by Donna Grant
She shrugged. “My feet, I suppose, my lord. I was on the road this morning when I encountered an elderly man with a horse that was more dead than alive. He was headed here and I offered my aid to him.”
It was a good story, and one Hugh could check for himself since he knew she spoke of Jobbins and his mare Ol’ Ruth.
“May I ask you a question, my lord?” Danielle asked.
“Of
course.”
“Are you at war?”
A fission of fear snaked down Hugh’s spine. “Why do you ask?”
“The guards have doubled since I have been here, and it is highly unlikely that they are for me.”
Hugh smiled despite himself. Danielle had spunk. Whatever she had endured in her years traveling, if she did indeed travel, it had only made her stronger.
“Indeed, we are at war. In fact, it might be prudent for you to leave soon, though with the storm about to blow in, you might be here for a few days. I’ve no desire to put more innocents at risk than I must.”
“I’ve no wish to be caught in a war between two lords,” she said as she stood as still as stone. “Though Lady Mina worries I might freeze to death, I have been in worse and will survive nicely. If it is all right with you, I will be on my way.”
Hugh clenched his jaw as he debated on whether to let her leave or not. “I cannot, in good conscious, let you leave in such vile weather.”
If they were lucky, the storm would hold off the creatures long enough for Danielle to leave before he had one more innocent to think about.
“Please, Danielle. Mina will never forgive me if you leave now.”
“If you’re sure,” she said hesitantly.
Hugh nodded all the while wondering if he’d made the greatest mistake of his life.
He walked out of the chamber and into the hallway, but still he couldn’t get his instincts to tell him if he had done wrong or right.
He found Mina still before the hearth in the great hall, her expression one of contemplation. She hurried to him as soon as she saw him.
“Well?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t tell one way or another, my love. There’s a storm brewing to the west, a nasty one at that. I couldn’t let her leave and be out in it.”
“And if she’s part of the evil?”
“I’ll have Gabriel keep watch over her. If she’s an innocent, well…we’ll have to A WARRIOR’S HEART
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make sure we get her out in time.”
* * * *
Danielle smiled as Hugh left her chamber. She had expected him to ask more questions, but the longer he had stayed the more she realized he was the type of man where actions spoke louder than words. She would have to be careful because she knew he would be watching her.
She yawned and decided it was a good time to test the bathing chambers Mina had spoken of. Danielle walked from her chamber and turned to the left toward the stairs. Just before she reached the stairs she encountered one of the servants.
“Can you take me to the bathing chamber?” she asked.
The girl, several years younger, smiled and bobbed her dark head. “This way, milady.”
Danielle knew she should correct her, but it felt good to be noticed for what she really was — a lady. She followed the young girl down several flights of stairs and down hallways until she found herself standing outside a large open chamber.
“There are cloths to wash with as well as to dry,” the girl explained. “No one is inside, milady, and the water is hot.”
Danielle nodded her thanks as she parted the material and stepped through them.
Her eyes grew round as she looked at the sheer size of the wooden tub. Two, possibly three grown men could easily fit inside it comfortably.
The water beckoned her, and God help her, Danielle couldn’t wait to climb inside.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a hot bath. Usually she only had enough water to wash her face, though most times she had bathed in any streams or ponds she had come across.
Once her old gown and underclothes were off, she dipped her toe into the water.
A sigh escaped her as chills raced across her skin and the steam from the water molded her hair to her face.
She slipped into the water, surprised to find how deep the tub was. She leaned back against the sides as the heat flowed over her, enveloping her in a cocoon of warmth and relaxation.
How long she sat in the water she had no idea. She must have dozed because when she opened her eyes she felt disoriented for a moment. The water had begun to chill so she hurriedly unbraided her hair to wash it and body, then hopped out of the tub to dry off.
It was one of the many times she wished she had another gown, but it was easier to move around without lugging a bag around with clothes. At least that’s what she kept telling herself.
She leaned forward and flipped her hair over to wring out the water as best she could. Then, she wrapped the cloth around her as she reached for her gown. Except it wasn’t there.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Mina said as she walked into the chamber. “I had your gown taken to be washed. Elle is more your size, so she loaned you one of her gowns until yours is clean.”
Danielle swallowed. “Thank you. That is too kind.”
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Mina waved away her words. “Nonsense. Let me know if you need anything else.”
She could only stare at the gown in her hand. It was exquisite. Not quite blue, but not quite green. It wasn’t just the gown that Mina had given her, but undergarments as well.
With her hair still hanging wet and tangled about her, Danielle hurried to put on the clean clothes. She smoothed her hand over the soft material of the gown. The wide, trailing sleeves, collar and deep hem held a floral pattern that matched the color of the gown. And once she wrapped the braided belt twice around her waist, then let its length hand nearly to her feet, she felt like a queen.
How long had it been since she had dressed as a lady? How long had it been since she had acted like a person of her station should? The years had passed by in a blur because she had been focused on one thing…Gabriel.
Just for a moment, one instant in time, she wanted to forget the past and the revenge that ruled her world. She wanted to forget the Great Evil. She just wanted to be Lady Danielle, a woman who searched for her future.
She sighed and slowly walked from the chamber. It was her own chamber that she sought, for there she could sit before the fire and comb out her hair as she tried to forget the past.
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Chapter Seven
Gabriel barely had time to wash up and change his tunic before the evening meal.
The food was more than delicious at Stone Crest, but sitting at the long table with the men he called brothers and their wives was becoming infinitely more difficult each time.
It just drove home to him how alone he was in the world.
As he hurriedly descended the steps he recalled that Hugh had asked to speak to him before the evening meal. Time had gotten away from Gabriel as he checked the armory. Whatever it was, he knew Hugh would speak to him later.
It wasn’t until he started toward the dais that he noticed a woman in the chair beside his. For an instant, he was sure he recognized the woman. He slowed his steps and studied her face. It was the face of an angel, one so beautiful and graceful that it couldn’t possibly be real.
Her golden blonde hair was parted down the middle and hung over her breasts in two thick plaits. As he made his way toward the dais, he saw her welcoming smile she bestowed upon anyone that passed near her. Her lips were full, ripe and her mouth wide—erotic lips that he suddenly yearned to fill on his skin.
Gabriel stopped and tried to swallow. He couldn’t get closer to her yet, not when he hadn’t had his fill of looking at her. He needed to s
ee more of her creamy skin, unmarked by a single blemish. He needed to see her gently arching brows rise gracefully at something Val said to her. He needed to see her striking hazel eyes crinkle at the corners as she laughed.
He
knew her.
“Gabriel?”
He jerked and turned his head to find Hugh at his elbow.
“Is everything all right?”
Gabriel nodded, unable to find his voice, and angry at Hugh for breaking into his examination of the woman.
“She is quite beautiful isn’t she?” Hugh asked softly.
Gabriel made himself turn his back to the dais as he looked to Hugh. “Who is she?”
“First, tell me why you were staring at her as if you know her?”
“Because I think I do.”
“What?” Hugh asked, bewilderment widening his eyes. “How?”
Gabriel sighed and ran a hand down his face. “I don’t know. It’s just when I first saw her…I felt as if I knew her.”
“Could she have been someone you bedded?”
Gabriel flattened his lips as he shook his head. “I may bed my fair share of women, but I do remember their faces. She’s not one of them.”
“You haven’t been at Stone Crest long enough to have forgotten her, and if I take A WARRIOR’S HEART
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her at her word, she just arrived today.”
“Maybe she simply looks like someone from my past,” Gabriel finally admitted.
Hugh clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Has any more come to you?”
He shook his head, unwilling and unable to speak of a past he feared more than death itself.
“Her name is Danielle,” Hugh said. “Mina welcomed her, but with everything going on, I wanted to make sure Danielle wasn’t part of the evil.”
“I’m sure you spoke with her. What did you discern?”
“Nothing. She claims to be a commoner, but I don’t think she is.”
Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at her. “Just look at the way she sits and you can tell she isn’t. Nay, she’s no more common than I am royalty.”
“She also claims to be a traveler. She ran away from a drunk, abusive uncle some years ago and been on her own ever since.”
“What do you think of that?”
“I think she’s partly telling the truth, but I think there’s more to it.”
“You want me to keep a close eye on her?”
“Aye,” Hugh said with a half smile. “We all are, but if I ask one of the others to keep close to her, there just might be some jealous wives.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Nay, I’ll do it.”
“You’re a good man,” Hugh said as he walked to the dais.
Gabriel found it quite easy to make his way to a table that he avoided most days.
It was odd to find that he was looking forward to a bit of a mystery to solve. There was definitely something about Danielle that sparked his interest.
If it was somehow related to his thinking he knew her, or the fact her story had huge flaws in it, he didn’t know. But he most certainly was going to find out.
* * * *
Danielle struggled to keep the smile on her face as Gabriel came towards her. It had been an unexpected surprise to find that she would be seated next to him. She fingered the dagger up her sleeve, the one she would use to end it all.
She waited for him to recognize her, to call her a fraud and make her attack him.
She slid the dagger out so the pommel fit into her hand. Her legs were poised to jump up and attack as soon as he opened his mouth.
“You must be Danielle,” he said with a polite nod as he took his seat beside her.
Danielle could only nod. She couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize her, or maybe he did and he was biding his time, much like she was doing.
“Are Mina and the others taking good care of you?”
She blinked at his conversational tone. His deep voice had always made her heart skip a beat, and to her horror, it still did.
“Aye,” she finally answered. “Lady Mina has been an exceptional host.”
“Mina is one of the finest ladies around. So are Elle, Shannon and Nicole.
Hugh tells me that you might be staying for a few days due to the storm rolling in.”
She nodded and glanced at him before turning her attention to putting the dagger back up her sleeve without him noticing. “Lord Hugh assures me that the storm will be fierce and that neither he, nor Lady Mina could, in good conscious, let me leave.”
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“I agree with them,” he said and turned so that he half faced her. “Tell me, how have you survived on your own? I find it extremely difficult to comprehend.”
Danielle inwardly grimaced. She had to say just the right thing without reveling herself all the while trying to determine if Gabriel was playing her or not. “Fate has been kind to me, in a way. Women aren’t safe to travel alone, which is why I learned to use a bow and arrow as well as a dagger very effectively.”
“Impressive. Where are your weapons now?”
She turned toward him and let her gaze roam over his handsome face. “My dagger is never far. However, I’ve also learned from past experience that whenever I come across a village or castle, they don’t like seeing a woman with a bow and arrow.”
He smiled and nodded. “Ah, you hide it before entering.”
“Precisely.”
“And you aren’t afraid of someone stealing it?”
“If they find it, let them keep it since they’ve earned it. Yet, I doubt anyone will find them though.”
“That good, are you?” he asked with a quirk of his lips.
“Aye.”
He chuckled then. “You’ve spirit, Danielle. I’m surprised that fire within you hasn’t found you a husband.”
“Who says I want a husband, my lord?”
He waved away her words. “No ‘my lords’ for me. My name is Gabriel.”
She nodded her head as she studied his eyes. Gabriel always spoke through his eyes, expressions there for all the world to see. If someone looked.
And she was.
“How long have you lived at Stone Crest?”
He shrugged and drank from his goblet. “Not long. Only a sennight or so. The time before that I was here for a fortnight.”
“I thought you lived here?”
“Nay. I also travel.”
She smiled and found his gaze drawn to her lips. Suddenly a thought took root.
If he really didn’t remember her, she could become close to him by seducing him.
Women had done it down through the ages. It was the oldest trick in the book, and a proven one at that.
“Ah, someone who understands my need to see new things,” she said softly.
“Hmm. The difference is, I don’t go because I want to, I go because I must.”
“So you don’t get to chose where you venture to next?”
He shook his head. “I go where I am told.”
It was difficult to comprehend that Gabriel would take orders from anyone, let alone a lowly lord such as Hugh. “How did you come to be in Hugh’s service?”
He looked at her with his molten silver eyes as if weighing her to see if she was trustworthy. “Hugh is not my liege lord, he is my leader.”
“Of what?” Danielle found herself interested. There had been hints of being at war, yet no one had said with who.
“We are called the Shields. Hugh leads me, Val, Roderick and Cole. We battle A WARRIOR’S HEART
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mythological creatures sent here by an evil bent on destroying this realm.”
The room suddenly spun around Danielle as his words sunk in. She tried to grab hold of the table but found only air instead. Large, warm hands gripped her arms to steady her.
“Danielle?”
She waited until the room
stopped spinning before she opened her eyes to see his worried gaze on her. She knew then he didn’t know who she was or why she was here.
She could kill him tonight, but it wouldn’t be the same unless he really knew who she was.
“Val,” Gabriel said over his shoulder.
Danielle felt saw Val turn towards them. “Is something amiss?” Val asked.
“It’s Danielle. I think she’s sick.”
She shook her head and pulled her gaze away from Gabriel’s. “I’m fine. It must be the mead I drank on an empty stomach.”
For a moment she didn’t think the men believed her, then Val turned back to his wife and Gabriel released her.
