KIND
EYES AND A LION’S HEART
CHAPTER
FIVE
PART
TWO
Later that night, Melvin
sighed wearily as he sat on the bed to remove his boots. He’d let his squire stay in the hall to enjoy
the rest of the evening’s festivities, provided Alphonse was up and ready to
leave at first light. He was tired, he’d
said, and wanted a good night’s sleep.
He was tired, in no small part because he
found trying to make small talk with Lady Sylvia difficult and tedious. Like many a well-bred young lady, she barely
said a word, leaving all the conversation up to him. While there was much he might have talked
about – the hall, the fortifications, Lord Percival’s fine horses, the crops,
the weather – he’d confined himself to the subjects Barengar said women
preferred, like clothing and jewelry, and been bored beyond belief.
As was the young lady, who made no
effort to hide her yawns or, as the meal wore on, her disgruntled
expression. He’d been tempted to remind
her that she had sought him out, not the other way around. He wasn’t that desperate for female
companionship that he’d be grateful for whatever crumb of attention she deigned
to give him.
When he compared how he’d felt in Lady
Sylvia’s company with how he’d felt when he was with Viola...it was just as
well he was leaving in the morning.
The door to the chamber suddenly flew
open, banging hard against the wall, and Barengar strode into the room. He came to a halt, his hands on his
hips. “What the devil did you say to
Lady Anne?” he demanded, glaring.
Melvin rose and faced him squarely. “I told her about you, as you asked.”
His brows lowering even more, Barengar
crossed his arms. “What exactly did you tell her about me?”
Melvin went to the washstand and
poured some water from the ewer into the basin.
“The sort of thing I’d thought you’d want me to tell her. How your family is friends with king and so
on.”
“Then why did the woman barely speak
to me tonight?”
“Maybe she was worried about Lady
Viola,” Melvin replied before he dipped his hands in the water and rinsed his
flushed face.
The basin suddenly went flying across
the room, drenching him with water.
“You
little toad!” Barengar snarled as Melvin stumbled back, swiping at his eyes. “I know you said something stupid! You always do!”
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.