She looked at Bear who shook his head and shrugged. “Gotta tavern to run,” he said simply, as if this type of thing happened every day. Judging by the club, it probably did. “Anyway, you’ll never catch him. He has more motivation than we do.” He glowered at her. “Your majesty, next time, stay at the castle, will ya?” he grumbled at her as he slipped in through the back door.
Seraphina blushed. Bear had recognized her.
A moment later a furious Doran was shaking her, and yelling. “What were you thinking, Seraphina, skulking around like that? Thank God I followed you! I was at the general store when I saw you sneak past. Aren’t you the littlest bit ashamed of yourself? Seriously, what a mad thing to do!”
“How did you know it was me?” she asked curiously, her head wobbling back and forth.
Doran didn’t answer. If he said “I would know your body anywhere,” he didn’t think she’d be too receptive at this point. He just growled, but then his anger dissipated at the look of distress on Seraphina’s face, or maybe it was whiplash, he wasn’t too sure.
“Let’s go home,” he said gently. He could see that shock was starting to set in. She was trembling and it looked as if she was about to cry. Panicking a little at the oncoming waterworks, he acted without thinking. Doran pulled Seraphina into his arms and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Her eyes opened in surprise, tears forgotten. He lingered for a split second, enjoying the softness of her lips, before stepping away. He took her hand, tucked it in his arm, and they left for the castle. She was quiet the whole way.
He hoped she wasn’t planning to kill him.
Chapter 12 – Seraphina
The next morning Seraphina didn’t ride, and didn’t show up for her lessons. She asked Faith to send Doran her regrets.
“Tell him I’m under the weather,” Seraphina pleaded.
Faith was suspicious. “What?” She narrowed her eyes. “Wait a second…what happened last night? You were gone for hours, you came back with Doran, and now you don’t want to see him? The man you delight in tormenting daily? Well, that’s very odd behaviour for you, I must say.”
“Don’t ask,” Seraphina groaned, pulling her pillow over her head. She hadn’t slept. She’d replayed that kiss in her mind a thousand times, often taking it way beyond the simple distraction it was meant to be. She had burned and sweated in her bed all night long, tossing and turning restlessly. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling or what her body seemed to want or need, although she suspected. Now she was too mortified to face the man who had haunted her fiery dreams, especially after being so mean to him. Maybe she did need to get married.
“Seraphina!” Faith said firmly. “You are not sick. Tell me what happened.”
“Can I tell you later?” she asked in a subdued voice muffled by her pillow.
A moment later Ava entered the room blabbing. “Seraphina? You’re not up yet? That cutie Doran is in the small dining room, waiting for you. Has a nervous tick today, tapping his spoon against the china, it was driving me batty….” She paused her ramble after giving Faith a quick hug and looking around. “What’s going on?” she asked curiously.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Faith said with exasperation.
“Can I have some privacy please?” Seraphina said from under the bedcovers, waving a hand in a small shooing motion.
Faith sighed. “Fine, I’ll go and speak with Doran. Get up and get ready,” she commanded. “I have plans for the three of us today.” Faith looked at Ava. “You too. I’ll speak to King. Get out of that silly maid outfit and put on some proper clothes. Why you insist on wearing that All Hallow’s Eve costume is beyond me. You both are coming with me.”
Ava grinned. “I’m in!”
Chapter 13 – Doran
Doran waited patiently in the small dining room for Seraphina and Faith to arrive. He clinked his spoon against his cup as he thought about the events of yesterday.
When they had arrived back at the castle, Seraphina had gone straight to her room after a small squeeze of his hand and a whispered thank you. He had watched her ascend the stone staircase before turning and heading to the kitchen. As he had hoped, Daisy was still there cleaning up from dinner and preparing for the next day.
“Hello my pretty Daisy,” he said winningly. “Did you save me some food?”
Daisy snorted. “I did notice your handsome face wasn’t in the dining hall tonight, so I saved you some supper. It’s on the table at the far wall.”
“Well, I was at the general store talking to Mr. Carter about that joint pain of yours. He gave me this for you to try.” Doran produced a small vial of little white pills. “Only one a day.”
“You angel,” she exclaimed as she bustled over and snatched the medicine from Doran’s hands. He laughed and went to get his tray. He smiled beatifically. It was heavy and full of food. Thank God, because he was starving.
“You know your way to a man’s heart, Daisy,” he said rapturously.
She giggled and looked at him. “Stay and eat here, Doran my prince. It gets a bit lonely at this time of night.”
Doran sat at the small table and started eating. She was cutting vegetables for the next day’s stew, humming to herself.
It was nice in the kitchen. It was still warm from the day’s activities. The door at the back was partially open, bringing in the sounds of evening and a cool breeze. Only a few lamps lit the room, so pockets of the kitchen were shadowed and dark. The atmosphere was cozy and quiet.
“Daisy.”
“Hmmmm?”
Doran wanted to ask her about Seraphina. Why had she been so desperate to seek out an outlaw? He knew Daisy could answer his questions as a trusted member of King’s household, but she had shown reluctance to gossip about the royal family before. He debated quizzing her.
“Doran?”
He had decided not to pry. “Never mind, Daisy, I forgot what I was going to say,” Doran had said lamely, finishing his dinner.
A light knock brought him back to the present. He looked up and found Faith smiling at him from the doorway.
“I’m taking the girls out on an excursion today. I spoke to King and he’s given his approval, so you’re free of us for the day.”
Doran stood up, stuck out his leg, and gave her a courtly bow. “Your servant, my lady. My day will be an unending blur of boredom without your company.”
Faith smirked. “Only my company?” she asked slyly.
Doran gave her a mock frown. “Yes.” The other two live in crazy town. I’d be glad not to have to visit that place today, he thought to himself.
Faith hesitated as she was leaving.
“Can I help you with anything else, my lady?” Doran asked curiously.
“Perhaps. Do you have a moment?”
“I most certainly do.”
Chapter 14 – Seraphina
Seraphina spent the day riding with her two cousins. Faith was a bit preoccupied, but Ava was in her element. Getting away on horseback was her forté.
“I miss my freedom,” Ava screamed with glee, galloping wildly back and forth and around the slower girls.
“You’re going to make your horse vomit,” Faith said absently.
“Can that happen?” Seraphina asked.
“He’s used to it,” Ava yelled behind her as she raced away.
“If you would just behave yourself, you could have your freedom back,” Faith shouted after her.
“That sounds boring,” Ava yelled back. “I love men, all men, many, many men!” she screeched on her horse.
“Hence your punishment,” Seraphina chimed in.
“Tell me what happened,” Faith said sympathetically, putting her hand on Seraphina’s arm.
She tilted her head back and let the sun warm her face. It was breezy and cool, and the smell of spring turning to summer was in the air. They were riding along the eastern side of the castle in a long green field and were about to hit a small glade of woods where they would stop and have their packed lu
nch.
“You know I don’t want to get married,” she said pensively.
“Everyone knows that,” Faith said dryly.
Seraphina explained what had happened with Trevan and how Doran had come to her rescue.
Faith was angry at Seraphina’s carelessness. “You could have been killed!”
Seraphina squirmed. “Gold River is our village. I didn’t think anything would happen.”
“Hmmph. So, about Doran. Are you embarrassed because he had to rescue you?” Faith asked in a calmer tone.
“No.” They had reached the glade and dismounted. Ava was already there, lying in the grass, sighing in bliss.
“Well?” Faith prompted, taking the basket down from her horse and huffing a bit with the weight. She missed Zuric’s strength. Seraphina came to help.
“Doran kissed me,” she whispered quietly.
“Really?” Faith asked with interest.
“Did you say Doran kissed you?” Ava asked avidly, coming over to help set up the picnic.
“How did you hear me?” Seraphina asked disgustedly.
“Eavesdropping is a required skill when you are constantly in trouble,” she explained, shaking out the blanket and laying it on the ground. “Words carry in the wind.”
They do? “Well, I don’t think he wanted to,” she said, honestly. “I was going into shock and he did it to distract me.” She tried to sound offhand about it, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about the circumstances. Doran was her opposite. She bullied him and he took it. Why did it bother her that he hadn’t kissed her because he wanted to, but had kissed her because he’d had no choice?
“Well, he could have slapped your face, but he chose to kiss you instead. That’s something,” Ava said.
Faith looked horrified. “Slap a lady? Are you mad?”
Ava sniffed. “It’s the common cure for shock.”
Seraphina stared at her. “What finishing school did you go to? Remind me not to send my daughters there.”
“I would have slapped your face,” Ava said settling on the blanket and opening the basket.
“I hope so. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about!”
They all laughed and the tension around yesterday’s events eased. Seraphina felt better now that she had confided in her cousins. The secret seemed too large to carry by herself. They settled down to eat and talked about Prince Brody and the impending engagement and wedding. Only three weeks away. Plan A hadn’t worked. Seraphina was getting desperate.
Chapter 15 – Doran
Doran watched as Seraphina finished her ledger work. At a glance he could tell it was perfect.
Seraphina had restarted her lessons after avoiding him for a couple of days. Now, almost a week later, Doran was still marveling at the change in her attitude, toward her studies, and more particularly, toward him. It was as if they were…friends. “Great work, Seraphina,” he said sincerely, patting her on the shoulder. “You’re really coming along.”
Seraphina beamed at him. “Wonderful. Let’s go riding, Doran. Enough ledgers for today. We’ll find Faith on the trail. I’ll race you.”
Doran sighed and looked at Seraphina. Her eyes were sparkling and she looked very pleased with herself. She waggled her eyebrows at him, the same mannerism as her father, and he found himself staring at her. She was a beautiful girl, and she had changed considerably since he’d first met her. Gone was the haughty, angry, spoiled snob who had barely acknowledged his existence and then bullied him. Now he found he had a friend and confidante who was easy to talk to and hang around with. It had made life in the castle much more interesting. He suspected Faith’s presence, and his rescue, had changed her.
He smiled at Seraphina, very glad she was in a good mood. “Sure, let’s go,” he said happily. “Shall we cancel the dance lesson as well?” he asked with hope, packing up his things and humming.
“Oh no, my dear Doran. Today, we dance,” she said with a laugh.
Doran was miffed. “But we’re going riding instead of doing ledgers. Don’t I get a break?”
Seraphina snorted again. “You need more practice dancing than I do with accounting, trust me,” she said.
Oh. Was he still that bad a dancer? He didn’t think so, but he certainly wasn’t a capable judge. Although the animosity between them was gone, their initial challenge still held.
Truth be told, she was winning.
He sighed. “And you seemed so much nicer lately.”
She just snorted as she waited at the door for him.
“At least you’ve stopped sending your cousin to my rooms at night.”
Seraphina froze. The temperature in the room dropped. Doran felt a frisson of fear slide down his neck.
“What?” she asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes.
He seemed confused. “You know, the strumpet, er, your cousin Ava. Coming to my rooms at night? Propositioning me? Mind you, at first I didn’t know she was your cousin—”
“Stay on topic, Doran,” Seraphina said, staring at him. She seemed a bit pale. “I never sent her. What kind of girl do you think I am?”
He thought back to the bullying, inking, and near death experiences. He shrugged and noticed Seraphina’s temper was making a reappearance. He tried to backpedal. “A great girl! What was I thinking? I—” Too late.
Seraphina’s face was red. “Doran, did you…you didn’t…you know….”
He looked shocked. “What? Are you suggesting…NO!” he said, outraged. Colour tinged his cheeks as well now. “I would never take advantage of a maid. It’s dishonourable,” he said quietly. “Now my brothers—”
Seraphina’s colour started to return to normal and she took a deep breath. “I don’t care about your brothers,” she said as she swept from the room.
Doran sighed as he followed, but he wondered if that meant she cared about him.
Chapter 16 – Seraphina
She was going to kill Ava when she got back to the castle. How dare she proposition Doran! That girl was unbelievable.
They rode side by side in silence until they saw Faith and Zuric ahead. Her day didn’t get much better as she watched Doran greet Faith. He was buoyant and carefree as he jumped off his horse and presented his leg in a courtly bow. “Your servant,” he said with a laugh at Faith’s delight. She loved it when he “presented a leg.” Seraphina felt her happiness fade a bit as Doran teased her cousin. He was never that carefree with her, and she had noticed that Doran and Faith had gotten much closer over the last week. Faith was a stunning beauty, so it wasn’t unusual that Doran would find her attractive. Her shining white blond hair and trim figure were quite alluring compared to her fuzzy, tangled, curly red hair and her nose that was always red from the sun. Seraphina glanced at the knight escorting Faith. Zuric didn’t seem that thrilled either and was watching Doran with irritation.
Hmmph, Seraphina thought. Looks like Faith has many admirers. Not that she cared a bit who Dorky Doran liked.
Doran vaulted back onto his horse and smiled at Seraphina, his eyes merry. She caught her breath and flushed, and then was irritated at her reaction. Dorky, she reminded herself, but he really had the most beautiful bone structure, particularly when his shoulder-length brown hair swung around his face. She’d been finding him very attractive lately, especially now that he’d loosened up a bit and dropped the stuffy, saddle-up-his-ass attitude. She loved his dry sense of humour and the way he quirked up his eyebrows whenever someone said something stupid. He never said anything, of course. If Doran was anything, he was nice.
The four of them rode together for a few hours then headed back to the castle, chatting amicably. Doran and Faith did most of the talking.
“Seraphina tells me that she has almost cured you of your two left feet.”
Doran turned to Seraphina with a wry smile, daring her to say something. That smile made her catch her breath, again. What was wrong with her?
“As the lady prudently declines to comment, let me do the honours,”
he said smoothly. “I believe my two left feet disappeared weeks ago, the very same day as Seraphina’s inability to do math.”
Faith laughed out loud. “How interesting that Seraphina’s leap in intelligence matched your leap in physical dexterity.”
“It was a miracle that only God could have provided,” Doran said piously.
The knight snorted, but a small grin played on his lips.
Faith’s eyes were shining with laughter and another undefined emotion Seraphina noted with alarm.
“Trust me, we have a ways to go,” Seraphina said grumpily. “It has taken this long for him to learn the box step and remember the three principle dances associated with that step. Today we’ll be starting the turn step and the five dances that go with it.”
Doran looked alarmed. “FIVE dances?”
The knight snickered as Faith gave Doran a pitying glance. “Don’t worry, Doran. It’s like riding a horse. Once you learn you’ll never forget.”
Back at the castle Dag, the minstrel, was waiting patiently for them. He was tuning his lyre and humming to himself. They were late. Their impromptu ride had delayed their lunch and their lesson.
Doran looked a bit green after stuffing down his meal and racing across the castle to the grand ballroom. Seraphina laughed at his expression.
“I can’t believe how fast you ate, Seraphina. Don’t you feel sick?” he asked, wheezing as he took a seat in one of the dozens of chairs ringing the walls of the room.
“I’ve been running and eating at the same time my whole life,” Seraphina said. “Well, at least since my mom died. My behaviour was better controlled before that, and she did try to teach me proper manners,” Seraphina said quietly.
Doran looked at her. Vulnerability was not an expression that ever appeared on Seraphina’s face. He got up and with a small bow presented his leg. “And yet you are still the finest of young ladies,” he said graciously, with a small burp.
She grinned at his gentlemanly comment and gave a little curtsy. “Thank you, kind sir. Your white lie has achieved its intended purpose and made me feel much better, however, I know you refer to me in terms such as ‘wild child’ and ‘mannerless heathen,’ so do not think I am fooled by your flattery.”
Love Schemes Page 4
