“No.”
“Then you do have interest?”
“Can you not see it in my face, even now?”
She could, but she was terrified of this man she did not know, yet was enormously attracted to. He had the power to bend her emotions like grass in the wind.
“I see a man who says one thing, yet demonstrates another,” she said after a moment. “I think you make excuses to soothe me. I shall not be made a fool of.”
He sighed, feeling like he was losing a battle. This one involved feeling and he hadn’t a sword big enough to fight it.
“I understand your reservation. What would convince you that I am a man of my word?”
She looked at him, thoughtfully. “Would you consider yourself a strong man, Sir Garren?”
“Stronger than most, I suppose.”
“Then if you are so strong, what should it matter what my family thinks? If you are so strong, their opinion should mean nothing to you. You can stand on your strength alone.”
He gazed at her a long moment. Then, he smiled. “Wiser words were never spoken, my lady.”
“Perhaps. But will you heed them?”
“I can see that it will cost me your respect not to. And your respect means more to me than theirs.”
She was surprised. “It does?”
“It does.”
His expression made her feel giddy. They stood there on the sturdy wooden steps, gazing at each other, feeling a tide of new emotion sweep through them. Garren knew it was unhealthy for him, but he couldn’t help it. It was far easier to give in than to resist. Perhaps he should just learn to work with his traitorous emotions so that they did not interfere in his thought process. He had always been the adaptable sort. With that thought, he let go of his fear and simply enjoyed something he’d never felt before in his life.
It was a bold move to reach out and take her hand. It was even bolder to place a tender kiss on the inside of her wrist. He could feel her hand tremble and it pleased him tremendously. He wanted so badly to kiss her lips, but he wouldn’t dare. Her soft hand in his calloused one, for the moment, was enough.
“There you are!”
The roar came from the entrance to the larger tower. Startled, Derica and Garren looked up to see Alger and Lon standing in the doorway, swords in hand. One-eyed Alger leapt onto the steps, pulling Derica away from Garren.
“So you take her out here with lustful intentions,” he growled. “I shall teach you some manners, le Mon. Women in the Holy Land may respond like dogs in heat, but civilized English women do not.”
Alger was armed, but Garren remained cool. “I am without my sword. If you would allow me to collect it, I would be happy to teach you a lesson of my own.”
A weapon came flying at him, courtesy of Lon. Garren deftly caught it, noting it was nothing the size or strength of his own sword. Alger didn’t permit him to take a breath before he was flying at him, sword wielded high.
Garren easily deflected the blow, but he was at a disadvantage. He was half way up the wooden stairs and to lose his balance would cause him to tumble several steps. So he descended carefully, unable to take the offense against Alger as the man pounded him mercilessly. But once they were on the level ground of the ward, the tides turned.
“Uncle Alger,” Derica begged. “Please stop this. You’re being foolish.”
Alger growled and grunted, once landing blows, now deflecting them. He ignored his niece, who pulled away from Lon and scampered down the steps.
“Stop this, I say!” she hissed. “You’re going to be injured!”
“The only one who is going to be injured is…,” he grunted, warding off a strong blow aimed at his head, “…your intended. Any man who attempts to sully your honor gets the same.”
“He didn’t attempt to sully my honor,” Derica insisted. “He was a perfect knight. In fact, he is the one who removed me from the hall so your boyish games would not injure me.”
“You mean that he removed you from the hall to take advantage of you,” Lon said behind her. “He is had his way with whores in the Holy Land and now he wants to have his way with you.”
Somehow the thought of Garren being intimate with dark-skinned women didn’t sit well with Derica. In fact, the thought of him with any woman didn’t sit well with her. She watched Garren toy with her uncle, convinced he could kill the older man if he wanted to.
