The Forest of Adventures (#1 of The Knight Trilogy) Read Free Page A

His hands moved
deftly along the spines and I caught myself thinking of how his
hands would feel running themselves over my thighs. The delicious
thought of this made me blush and the sudden rush of blood to my
cold cheeks caused a strange prickling of my skin.
    I watched him pull out several
versions of the same text; Tennyson’s collected works, and then
settled upon the one with the image of Waterhouse’s Lady of Shalott
on its cover. His finger traced the outline of her face and he
offered a wry smile, as if smiling at some private joke. He
suddenly went rigid, aware that this private moment was being
watched. I tried to look casual, despite my pounding heart, my
blushing cheeks and quickening breath; as if somehow, I hadn’t
noticed him and his being here and this sudden recognition was as
much of a surprise to me as it was to him.
    “Hello, it’s Mina, isn’t it?”
he spoke softly, a slight lilt in his voice.
    “Yes, hi!” I cringed inside as
my voice came out in a strange, almost strangulated squeak.
    “Are you alright? You’re
shaking.”
    I blushed as I imagined the
state I looked, red and blotchy from the cold.
    “I forgot my coat,” I said as
my heart hammered in my chest.
    Instantly, without a moment’s
hesitation he started to slide out of his coat. “Here. Borrow mine.
I’ve got the car outside.”
    I was about to protest but
before I could he’d already deposited the coat on my lap. It
weighed a tonne. The lining was as red as blood.
    “I can’t borrow your coat. You
barely know me.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. You can
give it back to me in class tomorrow.”
    “Talking of which, why aren’t
you there now?” I asked.
    “Well I could ask you the same
question.” He smiled. “I guess we’ve caught each other out.”
    “I guess so.” I found myself
blushing like an idiot with a smile that almost hurt.
    “Well, I’d better get going,”
he said tapping the book. “I’ve got a lot to catch up on by the
looks of it. Nice to meet you again Mina Singer; I look forward to
seeing my coat in lesson tomorrow.”
    With that, he headed towards
the counter to pay. In his place
    lingered the smell of
wildflower meadows and the warm smell of sun kissed barley
fields.
    “Sorry,” Blake’s voice startled
me, causing me to spill some of my hot chocolate, narrowly missing
the expensive wool of his coat, “- it’s started to really snow.
Would you like me to drive you home?”
    I flushed hot and wondered if
he could see me blushing.
    “No really, No it’s fine.
I’ve…I’ve…” I stammered, trying to think of a reason that might
sound slightly believable. I changed track and rather overly
enthusiastically blurted out, “It’s snowing. That’s great! I LOVE
snow! All that…white flaky stuff. Brilliant!”
    He raised an amused eyebrow and
smiled, “As you wish my lady, see you tomorrow.”
    As he left I could hear him
amusedly muttering to himself, “ White flaky stuff.
Brilliant!”
    I sat there no longer cold. The
fire of total humiliation had warmed me up a treat.

3. HYACINTHS
     
    I arrived home just after the
dark had settled in for the night. Mum had switched on the
fairy-lights in the trees, giving the narrow garden an otherworldly
feel but, unlike the usual feeling of magic, tonight it exaggerated
the concern I had about my rapidly sliding sanity. The snow had
given the garden the look of a wild and dangerous wood and I found
myself huddling down the garden path as if to avoid the wicked
witch. It was only when I heard the deadlock of the red front door
click behind me that I took the chance to stop and breathe.
    Home, as always, was warmly
lit. Dusty, our ancient and cantankerous cat came into the small
hallway, swirling his way around my ankles and purring a welcome
that was really a poorly disguised demand for supper. I slipped out
of Blake’s coat and folded it up into as small a ball as it would
go, trying to force the bright red lining out of sight. All the way
home the