Armored Hearts

chapter 12

She was the girl at the tree. Gareth stood and blinked into the darkness, unsure about what to do next. The cold air wicked away the sweat from his forehead. She knew. His throat tightened as he swallowed this realization. He needed to talk to her now and find out the extent of her knowledge. She had shown up around the same time as the attacks. Was she involved in that as well? Gareth peered out into the darkness and was so tempted to just go after her, but he couldn’t risk being seen flying about. The armor. He quickly shook himself out of the daze and made his way to his trunk. He donned his armor before darting into the night sky.

The lights from the house and the noise of wedding guests filled the night. They were still inside enjoying the party he and Jessamine had left early. He clung to the shadows of trees as he made his way through the yard.

Was she really the girl from his childhood? If so, who else had she told? Did her father know? Had she told others? He’d been so careful with his secret, sharing it only with the person he trusted most, Tabitha. He hardly knew the woman who was now his wife. Could she be trusted? Was she in with Mr. Strong? His breath caught when he got to the oak tree and found her perched on a limb. Gareth landed and stood under the tree, looking up at her.

Jessamine’s eyes remained looking in the distance while she said, “So we meet again, Flying Knight, I told my husband about meeting you, but he treated me as if I were daft.” Jessamine looked back at Gareth before grinning with one eyebrow raised. “He was so convincing that it made me question what I knew.”

Gareth was at a loss for words. He swallowed and glanced around, making sure they were alone. Anger rattled his words as he spoke them slowly through gritted teeth, “And what exactly is it that you think you know? Who else have you told?”

Jessamine put her palm against the trunk of the tree and pursed her lips just before speaking. “I was hoping to meet my husband here instead of you, but I guess you’ll do. I need him to know that I didn’t come here to wed an English lord. I came here looking for the boy who saved me as child. I was here before when I was seven, visiting my aunt, and climbed this very tree. I asked a boy in a wheelchair to keep watch for me. I was always getting into mischief back then. I drove my mother mad with worry.” She gazed at him through narrowed eyes and smirked. “I still do actually.” She shook her head and continued. “Anyway, the limb broke, and I was falling until suddenly, I wasn’t.”

Jessamine released the trunk, balancing herself on the limb. It was then Gareth noticed what she had on; a black, long-sleeved blouse with a black corset hugging it to her at the bodice, black trousers, and high black boots.

“The boy was flying. Other than you, I’ve not met another person who can. I’ve never been able to shake the boy or the thrilling sensation of flight. In my mind, he has always been the most handsome and most noble young man of my acquaintance. When it came time to marry, no man trapped by gravity would do.” Her eyes widened with excitement as she stared into his face. “And then you flew me to safety the other night, and it was even more exhilarating than I remembered, perhaps because you flew me around longer than the first time. Not that the arrows didn’t frighten me, but I trusted you would keep me safe.”

Gareth stood as a statue. The gears of his mind worked itself into a jumbled mess. “Who else have you told this story to? Are you cohorts with the person who attacked us? Or do you expect me to think that a coincidence?”

Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw hardened. “No one. Not ever. You think I had some part in the attack?”

“You showed up and so did the attacker. What else am I to think?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I was just as surprised as you the other night. I came here looking for the boy who saved me. My parents put pressure on me to find a husband. They kept setting me up to meet nice gentlemen back in America, but all I could think of was the boy...you. I couldn’t exactly tell them why I wanted to come here in search for a husband, so I led them to believe I wanted a man of title.”

Jessamine glared at him. “I’m being completely honest with you about who I am. I think that honesty is paramount to a marriage. I want you to feel as safe with me as I do with you. Know I will do all I can to protect your secret.”

She glanced about in the darkness around them as if she too were making sure they were alone. “I’ve been fascinated with the idea of flight ever since we first met. There are a couple of brothers back in the states who have been working on flying, using some giant contraption, but I desire a more personal experience.” Jessamine bit her lip. “So I, too, have been working on flight.”

Her hand fluttered up, and she pulled a string on her corset. Gears began clicking in time as a layer of the black corset unfolded and spread out into wings. Jessamine smiled.

“Here goes,” she shouted and jumped from the tree.

Gareth lurched forward to leap up and catch her, but he realized she really was flying. She circled the space between the limb and the ground until she landed directly in front of Gareth. She pulled another string and again the clicking of gears sounded as the wings retracted. Gareth bent to the side in one direction and then another, trying to get a better view of the strange corset and where the gears could be hiding. As tightly as it cinched her waist, they had to be the very smallest and minute of gears.

He circled her, bending closer to get a better look at the garment usually worn under women’s clothing. He couldn’t ignore the fact that the breeches gave him a better look at her figure than the pretty dresses ever had, and he had to swallow. Then he caught her floral scent and stood up straight. The assault on his more basic nature as a man wasn’t helping him think clearly.

Before he could speak, she did. “So are you going to return the favor and show me who you really are? Tell me if my deduction is correct? Can we start this marriage as our true selves?”

Gareth hesistated, not sure if he could trust her. In one quick motion he moved forward and grabbed her up in his arms, taking flight. “Not here.”

Jessamine clung to him as they flew back to the house. She giggled and pulled away, jerking the cord again and releasing her wings. She stretched out, only holding Gareth’s hand, letting her wings hold her up alongside him.

They reached the yard moments later. The wedding guests had made their way home or to their rooms for the most part, with only the servants seen through the gas-lit windows of Waverly Park. Gareth, again, made sure no one saw them as he landed on his balcony. He released his embrace of her as soon her feet touched the floor. His flight continued into their room and landed at a distance, at first facing away, not sure he could follow through with it. He swallowed hard and turned back to face Jessamine.

She stood in the doorway and pulled the string which started another series of gear clicks. Her wings retracted, and she stepped into the room. Watching her with her hair loose about her face, falling down to her waist, her cheeks pink from the night air—she was lovely. He remembered the girl who spoke to him under the tree as a child. She’d not been frightened by his wheelchair as the others had been. She’d seen him, not the chair. Maybe she still saw him that way.

Gareth considered his bride, the mysterious woman he hardly knew, who had pursued him as a suitor. He’d thought it over and didn’t think she was part of the attacks. She’d been genuinely frightened that night the arrows chased them. But then again, he’d trusted Mr. Strong as well. Either way, she already knew the truth about him. He nodded and did something he thought he would never do around anyone but Tabitha. His hands took hold of the cold iron on both sides of his face, and he removed his helmet.

Jessamine moved closer, her dark eyes wide and moist with emotion. She placed her right hand on his bare cheek. “Thank you.”

Gareth suddenly questioned his actions and bolted away from her. His heart accelerated. He’d never imagined he’d have someone to share his secret with. The newness of it frightened him. He chose anger to fill in the blanks, as always, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. He turned on her and injected his words with venom. “Who have you told? You want me to believe you’ve really never told anyone else? That you and the attacker showing up at the same time is just coincidence?”

Jessamine turned and looked up under long, dark lashes. “I’ve spoken with Tabitha, but only because we sort of figured out that we both already knew.”

Gareth’s crossed his arms over his chest. Doubt caused his voice to quiver. “And no one else? Not your father or your mother? Not even as a child when it happened?”

Jessamine shook her head. “No one, I promise.” She moved closer. “I know what it is to keep secrets, to hide who you truly are. I’m expected to be a silly, frivolous girl, thinking only of pretty lace and the next party. Smart women, women who have a mind and want to use it, are shunned by society. Tabitha told me that here they are called bluestockings as an insult.” She stood directly in front of Gareth. Her dark eyes searched his for understanding. “I was hoping, after tonight, we could both feel free to be ourselves around each other. I don’t want to hide at home, and I want my home to be with you.”

Jessamine moved closer, kissing Gareth softly on the lips before backing away too quickly for Gareth’s hungry mind.

She’d really kept his secret all these years. Perhaps it was the idea of having someone he could trust after all which caused him to believe her. Or maybe it was the way she looked at him which made him want to take hold of her and pull her back to him, but all the uncertainty, the unknown of it all, engulfed him. “I never thought I would be able to share this other part of myself with anyone…or any of myself for that matter.” As he spoke the words, he realized this could end up being a very true marriage after all. The idea excited and frightened him at once.

Jessamine’s lips turned up a bit, but in a suppressed manner, before she spoke. “I have so many questions. I’m afraid I’ll blurt them all out at once and ruin everything with my babble. Can you tell me how you fly? Is it something you were born with? Have you always been able to do it? I ask because you looked almost as shocked as I felt the day I fell from the tree.”

Gareth kept his face blank as he remembered, “I was. It was the first time for me. Seeing you fall seemed to trigger it.”

Jessamine walked to the opposite wall and leaned her back against it. “Nice to know I was your first.” She glanced up under dark lashes again, her cheeks blushing pink as she bit her bottom lip.

Did she need to always flirt and stir up his thoughts into a jumbled mess? Gareth glanced away and clenched his jaw tight. He needed to think on what they were discussing instead of how it would feel to suddenly crash into Jessamine, pin her against the wall and taste her lips, her tongue, her chin, her neck and…

He shook the thoughts from his head and looked at her again since looking away wasn’t helping. He wasn’t ready to share everything. “I understand you came back here looking for the boy who saved you. I also understand you thought it might be me. What I don’t understand is that you still pursued me after speaking with me.”

“Really? Why is that?” She grinned and tilted her head.

Gareth rolled his eyes. “I’m known to be quite rude and difficult.”

Jessamine giggled, lighting her face and eyes with a knowing smile. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“If you didn’t, it means I need to work harder at your talents of perception.”

She was clever. Gareth could tell by her expressions that there was a lot going on inside her head, and it intrigued him as much as her pretty face. He was so enraptured by her, he hardly noticed the sound of the wind moving the balcony door just slightly.

Jessamine pushed up from the wall and sauntered toward him. She reached up and knocked her balled fist against his armor. “I knew your surly attitude was like this armor, something to keep people from knowing who you really are. Protection from getting hurt. Only you don’t need either with me.” She pushed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Gareth’s neck, bringing his lips to hers. This wasn’t a quick sisterly peck as before.

He encircled her with his arms, pulling her closer, wishing the hard armor wasn’t between them so he could feel her soft body pressed against his. Her lips were sweet as he took the kiss deeper. He was contemplating what to do next. After all, it was his wedding night.

A crash sounded behind him and he was nearly knocked over as two small bodies ran into his legs. He barely caught Jessamine as she started to fall.

“What the devil?” Gareth shouted. He pulled back from Jessamine. Tabitha’s dog and cat raced past the two of them. Patches, the cat, leapt onto the bed before springing with a wild growl out toward the balcony. The tabby landed on a man dressed in dark clothing hiding in the shadows. Rory growled, lunged, and sunk his teeth into the man’s calf.

Gareth stepped in front of Jessamine and drew his claymore, readying himself. He hoped all his training with Mr. Strong had been sufficient since he’d never actually engaged anyone in a real fight. His mind raced as he wondered how long the man had been there. What had he heard? But the animals’ momentum had the invader at the edge of the balcony and falling over it before Gareth could fully gather his thoughts.

“Stay here.” Gareth grabbed his helmet and pushed it onto his head before flying down to investigate. When he got to the lawn, there wasn’t anyone there, not even the animals. He glanced around before kneeling to see if there was any sign of which way they had gone. A thud sounded behind him. He spun around, a hand on the hilt of his sword, only to find Jessamine standing there. “I told you to stay put.”

“But I wanted to help. Who was that?”

“I don’t know. Fly back up and bolt the window and door until I get back. He could be armed and you aren’t wearing armor.”

“Number one, I can’t fly up. I can only glide down. Second, the fabric of my outfit is a special weave my mother designed for the military. She doesn’t just innovate the production of textiles; she’s been working on the fabrics, too.” She pulled at the puffy sleeve of her shirt. “This is as tough as chainmail with a double layer of it around my bodice where vital organs are.” She shrugged. “I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy, falling out of trees and such. It worried my mother, thus she originally designed the fabric for me. When I decided to try and fly, she made me this flight suit.”

Gareth was about to argue when she interrupted him. “Look, I’m not the sit-at-home, prettying-my-hair type. Another pair of eyes and a working brain can’t hurt in trying to find out who is after you.”

He sighed and reached out to push a strand of Jessamine’s hair behind her ear. “Your head is still unprotected. We wouldn’t want your pretty face and highly intelligent mind damaged by an arrow.”

“You think I’m pretty?” Jessamine reached behind her back and pulled out a stocking cap. “I have this, and it’s made of the same fabric. It’s not very sexy, but I will wear it if it means I can come.” She pulled the black mask over her head and down to the top of her nose. There was a cutout for her eyes. “Let’s be off now because the man is either getting away or being eaten by your house pets. Let’s go find out which, shall we?”