Page 45 of Dancing On Air

Chapter9

Connor stripped off his clothes and dove into the water of the lake. It had been a long morning emptying the gong pit of the abbey, since he sent his brother home and had to do all the work by himself. After emptying and cleaning out his wagon, he now needed to wash his body too. Using the soap that Eleanor had brought him from the chandler shop, Connor had scrubbed the stench first from his clothes and boots, and then from his body and hair.

It was a warm day and he had worked up a sweat. It felt free and invigorating floating in the cool waters of the lake that was halfway between the abbey and his home. He broke through the water’s surface with his eyes closed and his face raised to the sun. God’s eyes, it felt good. For a moment he had almost forgotten all his troubles, feeling like a youth again. He used to always sneak away to the lake with his friends and loved lying on a rock in the sun, even though nobles weren’t allowed to do such frivolous, carefree things. After saving Eleanor from almost drowning, he had been sure to teach her how to swim, holding her up so her head wouldn’t go below the water. It felt good to help people. Or at least it used to. Now, all his worries were about helping his family and himself.

He emerged from the water, wringing out his long hair and walking back to the shore.

That’s when he saw her.

Eleanor stood on the shore next to her horse, looking like the angel he always knew her to be.

“Eleanor,” he said, frozen to the spot and unable to move.

“Hello, Connor.” She shyly turned her head and looked the other way to avoid his nakedness, even though he wasn’t at all embarrassed that she saw him in the nude. “I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“All right,” he said, his eyes flitting over to his clothes laid out in the sun on a rock to dry. He made his way back to his horse, where he had dry clothes stored in the travel bag. “Give me a minute to dress.”

“Of course.”

As he stepped into the dry trews, he glanced back over his shoulder, catching Eleanor watching him. It did his heart good. So, she was truly still interested in him after all.

“See anything you like?” He flashed a quick smile.

Her eyes opened wide and her head snapped around when she realized she’d been caught peeking at him. Once again, she looked in the opposite direction. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“It’s all right. You can look now,” he told her, leaving his chest bare and walking over to greet her.

“Oh!” she said, her eyes settling on his chest. He noticed her gaze dropping lower and lower, settling on his waist. “You are still not dressed.”

“I’m wet and without a towel. I’ll just go without a tunic until I dry off in the sun. Unless it bothers you?”

“Of course,” she said, and cleared her throat. “I mean, nay. It doesn’t bother me at all.” Her cheeks looked flushed and she seemed to be talking in a gibberish manner, as if she couldn’t think straight.

That pleased Connor for some reason. Mayhap it was only because he liked knowing that his nakedness affected her. That told him he was still desirable to a noblewoman. The only women who had ever seen him without clothes were whores. And they never blushed like a maiden when looking at his naked chest, the way Eleanor was doing right now.

“You shouldn’t have come here by yourself. It’s not safe on the road,” he scolded her, worried for her safety. “How many times do I need to tell you to take an escort with you?”

“I’m not alone. I have an escort. Two of them, actually.”

“You do?” He squinted in the sun, looking for a guard or a monk but didn’t see anyone. “Where?”

“Raven is here with her sword, and Lark with her dagger. The both of them are waiting for me just around the bend behind the trees if I need them. But I won’t. I know I am safe now that I am here with you.” Her words were so sweet that they touched his heart.

“Oh.” Now it was his turn to react the same way. He wondered if the other ladies had seen him naked as well. Either way, none of this really mattered, so he dismissed the thought from his head. “You said you wanted to speak to me?”

“Yes,” she said, clearing her throat. “It seems the abbess accidentally underpaid you for the work you did cleaning out the gong pit. You left before she could stop you. I told her I’d bring it to you. Here you are.” She held out a pouch that jingled with coins as it dangled between her long, elegant fingers.

“Truly, Eleanor?” He raised a brow, knowing she was lying. “The abbess paid the amount we agreed upon,” he informed her. He knew what she was doing, although she might have thought she was being clever. “If you wanted to see me so badly, sweetheart, you should have come up with a better lie than that.”

She made a face that told him his assumptions were true.

“All right, I admit I did want to see you again,” she told him. “And the abbess didn’t give me this money to bring to you, but it is something I personally wanted to do. It’s money for your family. And to help your ailing father.”

Anger grew within him. Connor didn’t like a woman constantly providing for him. That was a man’s job and she was belittling him by doing so. “I don’t need or want your money,” he spat. “Put it away and don’t insult me again, because I don’t like it.” He walked back to his horse, attaching the steed back up to the wagon, since he had let the animal drink and eat grass while he bathed.

“Your pride is going to be the ruin of you yet, Connor. Let it go,” she said, following him. “Please take the money.” Once again, she held out the pouch. “Your father might need medicine.”

“We won’t know anything about my father’s condition until your friend Rose shows up, and she still isn’t here yet.”