An Oath Sworn Read Free Page B

be—”
    â€œCharming, am I?” Colyne challenged, pleased by her spirit.
    Coolness flickered in her eyes as she stalked over and shoved the water pouch in his hand. “Drink this.”
    Nay, he wasna about to be thrown off topic so easily. He waggled the leather vessel at her. “You said I was charming. I heard you.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “I also think you are—”
    â€œHold, lass,” he interrupted, assured by the fire in her eyes that her comparison would be far from flattering. His lips twitched with amusement at her heated reply. He took a gulp. “But I will be thanking you for the water.”
    Alesia snatched the leather sack from his hand and secured the top. “Save your charms for those who will be swayed by them.”
    At the coolness of her tone, he chuckled, and then Colyne sobered at how easily he’d flustered her by his teasing. As a missionary, how had she handled those who vied for her attention? Given her beauty, numerous men would have tried.
    She withdrew a flat round made of oats from the bag and handed him the baked good.
    â€œMy thanks.”
    With a cool nod, she removed an oatcake for herself and then sat on the ground.
    Out of reach, he noted. Intrigued, Colyne studied her. Even irritated, Alesia moved with a natural grace as if life had dictated such. Yet, the worsted wool of her dress indicated a simpler existence, which prior to their speaking he’d believed. Nay longer. Now he suspected the simple garb a ruse, one tied to the reason she’d found him here.
    â€œI am surprised to find someone of your class in the Highlands,” he said, phrasing it more as an observation than a question, in hopes she’d open up to him. “Even voluntarily.”
    She focused on her biscuit and then took a dainty bite. “I explained why I am here.”
    â€œAye, you did.” But the hesitation before her reply assured him something about her story was untrue.
    Moss green eyes locked with his. “And what brings you to an end where I find you unconscious with an arrow in your shoulder?” She tore off a piece of her flat round, but he didna miss the worry hidden within her question, or the subtle cut that she knew little of him as well and had her own suspicions.
    â€œI am nae an outlaw.”
    She regarded him like a queen weighing sentence on one of her subjects. “You would not be.”
    â€œYou know little about me to draw such an opinion,” he said, curious as to how, in fact, she had come to such an accurate conclusion in such a brief time. As if she had lived a life where her judgment of those around her was a necessity.
    â€œYour actions speak clearly of your character,” she explained, drawing him from his musings. “If you were a scoundrel, you would not have cared a wit about my misfortune.”
    â€œYou have discerned more about me than most would in our short acquaintance.”
    For the first time since he’d regained consciousness, her mouth curved in a smile, one that briefly grazed her full lips. A look hinting of passion. One Colyne found himself wishing to taste.
    Caught off guard by his thought, he stared at her. Except for Elizabet, never had a woman roused his interest.
    Until now.
    What was it about Alesia that intrigued him? He knew little about her, and he had misgivings that what she’d disclosed was the truth. A sword’s wrath. France was his sole objective. Until he delivered the document to King Philip, he could trust nay one.
    Including her.
    â€œLearning to deduce a person’s motives is a necessity with the life I have been given,” she explained.
    â€œAnd exactly what has life offered you?”
    Alesia stood. “You must be thirsty. I will refill the water pouch.”
    The silky ease with which she guided the conversation away from herself assured Colyne she had done the same many times over. “It can wait.”
    Without glancing back, she