Her Rogue Knight Read Free Page B

listening to the sounds of insects and other creatures of the night. Clearing a spot just a few feet away, she sat down on the cool, damp earth, pulling her hood over her head. She slipped the blade from its sheath on her arm and closed both hands over it. Leaning her back against a tree and making herself as small as possible, she allowed her eyes to close.
     
    * * *
     
    Sir William rode as if the devil himself were after him. The girl was stubborn, and she was going to get herself hurt or worse. Abraham had sent a boy to his cottage before daybreak once he had realized she had run off after her sister. She had taken the last of his coins and left a letter in their place explaining her plan—which was no plan—and explaining that she did not trust this stranger, this old, weak man, to rescue her sister.
    Old, weak man . William shook his head, fuming. He was no old man. Older than her, yes, but no old man. He was barely fifteen years her senior. And he was certainly not weak. But best to show the headstrong girl rather than tell her. He would now have to find and return her to her father’s house before heading out once more to find the kidnapped child. He only hoped this wouldn’t cost him too much precious time. The moon would be full in six days. He had an idea where they would take Alys, and he could be there in four days if he rode hard. But he would have to take paths less traveled and keep himself well hidden. That would cost him time, time perhaps the child did not have.
    He slowed his horse as the path split and grew more dense. He dismounted and looked around. Finding the way with the freshest tracks, he walked his horse by the reins. At least she had chosen the correct direction. She was an archeress; he had seen her with her kill more than a few times. But who knew what her sense of direction would be like here in the unfamiliar and dark wood, especially at nighttime.
    Once he was certain this was the path she had taken, he mounted his horse once more and rode at a slightly slower pace, his eyes scanning the wood as the sun made its way up into the sky. The image of her emerging naked from the river yesterday formed in his mind, and his cock immediately stirred. Although he had watched her before, he had never seen her bathe. She had thought she’d been alone, but that was just one more reason she shouldn’t be out here on her own now. She thought herself stronger than she was, but this was not a woman’s place. Abraham’s proposition had taken him by surprise, although it made perfect sense. The man was old and had weakened so much in the five years Sir William had known him. He needed protection for his family, and his proposal left no doubt in Sir William’s mind that he had in fact recognized him upon their first meeting.
    He remembered the first time he had seen Gemma. It had been when he had gone to her father to rent the cottage on his lands. It was a remote, hidden place, and he had needed just that. He had needed to put space between himself and the world.
    Her father had been working the field when William had arrived on his horse. Having ridden for days, he had been filthy. Although he had washed himself in the same river where he’d yesterday spied Gemma, his clothing was torn and not that of a noble man, certainly not that of a great knight. But Abraham had taken one look at him, had eyed the hilt of the sword he carried with its scratched and faded emblem, and had bowed his head. Sir William suspected he had recognized the symbol because he had welcomed the rogue knight into his home without question.
    That was five years ago. Gemma had been thirteen at the time. When Abraham had taken him into the house, she had first watched him from a corner. He had pretended not to have seen her, but her pale golden eyes had all but burned into his back until finally her father called her in, telling her to fetch refreshments for them. She had done as he’d said but had spared a glance, or more a