He smiled at her, her naïve nature. “Would that I could,” he murmured, his gaze drifting over her face. “But I would not put you in such danger. Besides, I would probably kill myself racing home to you every night after a day of fighting.”
“It would be worth it.”
He chuckled, pulling her into a snug embrace. “Aye, it would,” he said. “Even on my deathbed, every moment with you would be well worth it.”
Ellowyn held him tightly, relishing the feel of him in her arms. Her heart was racing madly, her limbs tingling with excitement. As she opened her eyes to say something to him, she caught a shadow moving towards them quickly. She also caught a glint of steel heading in their direction. With a gasp, she managed to release Brandt and give him a shove sideways at the same time.
“Get down!” she cried as she fell backwards over the bench. “Behind you!”
Brandt didn’t stop to question her. He rolled off the bench and onto his knees, turning to face whatever had Ellowyn’s panicked attention. He was without his broadsword but he carried two daggers. Reaching into the holster lodged into his big boot, he removed a dirk that was nearly a foot long and, taking swift aim, hurled it at the rapidly approaching figure.
The wicked-looking knife caught the man in the neck and he collapsed forward onto the bench. The broadsword in his hand clattered to the ground and Brandt swiftly retrieved it, turning it against the man in a split-second and driving it into the back of the man’s neck. He stilled immediately as the blood gushed.
Ellowyn was on her bum just a few feet away, eyes wide and hands against her mouth. Before she realized it, Brandt was sweeping her into his arms and carrying her back to the keep.
“Come along, my lady,” he said calmly. “That is enough excitement for one night.”
“That… that man,” she gasped. “He… he would kill us.”
Brandt was quite composed. “Not us,” he said. “Me. I told you that men were out to kill me. I did not exaggerate.”
She lifted her head from his broad shoulder, looking at him with big eyes. “Men underyourcommand?”
He wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was focused on the keep. “An assassin,” he said quietly. “It happens all of the time.”
She struggled to overcome her shock. Pushing herself from his arms, they ended up facing each other just outside of the kitchen entrance. Warmth and noise radiated from the open door as they stood in the dark and quiet yard. Ellowyn was working herself up into one of those lathers he’d seen when he had first met her. He could see it in her eyes.
“Stop this instant,” she said, holding up her hands to him in a halting gesture. “Do you mean to tell me that your own men are so disloyal that they try to kill you for… formoney?”
He sighed heavily, hands on his hips as he shook his head. “I have French in my command,” he said as if it was all quite normal. “Or I have men in my command who have French brothers or cousins. Our two countries are so intertwined that such things are not unusual. Men fight for those who pay the most. A few coins to a soldier under my command, a promise of finer rewards, and he becomes an assassin for my enemies.Loyalties to a liege are bought and sold, my lady. This is the world I live in.”
Ellowyn gazed up at him, digesting his words. “What about loyalty to a man simply because you respect him?”
“There is far less of that than you think.”
“So fealty goes to the highest bidder?”
“Poverty, hatred, and greed do desperate things to a man’s character.”
Ellowyn stared at him. Then, she shook her head. “Your world scares me,” she said softly. “Look around you. This is my world. It is a world of peace and contentment. Your world is frightening.”
“Then it is best you learn what you will be marrying into before the deed is done. Shall I still speak with your father or have you changed your mind?”
Ellowyn felt sick to her stomach. She held his gaze a moment longer before looking away. “I fear I am already attached to you,” she murmured. “I do not want anything to happen to you, Brandt.”
“That is not an answer. Shall I speak with your father or not?”
She looked at him, sharply. “Are you so cold to all of this?” she snapped. “Do you not care what I am feeling?”
“Of course I care what you are feeling, but as I explained, it is the way of things. Marriage to you will not change it.”
He was so cold in his delivery, so matter of fact. Ellowyn’s injured expression regarded him carefully.
“Is marriage just another business transaction to you?” she asked softly. “Because if it is, then we can stop it right now, shake hands, and go along our separate ways. I do not consider marriage a business transaction. I told you once before that when I marry it shall be for love, not because I can broker a better deal or find a richer man. It is because Ifeelsomething forhim. I wonder if you can feel anything at all for me of if you look at me as another acquisition.”
He was gazing seriously in the moonlight. “Do you love me?”
“I am very fond of you. I am sure it will turn into love at some point.”
