“And I won’t allow you to coddle me.”
“This is my decision, Olivia. And we’re not staying.” I veered my mount in the direction that would take us back to the castle. Before I could dig in my heels and drive the steed forward, Olivia slipped out of my grip and hopped down from the saddle.
She stumbled and fell to the ground, thankfully into a heap of brush. Even so, a spurt of anxiety sent my heart diving into my chest, and I jumped down after her.
“My lady,” I said reaching for her arm to assist her to her feet. “Are you hurt?”
Before I could take hold of her, she bounded up and darted several feet away. She spread her feet, crossed her arms, and glared at me. “I am not fragile and will not break, so stop treating me as though I will.”
Was I? I stared at her, the defiant tilt of her chin, the glint in her eyes. Yes, she was a strong and skilled woman, but that knowledge didn’t quell my fears. It only spiked them. She was too headstrong and unafraid, and someday that would get her into trouble. I wouldn’t sit by and watch that happen. In fact, I loathed the thought of having to watch her get hurt, possibly even mortally.
I’d already had to sit helplessly by as one woman I loved perished, unable to stop the disaster from happening. I wouldn’t stand back and let that same thing happen again.
“You are not as invincible as you believe,” I stated calmly, taking a step toward her.
“I may not be invincible, but watching a hunt will not bring me harm.”
“It’ll only incite you all the more to desire to participate. And I won’t allow you to join a boar hunt. Not now or in the future.”
“Who gives you permission to determine what I may or may not do?”
Again, I took a step toward her, intending to sling her over my shoulder and carry her back to Tolleymuth if I must. “We are betrothed. I’ll be your husband in less than two days. You are bound to obey me.”
Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared with her displeasure. I didn’t want to make her unhappy, but I also wanted to keep her safe.
“If you truly intend to marry me,” she said in a dangerously low voice, “then you must know I shall not be ordered about like one of your hunting dogs. I would have you weigh my opinions and ideas with as much respect as you give Lord Pitt’s.”
So she doubted that I intended to marry her? My own doubts had assailed me over the past few days, but I didn’t plan to run away from my commitment. Did I?
I shook my head to clear the frustration and confusion from the previous restless night. Even if I followed through, even if we wedded, could I weigh her opinions and ideas the same way I did those of my peers? Most women obeyed their husbands without question. Giselle always had. And Lady Glynnis obeyed Pitt.
“I’m not treating you like a dog,” I finally said.
“Out of everything I just said, you chose that as your response?” She huffed and then stomped away. She attempted to be graceful and hold her chin high, but the terrain was littered with windfall and prevented a swift and easy exit.
She’d basically accused me of avoiding the real issues. But what was the heart of the matter? Why was I really upset? Deep inside I suspected my past and all that had happened with Giselle was locking me within a prison I didn’t know how to escape.
“Olivia, wait.” I gentled my tone and began to stride after her. I wasn’t sure that I was the right man for her, but at the same time, I wasn’t ready to lose her. “Please.”
At my plea, she stopped. But she didn’t turn.
Behind us, the rapid thud of horse hooves told me our moment of privacy was nearly at an end. The pounding belonged to several horses and bore down upon us with an urgency that raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
Something was amiss, though I knew not what.
Olivia, hearing the sound of the horses, finally pivoted. At the widening of her eyes and the fear that flashed there, I guessed the newcomers were not my men returning to chaperone us.
I spun and scanned the woods. I felt the rumble beneath my feet, detected a new scent in the air, and tasted the determination to fend off any threat.
In a fraction of time, I determined that three horses were bearing down on us. I’d already unsheathed both my broadsword and the boar sword. I could fell two men at once. The third would be a challenge, as I would likely have to take out my dagger.
“Aldric!” Olivia called in alarm. “Take care!”
Before I could assess the meaning of her warning, I caught a glimpse of a cudgel seconds before it slammed into the side of my head. The world exploded into a burst of stars and pain. My body crumpled. And all went black.
Chapter
18
“Aldric!” I cried again as he collapsed a half a dozen paces from me. He hit the ground hard, his eyes closed. My heart seized with the fear that he was dead.
To my right the cloaked man who’d thrown the cudgel was bearing directly upon me.
I lunged for Aldric’s sword, which had fallen from his grip and lay by his side. I swept it up and at the same moment swung at the incoming rider.
I would have sliced off his arm had he not jerked away and rolled from his horse at the same time. The movement was familiar, one I’d learned during my years of training.
“Cecil?” Even though Aldric’s sword was heavier than I was accustomed to, I wrested it back under my control and stepped warily toward the cloaked figure now crouched on the ground.
He sprang up and at the same moment tossed his hood back, revealing his face.
The Moor’s bronzed skin and narrow face with the black goatee should have been a welcoming sight. But I was too worried about Aldric.
I retraced my steps and dropped to my knees beside Aldric before gently rolling him to his back. At the warmth of breath coming from his lips and the rise and fall of his chest, I expelled my panic. A rounded knot was forming on his head above his temple, but he had no gash.
Cecil had rendered him unconscious. But I was acquainted with Cecil’s skills enough to realize he could have killed Aldric if he’d wanted to. “Why did you choose not to kill him?” I asked, glancing up to see two other riders rapidly approaching.
“Turn him over,” Cecil said urgently. “Pretend he’s dead and walk away.”
The Moor’s instructions bewildered me. I couldn’t walk away from Aldric, not when he was injured and unconscious. He needed me.
“Make haste,” Cecil hissed, tugging me to my feet.
I resisted. “I shall not leave him.”
Cecil jerked me closer. “Listen to me, Olivia. If you want to save him, then leave him.”
At that moment, my gaze connected with the lead rider pulling alongside us. Underneath the hood of his cloak, I glimpsed auburn hair the same rich hue as my own, a handsome but hard face, and penetrating eyes that belonged to only one man. My father.
He surveyed Aldric’s unmoving form. “Is he dead?”
Another rider reined his horse behind my father, a man I recognized as his commander, Sir Eldridge, his strongest knight. He was short and stocky, not an overly large man. However, he was a brute and wielded a heavy hand with his men.
Cecil pushed me away from Aldric. “If he’s not dead yet, he will be soon.”
Father watched the fallen knight a moment, testing Cecil’s words.
A tremor of fear raced through my blood turning me cold even though the day was growing hot. My father clearly wanted Aldric dead. But Cecil had disobeyed the kill order. What could that mean?
I needed to distract my father, take his attention away from Aldric. With a jerk to free myself from Cecil, I approached my father’s steed. I lifted my chin and kept my countenance hard and controlled. He despised any sign of weakness and would dismiss me at once if he sensed I was afraid.
“So you finally decided to rescue me,” I stated.
“Where is the chalice?” His greeting was as hard as mine. I should have known he’d get straight to the reason for this encounter.
“Lord Pitt does not have it in his possession.”