KIND
EYES AND A LION’S HEART
CHAPTER
FIVE
PART
THREE
Barengar grabbed
Melvin’s arm and shoved him hard against the wall, knocking the air from his
lungs. “Do you really believe Lady Viola’s
taken ill when she gave no sign of sickness before?”
“Lady
Sylvia told me she was sick,” Melvin gasped.
“Sick
my eye! She’s no more ill than I am,” Barengar
snarled as he took hold of Melvin’s shirt and shook him like a dog with a rabbit. “I tell you, something’s gone wrong and I
know it’s all your fault, you ungrateful little worm! I had Lady Anne eating out of my hand! Viola was as good as mine!”
Melvin’s
hands balled into fists. “You aren’t fit
to even look at her,” he muttered.
“What? How dare you?
Who do you think you are?”
“Who
do you think you are?” Melvin retorted,
his fury and disgust building. “Some
great prize, no doubt, although I don’t doubt you’ll make any poor woman who
marries you miserable. You’re a braggart
and a bully and you whore and gamble, yet you think any woman in the kingdom
would be blessed to be your wife and ought to swoon with gratitude if you so
much as look her way!”
“Better
me than you, you chattering dolt!” Barengar retorted, swinging at him.
Melvin
might not have been the most slender of men, but he was fast on his feet and he
easily dodged the blow.
“Think
you’re clever, do you?” Barengar charged, moving to block the door. “Can’t run away now, you fat fool.” He raised his hands. “Come on and fight me, if you dare. Or are
you too much of a coward to defend that little bitch Viola --”
“Get
out of my chamber, Barengar,” Melvin grimly interrupted, “and leave this castle
before I hurt you.”
His handsome
face ugly with anger, Barengar drew the dagger he’d won as a prize from his
belt. “You hurt me? Never!
And now I’m going to shut that stupid mouth of yours once and for all.”
He ran
at Melvin, who darted first one way, then another, avoiding the slashing knife,
before he dashed to the wooden dummy holding his mail, helmet and shield and
tried to pull the shield from its arm.
It
fell to the floor with a crash. His
shield broke and his dented helmet rolled across the floor. He whirled around. Dagger raised, Barenger was almost upon
him. Melvin grabbed the dummy, hoisted
it over his head and threw it at his cousin.
The dummy knocked Barengar over and
landed on him, so that his body lay prone beneath it, his arms outstretched as
if begging for forgiveness.
“Oh dear God, I’ve killed him!” Melvin
gasped as he stared in horror at what he’d done.
This work is protected by copyright. See sidebar for notice.
Note: This novella is PG13. With the exception of GWYNETH AND THE THIEF
and THE WASTREL, my books are usually steamier.
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