"I was about to charge the first three when the last of them started after you!" he protested, and this time his skin did darken just a little. "If you hadn't jumped when you did, my purse would have been the only thing left out here! And if that horse had been carrying double again, 1 would have reached it before it reached the woods."
" 'Would have, could have, should have,' " 1 said, making it sound the way armsmasters usually did. " 'If words like thai had edges and points, every fool on two feet would be Evon himself.' Next time leave the heroics to someone who has already passed the bumbling stage."
"I would have, but there wasn't anyone like that around," he came back, straightening as he looked down at me. "You know what they say about Blades—you can trust your back to one, and never have to worry. They don't have enough skill for backstabbing."
192
Sharon Green
"And how would you know what they say about Blades?" I returned immediately, delighted that he'd fallen into my trap, "You, the delicate, sheltered virgin who can ba.ely handle himself in a conversation—and who swings a sword like the captain of a Company. And don't look now, but you've lost your cultured accent."
I was in a foul enough mood not to care what his reaction to the revelation would be, but I couldn't help noticing how odd that reaction was. Rather than showing guilt he groaned, and then he got mad.
"Damn those fools and their weak-kneed attacks," he growled, turning to glare at the woods as he wiped his blade on his once-pretty trousers, then sheathed it with a slam, "if they'd minded their own business and stayed where they belonged, this wouldn't have happened."
"It was about to happen anyway," I told his back, even more annoyed by his oddness. "I'm not quite as stupid as you apparently think 1 am. Who are you, and what do you expect to get out of all this?"
"Who am I," he echoed, turning back to look at me with thoughtfulness rather than anger, not far from a sigh. "I'm exactly who 1 said I was, Kylin of Arthil, and what I expect to get out of this is a wife—preferably one who's still in one piece. Or have you forgotten we're betrothed?"
"Back in the Silver Gleaming, they say I never forget anything," I remarked, folding my arms. "Like the fact that Kylin of Arthil is supposed to be a Flower. And was a Flower, until just a few minutes ago. Would you like to explain where that fits in?"
"Not particularly," he answered, looking like he meant it, then put his hands out palms up and toward me. "All right, don't start getting ready to attack, I was only joking. The truth of the matter is I can't tell you about everything that's involved, but I can tell you this: my masquerade was for the purpose of protecting someone very close to you. No one was supposed to know the truth until after the ceremony was over, but you're not the only one who's found out. All we can do now ts get back to your father's castle as fast as possible, then go on with the marriage immediately and hope everything turns out all right."
"Oh, is that all we can do," I said with raised brows, then
LADY BLADE, LORD FIGHTER
193
looked him up and down before deliberately turning my back. "It's really odd, but I can think of quite a number of other things, and frankly, any one of them is more appealing than—Evon dip and pepper them! They've even taken my blanket!"
"What's the matter, are you afraid you'll freeze?" the idiot asked from behind me as 1 glared around at the empty grass. "If you'd kept the thing around you instead of trying to be provocative, you might not have lost it."
"If not for your nonsense in pretending to be a Flower, I wouldn't have had to try being provocative," I came back, turning again to give him the complete benefit of my glare. "And if I recall correctly, you're also the legendary hero who even let a dead bandit get away from him. What do you expect me to do now, O great one? Walk back to my father's castle naked?"
"That might not be a bad idea," he said, folding his arms as he let those light eyes move slowly over me. "!'m one of those who usually enjoy sight of the countryside, but nothing's so perfect that it can't use a little dressing up—or, in this case, undressing. Once we put enough distance between us and those bandits, we'll also be able to put your suggestion of less talk and more action into practice. And don't forget— you promised to be gentle with me."
His faint grin was as bold and forward as someone else's laughter would have been, as far from the horrified innocence of his Flower character as it was possible to get. My hands curled to fists at my sides as my cheeks warmed and I felt the urge to pull a cover over me again, and 1 still couldn't understand why it was happening. Whether or not he was Kylin of Arthil, he was certainly no friend to me and mine, no matter what new story he had suddenly come up with. Of course his masquerade had been for the benefit of someone close to me, and of course there was nothing better for me to do than marry him immediately. Well, whether he knew it or not, there was a way I could find answers I liked a bit better.
"If you're that much in need of gentle handling, you'll have to pay for it," I said, hopefully showing nothing of what I was planning. "Despite your obviously twisted sense of humor, I have the feeling you're no longer desperate to
194
Sharon Green
hang onto that tunic. Hand it over, or negotiations concerning gentleness are finished before they get started."
"I can see I'm going to have to spend some time teaching you how to ask politely for the things you want," he said, still amused but already reaching down to open his swordbelt. "An occasional 'please' and 'thank you' will do wonders, something you'll learn as the years go by."
As the years went by with him, he meant. I folded my arms and said nothing as he dropped that red swordbelt to the grass at his feet, part of his attention on the woods to be sure the bandits weren't waiting to come racing out again as soon as he was partially disarmed. I pretended to be watching the woods too, but what I was really waiting for was the time his tunic was pulled completely over his head. That was when I intended showing him exactly how many years we would have together—or possibly minutes, which might be a more accurate measurement. However long it turned out to be, though, he definitely would not be enjoying it.
A delicately jeweled belt with pouch and sheathed dagger was also around his waist, and as soon as that was off he reached for the bottom of the tunic. Raising it showed me why he'd been so desperate earlier to protect his virtue— despite the convincing suggestion of the pleated cloth, there wasn't an ounce of fat on the body it covered. The tunic went up higher, showing more of the same—and then it was over his face, the moment I'd been waiting for. Without the least hesitation, I jumped for the sword lying unguarded in the grass.
I had gone to one knee and actually had my hand around the awful silver hilt, beginning to draw the blade free, when two arms wrapped around me from behind. If I'd been standing I would have been able to kick back, but down in a position like that I was virtually helpless. His right hand went to my right wrist and his left hand to the sword, and then it was gone out of my grasp as though a priest of Dagir had waved his wand.
"I can also see we're going to have to have a long talk about touching things that don't belong to us," he said, straightening away from me with both sword and swordbelt in his hand. "I told you before that this weapon is mine, and I'm keeping it whether or not you think I can use it. You're lucky I hurried getting that tunic off, to be sure those bandits
LADY BLADE, LORD FIGHTER
195
didn't decide to attack again. If I'd had to do more to get my sword back than simply taking it away from you, you wouldn't have enjoyed it."
Lucky, I thought in disgust as 1 rose to my feet, rubbing at my right wm|. 1 hadji't had one bit of decent luck sisre I'd gotten my father's letter, and if he was stupid enough t,o think I was enjoying i^yself $^n, he was completely beyond hope. The only bit of J^/tune "^nvolved was that he didn't seem to know why I'd beeVv tryinV for the sword. That would have been enough to giv&me aether chance at it—if 1 hadn't suddenly become sicknd tired
of playing games.
"Long talks bore me," was all I said as I went toward the tunic he'd dropped in the grass and retrieved it. I didn't think it necessary to add that what I usually did with an enemy had nothing to do with talk. The tunic was more than well-worn and was still damp with his sweat, but I pulled it on anyway, then tugged the sleeves up. If my arms and hands were completely lost in the thing, my legs weren't, but it still fit well enough to be an adequate, if rather hot, covering. Once it was on and adjusted as well as it ever would be, I turned and started walking toward the road.
"Hey, where do you think you're going!" I heard from behind me, and the next moment a big hand had closed around my arm, bringing me to a halt. "This isn't the time or the place for wandering off.''
"You won't often find me engaged in wandering," I answered, pulling my arm out of his grip"before looking up into his face. "I'm in a hurry to get home, so I'm heading back to the road. When I reach that inn you can't quite remember the location of, I ought to be able to get some decent clothes and a horse. I hope you don't freeze without the tunic."
Once again (started off, certain I'd made it clear I had no interest in his company, but keeping me company wasn't what he had in mind. The next instant his hand was on my arm again, and this time I found 1 couldn't pull away.
"That inn is much too far away to do either of us any good," he said, a casual statement as he began forcing me with him through the grass, parallel to the trees now on our left. "When we first rode into this meadow I saw a farmhouse off to the right, beyond those trees. We'll try that first, and leave the inn as a last resort."
1%
Sharon Green
"You can do it any way you please," I said, trying to free my arm from a hand that circled it completely, "I'll be taking the road, and when I want your opinions I'll ask for them. Now, let go of me!"
"I'll.let go of you as soon as yor promise to behave yourself," he said, paying more attention to tfie woods than to what he dragged along with him. tj'lf you feel the need to sulk over not getting your way witijVihe sw$fd, you won't be doing it on the road. There's no w£y of ktfowir.g who you'll meet on that road, and being disarmed ?)d on foot will either end you up back with those people yoi^walked away from, or taken by some enterprising band to'be sold eventually as a slave. And evenjf you managed to avoid all that, I still have what gold there is. How did you expect to get clothes and a horse at an inn without gold?"
"That's my business!" I snapped, mad enough to really begin struggling: The nerve of him, an enemy, trying to tell me what to do! I was being pulled along by the left arm, which meant his sword was slung on the far side of him, but that also meant my right arm was free. The day I let an enemy give me orders would be the day I put on skirts and stayed in them, and I happened to hate skirts. Instead of continuing to puil back I ran a few steps forward, then pivoted to throw my fist into him where it would do the most damage.
If that blow had landed right it would have been all over for him for quite some time, but his reflexes were better than just about any I'd ever seen. His leg came up even as he twisted to the left, and my fist slammed into a rock-hard thigh instead of the portion of his anatomy I'd been aiming for. The next instant I was being whirled the rest of the way around to complete the circle, and an enormous whack to the backside sent me sprawling face forward into the grass. I managed not to yelp at the stinging slap that had landed mostly on bare flesh, but when I turned in the grass to glare at the outrageous beast, I found he'd beaten me to that as well.
"Now I know why you're having so much trouble behaving yourself," he said in a growl, fists on his hips as he stared down at me. "It's obvious no one's taken the trouble to teach you how it's done, but that's all over with. From now on the job is mine, and I'll see that it's done right. I said
LADY BLADE, LORD FIGHTER
197
we're going that way, and if you don't like the idea you can tell me about it later—in words. If you try jumping at me again, you'll regret it more than you do right now. Let's eo."
If he had stood there and simply ordered me to my feel, I would have stayed where I was until Evon's razor-edged hell turned dull and crumbling. He seemed to know that, though, which was undoubtedly why he came forward with the last of his words to put a fist in my hair. That took me to my feet without giving me a choice in the matter, and then I was being pushed ahead of him, in the direction he wanted to go. As I stumbled forward 1 cursed everything 1 could think of for making him so big, a circumstance which put me at a complete disadvantage. If I'd been armed his size would have made very little difference, as I had experience countering greater strength and longer reach; without weapons, however, I had almost no chance at all against him, and would have to wait. Just until I did have a weapon in my hand, 1 promised myself grimly, rubbing briefly at the sting in my bottom.
The walk was not a short one, and once we left the heat and brightness of the meadow to move through the cooler shade of the thinned-out trees, my feet began protesting the lack of boots. I wasn't used to going barefoot like a carefree country child, and the fact that I disliked it was considerably less important than the fact that it hurt. Twigs and stones and sharp objects from the trees we moved under slowed my pace to one careful step at a time, and that, unfortunately, brought me to the notice of my gallant companion.
"Wait a minute," he said from where he walked behind me, putting a hand to my shoulder. "The farmhouse is well in sight, and the trees are too far apart in this area for us to need to worry about an ambush. Let's make this a little faster and easier."
With that he leaned down and picked me up, acting as though it took no more effort than lifting the empty tunic would have! I clutched at his neck convulsively, totally unused to that sort of handling, but once it was clear he wasn't about to immediately drop me again, I loosened my hold and glared at the face that was now so close.
"I don't need any favors from you," I grated, hating the gentle, easy way he held me. "If you want me to move faster I'll do it, and without any help from you. You know damned
198
Sharon Green
well if you'd asked I would have refused, so put me down right now!"
"That's why I didn't ask," he returned, ignoring everything else as he moved along. "I don't want you crippled, so until we can find you something for your feet, we'll do it this way."
End of conversation. 1 would have enjoyed asking what he had in mind that he needed me uncrippled for, but he probably would have lied and it didn't matter in any event. He would not find me cooperating with anything he intended, not when it was my family who would suffer if 1 did. He could carry me to Evon's Realm and back, and even that would not change my mind.
It took a while to get close enough to the farmhouse to really see it, and by then there was very little doubt that it was empty. There were still a few chickens scratching around in the yard, but one of the bam doors stood open and the house was beginning to need whitewashing even though its own door was solidly closed. The supposed Kylin of Arthil finally put me down, then loosened his sword in its scabbard.
"You stay here while 1 look around inside," he said, briefly eyeing the bam. "If anyone shows up call me fast, but otherwise don't move from that spot. With the way your feet are you won't get very far, and you won't like it if 1 have to come after you."
He said his piece, then drew his sword and moved toward the house, not even bothering to glance in my direction. It apparently made no difference to him how furious he got me, or that I didn't need him to point out how little distance 1 could cover on foot. He had done such a good job that I was hoping hard we'd stumbled on the home camp of those bandits and that they would attack as soon as he opened the door, but no such luck. He kicked the door open then jumped inside without anything happening, and the following lack of the sound of steel on steel told me nothing probably would. I waited a moment until my hopes were completely dashed, then took myself inside out of the sun.
As soon as my e
yes had adjusted to the inner dimness, I was able to tell that the former occupants of the house had moved away rather than been chased off. The empty wooden floor of the room showed traces of where a table and chairs
LADY BLADE, LORD FIGHTER
199
had stood, and the hearth had been cleaned of the remnants of the last fire it had held. I moved to the window in the right-hand wall, unlatched it, then threw it wide to allow in fresh air rather than the stale stuff the room was too full of. With that done 1 turned back to find I was being regarded with something less than friendliness.
"I always knew Sword Companies didn't do much of a job teaching their Blades how to take orders," my sweet companion remarked from the doorway to the next room, resheathing his sword. "You're living proof of that."
"Fighters who couldn't quite make the grade usually look at it like that," I remarked back, totally unimpressed with his annoyance. "To be a Blade you need to be able to think for yourself, to know the difference between times it's necessary to follow orders, and times when it isn't. I know the difference."
"I can see that," he said, the dryness of his tone suggesting disagreement rather than concurrence. "When I give the orders, you don't find any need to obey them even if disobeying puts your life in danger. We're going to have some trouble over that, aren't we?"
His question was closer to being a statement, showing he had slightly more intelligence than I'd given him credit for, but the way he was looking at me didn't quite have the effect he was obviously hoping for. It wasn't difficult seeing he was very used to having his orders obeyed, that hardness in his light eyes undoubtedly helping to make it happen, but I was too used to the displeasure of dangerous men to take much notice of it any longer.
"I don't intend having trouble over anything," I answered with a shrug, then sat down on the floor and leaned back against the log wall under the window. "As I said before, you're free to do as you like. Just let me know when you discover we should have taken to the road after all. I want the chance to say, 'I told you so.' "
Green, Sharon - Lady Blade, Lord Fighter.htm Page 23
