Her chest pinched again at the unfairness. But it could not be avoided. Her last conversation with Sir Kenneth was proof enough. And if there was one thing Mary had learned, it was that when she sensed danger, she should run and not wait around for someone else to help her.
In his bed?Her stomach dropped.Dear God.
“As soon as transportation can be arranged,” she answered. “Tomorrow, if possible.”
