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“Then I guess you had better not get into any more trouble, eh?” he asked, smiling.

She didn’t smile back.

“I was attempting a jest,” he said, elbowing her.

“I guess it wasn’t funny,” she told him.

“When this crisis is over, I promise to give you more pleasant memories.”

She stared at him in confusion.

His smile returned. “Ah. Have you been kept so sheltered with your lady that no men have played with you?”

“Played with me?” she asked faintly.

“The play of words between men and women.” He grinned. “I know that it is not the time for teasing, but when I look at you, it is easy to forget that I mustn’t talk about ‘pleasant memories.’ You are a beautiful woman; you should be used to men forgetting themselves with you.”

She knew she was blushing, and she despised herself for it. When men forgot themselves with Lady Elizabeth, it was with a poem too romantic, or holding her hand for too long when a dance was done. There were no remarks hinting at unsuitable intimacies.

But she had heard that unmarried men never waited for the marriage bed, so it was with maidservants that they had…experiences.

And Elizabeth was a maidservant now. She had to make Sir John understand that she wasn’t interested in a dalliance with him.

“Sir John, I am not a woman you can tease,” she said softly, hoping no one overheard. “I have a duty to my lady and this castle, and that is all I can think about.”

He leaned closer. “I am simply enjoying your company. Your prettiness and your ability to flirt simply make me forget⁠—”

“Now you’re blaming me for your behavior?” she whispered.

He laughed, drawing the gaze of many people around them. Adalia gave the two of them a surprised look.

“Anne, it is far too enjoyable to tease you, but I will do my best to restrain myself.”

“Please do,” she said between clenched teeth.

During the meal, she spoke to him as little as possible. Philip came in from the tiltyard briefly to join them. He must have sensed the tension, because soon he was looking between them in confusion. But he shook his head and remained silent.

When Philip got up to leave, Sir John said, “You seem to be enjoying your duties as the captain’s clerk.”

Philip grinned. “I was doing inventory in the armory when someone insisted that a mere clerk could not hold his own amidst trained soldiers.”

“And you showed them otherwise.”

“I am in the process of it. Have a good afternoon, Anne.”

She frowned and said nothing.

Philip glanced at his master. “I don’t seem to know what is going on today.”

“I have been assigned your duties,” Elizabeth finally said.

“And I have been assigned to my own,” Sir John said. “I will be able to earn wages while I recover.”

“That is a good thing.” Philip studied Elizabeth. “I think. Anne, have you good writing skills? Sir John is a demanding master.”

Before Elizabeth could speak, Sir John said, “Oh, she will be quick to assure you that I am not her master. We are only temporarily working together.”

She could not take their laughter for another moment. She rose to her feet to leave.