My Guardian Knight Read Free

a rueful smile lighting his features.  “I shouldn’t burden you with my problems, Mrs. Darcy, yet I find myself so comfortable in your company.  Almost as if we were not the strangers we surely are.”
    Goosebumps rose on Amanda’s skin, and she knew she should be wary, knew he may well be her downfall.  But sitting here beside him, his hand still touching hers, all she felt was a camaraderie, a closeness she had not felt in so long.  “I feel that way, too, Marshal Knight,” she was surprised to find herself answering.
                  His smile returned.  “I think we have each found a
    friend.  Please, call me Sebastian.”
    Mortified, she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.  “I’m sorry, I don’t think I could do that just yet.  We’ve only just met.”
    His disappointment was genuine, she was sure.  “I have a bad habit of jumping to conclusions.  So,” he said quickly, effectively changing the subject, “where are you headed?”
    Amanda hedged, not certain she wanted to divulge such information.
                  “St. Louis,” Matthew spoke up.
    Amanda bit her lip hard, barely suppressing a groan.  If there were any chance that this man had not been sent after her, she didn’t want to make him suspicious.  
    “What a coincidence.  I’m going to St. Louis, also.  Are you meeting your husband, Mrs. Darcy?”
    She looked up in surprise, meeting his incredibly blue eyes.  Did he know something she didn’t know?  Forcing a calm she did not feel, she replied, “No, my husband is gone, Marshal Knight.”  It wasn’t exactly a lie, she told her conscious.
    “I’m sorry,” he said softly, laying a hand upon hers once again.
    Her response was drowned out by the squeal of the brakes.  Here we go again, she thought, unconsciously straightening in her chair and focusing her attention on the doors.  It took a moment before she noticed that Marshal Knight had touched her arm, trying to claim her attention.
    “Mrs. Darcy, this train doesn’t go to St. Louis.  We’ll have to get off at this station and take the next train bound west.”
    She studied him warily.  Was this true, or was it a trick?  “I was under the impression that this train went all the way to St. Louis.”
                  “No, ma’am.  It goes back east.”
    She looked around.  Indeed, everyone had disembarked but them.  Smiling as if her nerves were not stretched to the breaking point, she nodded to him, motioning Matthew ahead of her.  Sebastian stood in the aisle waiting for her and, as she went to step out, her foot caught on the chair and she stumbled, pitching face first into the aisle.  Quickly, Sebastian’s arm snaked out and caught her around the waist, the force of her body slamming against his chest.
                  She stood for a moment in the shelter of his arms, taking in the masculine smell of his leather vest and the warm musk of his skin.  A feeling of safety stole over her and, as if in a daze, she let her head remain on his chest where it had fallen.  For the moment, she felt safe and secure, something she had not felt in a very long time, if ever.
    The tug from her son’s hand brought her back to the present, and she quickly stepped away, nodding her thanks and following Matthew out the door.  Once outside, Sebastian asked them to wait while he made arrangements to take the next train.
    “No, Marshal Knight.  I can take care of that myself, thank you.”
    He smiled.  “I’m sure you can, but since I happen to be in need of a ticket myself, it’s no trouble arranging for two more.”  With that, he strode off quickly before she could reply.  Amanda looked down at her son.  “Oooh!  That man exasperates me to no end, Matthew!”
    He grinned, dimples flashing.  “I like 'Bastian, Mama.  He’s nice to me.”
    She sighed.  “Yes, he is.  I suppose he is very nice to both of us.  If only I could trust him,” she said under her