For him, they didn’t matter. He’d do anything, be anyone, to ensure they had a life together.
‘There’s more, but none of it good.’
‘Then let’s not talk of it.’ She looked up at him, her eyes tracking from his hair, which was still wet, to his fresh clothes. When her gaze dipped to his mouth, Balthus didn’t want to talk, either.
‘Do you want to see your family again? Or mend things with your sisters?’
‘I do want to go and see my parents, but my sisters are long gone. Perhaps it is time to write to them.’
‘And tell them I signed papers to lose Warstone Fortress?’ he said, forcing the words between them. ‘I gave away Clovis and Pepin’s ancestral home. It’s not finalised yet, but I gave the man my word and the legal documents have already been sent to King Philip’s advisers.’
‘I hated that place and all it represented. I wouldn’t want my children there.’ She ran her hand along the bound arm across his chest. ‘Who wrapped your linen?’ she said.
‘Henry. It’s so tight, my arm may fall off.’
‘It won’t be for much longer. No more bleeding?’
‘No new tears or swelling. It’s good, Séverine.’ Inadequate words for what he truly wanted to convey. The deep gratitude. How humbling that she’d taken the risk. His life wasn’t useless agony anymore.
Her green eyes rested on his, took in a curl that had fallen across his cheek and dropped to his lips before darting back. There was a colour to her cheeks now that called to him.
‘Now that we’re fine...’
‘That smile,’ he said. ‘That smile, Séverine, just isn’t...fair.’
Her grin turned knowing.
He growled, ‘Let me get the words out first.’
She raised a brow. ‘Like...’
‘I think we can live here. I want you and the boys. Oddly, I wouldn’t mind Henry in my life, and I still need to persuade Imbert to like me.’
‘I should let you know Henry wants to stay here with Denise.’
That butcher. ‘Did he ask you?’
She laughed. ‘No.’
‘I don’t think we have servants,’ he whispered, as if it was a secret.
‘Most assuredly not.’
His life of order, dominance, wealth and power didn’t exist in this little keep named Forgotten. He couldn’t be happier.
‘What of the rest, Balthus? You want to talk. Just because we hide ourselves here, it doesn’t mean the world won’t find us.’
The world of demanding monarchs, politics, legends. His promise to his brother to help, but he never wanted to be parted from Séverine, Clovis and Pepin.
He gazed at the bed where she had placed the satchels. ‘Should we look at what you brought?’
It didn’t take them long. There were a few books, some scrolls. ‘This is it.’ He sat down.
She looked over his shoulder. Her hair was cascading down his arm with the familiar scent of thyme and her. That was far more poignant and vital than any treasure.
‘How do you know? It’s beautiful, but it doesn’t talk about anything.’
‘The drawings at the corners.’
She pulled it out of his hands and shifted it around, seeing it from other angles.
‘Wait.’ She took out one of the books, flipped the pages. ‘See here? There’s a pattern.’
He didn’t see it.
She set it down. ‘I still don’t know what it means, I’d have to study it a bit more, maybe make comparisons to other pages.’
‘How did you know about the book?’
‘The parchment is a similar size and the handwriting is the same. But in the rest of the book the handwriting is different. It was as if a story was being told, the scribe was tired for one page and someone else did it, and then he went back to the original. That’s why this book always fascinated me.’
Her eyes were alight as she turned the pages slowly as if she’d never looked at them, though it was clear she had studied the pages before.
‘You’re excited.’
She looked up, her hand in the book. ‘I’ve always studied books or tapestries. I find it interesting to see who the artist was and what they meant.’
‘You and your tapestries.’
She laid a hand on his cheek and he leaned into it. He’d never get used to her touch.
‘My tapestries are beautiful, but they are cruel to the people who make them. Crippled hands, endless hours lost, eyesight weakened, blood shed.
‘And you say I’m like them?’
‘You’re not that pretty, but I could stare at you for hours.’
He clasped her hand. ‘Don’t.’
‘I think you’re blushing. Think I’ll find flaws?’ she teased.
He yanked her onto his lap. She squealed and protected the book. ‘No, if you study me that intensely, I’ll think you’re plotting against me.’
‘I’m always plotting against you. Perhaps I’ll order a dozen spare buckets to be made in case I need to throw them.’
He laughed. ‘Then I have no worries.’
She went back to slowly turning the pages. He found none of it interesting except deciding then and there that he could stare at her for hours, as well.
What were the boys doing now? Eating if they were around Henry. That sounded fine to him. His bones were tired, but now that he was settled with Séverine the fact he hadn’t eaten for hours was felt.
‘Are you hungry?’ he said.
She paused, looked up at him in surprise. ‘I am. The boys brought me some bread, but I don’t remember if I ate it. Now that these are in front of me, I just want a few more moments.’ She pulled back. ‘You’re staring at me. Are you now plotting against me?’
‘I think I am,’ he said. ‘How much do you hate Warstone games?’
She stiffened in his arms and he quickly kissed her. When he pulled back, her voice was almost breathless. ‘You know how I feel about them.’
He loved the softer look in her eyes. Wanted to kiss her again, but knew he’d then crush all the documents as he spread her out on the bed. ‘I was to bring this all back to Reynold for his protection and study.’
‘Oh,’ she said, looking at the book in her lap.
He rubbed up and down her arm. ‘You don’t want to give them up.’
‘Now that you say there are some clues to be found with the scribes, I thought I’d...’ Séverine pulled herself up. ‘Oh, you are plotting against me.’
His arm tightened around her waist, and she took in the feeling of safety, of warmth, of love.
‘Is that so terrible?’ he whispered. His breath and words skimmed her ear.
He was offering her a chance to study the beautiful books and scrolls, to investigate and find the scribes with all their meanings. It wasn’t terrible, it was what she’d wanted and so much more. She’d have a family, laughter, conflict and beauty.
‘Do you think there could be more scrolls or books?’ she said. ‘These were what Ian left, but that doesn’t mean this is all of them.’
She felt him smile against her neck as he trailed kisses along her collarbone. ‘No, it doesn’t. The process could take years.’
‘It doesn’t mean we have to travel or fight battles?’
‘It means I’d have to spend coin to build walls, to hire watch guards and protect you.’
She already felt protected. ‘Can I have a room where I can study, with absolute quiet and as many pillows as I want?’
‘As long as I can throw them and you on the floor as much as I want.’ He skimmed his teeth along the curve of her neck and bit.
She shivered. ‘I thought you were hungry.’
‘I am,’ he said, soothing the spot he’d bitten with soft kisses and darts of his tongue.
‘Shouldn’t we be worried about
what King Edward or Philip—or your parents—will do with the boys?’ she gasped. ‘There’ll be orders, perhaps even decrees.’
He kissed her again, but now his hand was untying her gown’s laces and his fingertips were skimming the edges of her breast.
‘Balthus?’ she said. Her voice was breathless.
Seizing her waist, he whipped her around and grinned. ‘Trust my silences, remember?’
Oh, he would be the most impulsive man she’d ever known. ‘Trust your silences. How am I to—?’
He kissed her. Soundly. Thoroughly. With no more thought of plots and schemes, she dropped the book from her lap to the floor, kicked the scrolls off the bed and kissed him right back.
* * * * *
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Your romantic escape to the past.
Be seduced by the grandeur, drama and sumptuous detail of romances set in long-ago eras!
6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
Love Harlequin romance?
DISCOVER.
Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks
Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks
ReaderService.com
EXPLORE.
Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at
TryHarlequin.com
CONNECT.
Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!
Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection
ISBN-13: 9781488071966
The Knight’s Runaway Maiden
Copyright © 2021 by Nicole Locke
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at [email protected].
Harlequin Enterprises ULC
22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.Harlequin.com
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Your romantic escape to the past.
Be seduced by the grandeur, drama and sumptuous detail of romances set in long-ago eras!
6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
Love Harlequin romance?
DISCOVER.
Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks
Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks
ReaderService.com
EXPLORE.
Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at
TryHarlequin.com
CONNECT.
Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!
Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection
ISBN-13: 9781488071997
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Rescued by Her Highland Soldier
Copyright © 2021 by Sarah Mallory
A Viscount to Save Her Reputation
Copyright © 2021 by Helen Dickson
The Knight’s Runaway Maiden
Copyright © 2021 by Nicole Locke
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
Harlequin Historical May 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 67
