‘I do and I also admire your bold promise, Sir William…for you are a gallant knight, you know, whatever you may believe,’ she mumbled, so softly he could barely hear her. Will flushed at her unexpected compliment.
‘I’m honour-bound to protect you, Isabel.’
‘I know, but I’m grateful all the same. As I don’t know the way…home…’ Her voice faded away.
Will looked down as her eyes fluttered shut and pressed his lips softly to her forehead. ‘Neither do I, sweetheart. Neither do I.’
CHAPTER SIX
Isabel awoke from a restless night’s sleep the following day, irascible and with what Will had predicted—an almighty headache. God, but it hurt just opening one of her eyes. She screwed them shut again and felt splinters of shooting pain. She rubbed her forehead and eyes gently, trying to coax them to open.
‘Good morning,’ the pleasant voice that could only belong to William Geraint rumbled nearby.
The back of her throat felt parched and scratchy, so when she opened her mouth to return his greeting, she croaked, instead. Well, it wasn’t as though she could embarrass herself any more than she already had.
Isabel sat up gingerly as Will passed her his flagon.
‘Drink this. It may help,’ he said with a little amusement in his voice.
She nodded her thanks, refusing to meet his gaze, before taking small sips, feeling the restorative cool water slip down her throat.
‘If you feel up to it, Lady Isabel, there is a stream, yonder, where you can wash.’
That made her turn her head, wincing as she faced him. But, of course, she was back to being Lady Isabel de Clancey, wasn’t she? And of course it was this very moment that the events from the previous evening were slowly tumbling back into her very sore head.
‘How are you feeling?’ Will’s blue eyes glittered as he stood watching her, leaning against the bark of a tree.
Mortified, disconcerted, unsettled.
Isabel felt a twinge of guilt at putting both of them in danger the previous evening, but she hadn’t anticipated that it would happen so soon after leaving St Jean de Cole. She should have known better, though. And she should also have known better than to have such humiliating notions in her head about the man standing opposite her. Thank goodness she hadn’t acted upon her impulses last night as it would have turned out to be even more embarrassing than it had.
‘I feel as though someone has taken a hammer to my head, but otherwise I’ll live—’ she grimaced ‘—thanks to you. I’m incredibly grateful to you and I am also, once again, in your debt.’
He shook his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. ‘You don’t owe me anything, my lady.’
‘Apart from my life,’ she said, meeting his eyes. ‘I need to know what those men wanted with me.’
‘I strongly suspect that they were Rolleston’s men—the man who hired me to find you—hoping to take you back to your people themselves.’
Yet Isabel did not share the same belief. Those men weren’t just trying to undercut any agreement this Rolleston had made with Will. There was much more to this and she would have to give it proper attention, but not now. Her head hurt just thinking about it.
She looked around, rubbing her eyes and drinking in the serenity of the area. They were surrounded by a couple of towering trees with long branches, populated with a mass of fluttering leaves, and the sound of the nearby stream could be heard. Her satchel lay beside her and the horses were grazing, tethered to a nearby tree. All very peaceful, all very unremarkable given the events of the previous evening.
‘Goodness me, how did you manage to bring us here?’ she asked in confusion. ‘I was…incapacitated.’
‘There are many things I have done on my own, Isabel, ever since I’ve lived in France.’
‘I see.’ Isabel wanted to ask why, but knew that it was wiser to hold her tongue. Her curiosity about William Geraint stretched to a time before his move to France, when he, possibly, wasn’t as alone as he’d alluded to. Either way, she hoped that he would one day confide in her about his past. ‘I, too, have learnt to be self-reliant, having no one but myself to depend on, even with the relative security of my adopted family.’
Isabel squirmed uncomfortably where she sat, wondering why she had disclosed such a thing to him. She had never said that to anyone before. Yet Will nodded at her as if he understood.
She sighed. ‘Although I’m glad that I’m not alone in this,’ she muttered awkwardly.
‘I’m glad, too, Isabel.’
His perceptive gaze pierced through her, making her bite her lip as she looked away.
There was a blanket that had thoughtfully been put over her and another underneath, which begged the question of where William Geraint had rested.
‘What about you?’ She snapped her head back, wanting a change of conversation from anything too personal. ‘Did you sleep well?’
‘No, but I rarely do.’
‘Do you mean to tell me you have stayed awake all night?’
He shrugged.
Oh, God! The poor man had stayed awake to keep watch by her side, hadn’t he? That was why he looked pale this morning. Well, this would not do. She could not allow her escort to compromise himself on her account, otherwise where would they be?
She stood up and tilted her head. ‘I will take your suggestion by going to the stream, but on my return, I want you take mine and rest while I keep watch.’
‘That is not such a good idea. What if others like the men last night happen upon on us while I am fast asleep? I cannot allow for anything to happen to you again.’
‘I’m not that useless, Will, and nothing is going to happen while you sleep. I’ll keep guard with a dagger in each hand. I promise.’
‘Isabel, I can’t allow anything—’
‘I am more worried about the prospect of you falling from your horse with sheer exhaustion, Will, than anything else.’ She grabbed her satchel and moved away from the makeshift pallet. ‘And there’s no use arguing with me on this, my knight. I can be just as belligerent as you when I want to be.’
His lips quirked. ‘Yes, my lady.’
* * *
Isabel marvelled at the slumbering man, who looked so much younger, so much like the boy she remembered, in his sleep, with his thick eyelashes fanned across his cheeks. A mop of brown hair had fallen over one closed eye, making her itch to drag her fingers through it, pulling it back and touching the outline of his chiselled face. She watched his breathing, shallow and deep, and sighed, not realising that she had slowly moved over him.
A hand sneaked out and grabbed her wrist as a slow smile spread across Will’s face, his eyes still closed.
‘Are you staring at me while I sleep, my lady?’
Her brows shot up. ‘How could you tell?’ She leant back, her legs tucked underneath her.
Will opened his eyes and yawned. ‘A lifetime of experience being a soldier.’ He stretched his arms out. ‘And not withstanding that, my two older sisters were always bent on making mischief while I slept, so I learnt from a young age to be ready.’
‘For any eventuality?’ She smirked.
‘Precisely.’
‘My brothers, too, loved nothing more than to torment me with spiders in my skirts and worms in my bedding. I was always trying to keep up with them.’ A surprising ache caught in her chest, making her smile feel forced. ‘But I was always too slow.’
Isabel caught her lip between her teeth, unable to understand why she had revealed more than she had intended. The reality was that it all still felt far too raw. This pain of losing her brothers—shadows from another life.
Will covered her hand with his and squeezed it reassuringly, pinning his gaze to hers. ‘I’m sure they would have been proud of you, Isabel, especially how you stealthily came to my rescue last night when you whacked your attacke
r with your sturdy satchel.’
She looked down at her hand, still covered by his much bigger and stronger one, and flushed. She wasn’t used to anyone giving her this kind of compliment, but she appreciated it all the same.
‘Thank you.’ She nodded. ‘And, yes, I’d like to think that they would have.’
They were both lost in their own contemplations for a moment, before Isabel got to her feet and turned to face Will. ‘I’ve been thinking while you were sleeping about everything that has happened and I’ll admit to being worried.’
‘What about, my lady?’
‘Many things,’ she retorted. ‘Do you think they will come back again?’
‘No, I very much doubt that.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You killed them?’
‘I probably should have, but I didn’t want any more stains on my soul than I already have.’ He looked at her, registering the shock on her face. ‘No, I tied them up and left them unconscious.’
‘That was very resourceful of you.’
‘I’d like to think so.’
She nodded absently. ‘But I do think that there may be others as we make our way back.’
‘Is that what is worrying you?’ He pushed himself to stand. ‘As I said earlier, I shall not allow anything to happen again. On my honour, my lady.’
‘Of that I am in no doubt, however—’
‘However?’
‘I believe I should know how to defend myself, just in case we find ourselves again in a situation where it would be prudent that I did.’
Will crossed his arms across his chest, watching her for a moment. ‘My good friend Hugh de Villiers was once given a similar request by his wife, Eleanor, but that particular lady was actually exceptionally skilled in combat.’ His eyes glossed over with a faraway look, as though he were recalling a moment from his past. ‘Not that Hugh had any notion of it at the time,’ he chuckled softly, shaking his head at the memory.
But his smile vanished just as quickly, as if it was too painful to think of his friends. They were clearly people that Will cared for.
He nodded once and met her eyes. ‘I hope that we do not encounter anyone else, Isabel, but you’re quite right. You should know how to defend yourself.’
‘You’ll show me?’
‘If you wish. First lesson is after we break our fast.’
* * *
Will knew that the decision to teach Isabel a few rudimentary defensive moves was sound, but it didn’t mean that he should have readily accepted her request. Nor should he have betrayed anything about his past, especially disclosing anything about Hugh de Villiers and his wife, Eleanor of Tallany. That was all far too painful and a reminder of a life he had left behind when he went willingly into exile in France.
The truth was that he no longer deserved friends like Hugh De Villiers. Will was now a different man to the one he had once been. But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t painful when Will thought about them. He missed them—he missed Hugh, Eleanor, and his family. Will shook his head to rid himself of these unwanted recollections and took a step towards Isabel.
‘Now, for today we will think about the different ways to get away from an assailant, who would more than often attack you from behind.’ His hands on her were on shoulders, turning her slowly. ‘So, imagine I am approaching you without you seeing me.’
Isabel turned fully as he pressed against her back and drew his arm around her neck and inhaled deeply, trying not to notice the enticing scent that wrapped around him with its warm summer floral notes and the essence that was simply her.
What was wrong with him this morn?
‘Good, so this is the position that the man had you in last night, if you remember.’
‘Not a wonderful memory, but one I am hardly able to forget.’
‘Indeed… Now, always remember that any assailant will want to grab you from the back as it’s the most expedient way to capture you, so at all times be vigilant. Don’t allow the rear to be exposed. Failing that, you shall find yourself in a position like this.’
Will certainly did not need to hold on to Isabel for this length of time or to press this closely to her, but he couldn’t help being enveloped by her soft curves, or the silkiness of the exposed skin at her neck. His breathing became a little constricted as he noticed a few smatterings of freckles on her skin and the loose, honey-coloured tendril of hair that had escaped from under the sheer veil brushing against the curve of her neck. It was all he could do to prevent himself from pushing it away and touching her skin to satisfy his curiosity.
‘Yes? What next? Will?’
He cleared his throat, giving his head a little shake. ‘I am going to tighten my hold while you try to break it. What should you do first?’
‘Since you’re holding me this tight, it’s difficult to know how I can pull away.’
‘Exactly, you should not try to pull away from me, Isabel,’ he whispered in her ear, feeling her faint shudder. ‘You must do the very thing that would be unexpected by your assailant.’
‘Which is?’
‘If you are ever held as closely as this, with your captor overpowering you from behind, there really is only one course of action. You lean to the left, only slightly, yes…like that. This allows you to manoeuvre your hands below to be able to grab his…his, er…well, his unmentionables and you squeeze as hard as you can. Imagine that it’s fruit, such as ripened plums.’ This conversation was getting more uncomfortable by the moment. ‘Trust me when I say you’ll surprise him enough to release you.’
Isabel turned her head around slightly, her face and neck flushed. ‘I… I see. Well, I am grateful that you have not concealed such a defensive move from me on account of my being a woman.’
‘God, no. If you are ever in such a position, then you must use any means to escape effectively. I hope it would never come to it, but as I said, it would be a wholly unexpected way to defend yourself so it is useful to have in your arsenal.’
Isabel smiled. ‘I shall. Anything else?’
Will chuckled, his mouth still close to the curve of her neck. ‘Are you telling me that the thought of having to employ such a move does not deter you?’
‘Not if it means I can get away.’
‘Very good. You are thinking in a pragmatic way.’ He hesitated before continuing. ‘Now, there is another similar move, just as devastating and just as unexpected. Make a fist with your hand, like this.’ He covered her hand, curling her fingers under, with his free hand. ‘You’ll need to punch like the devil and in the same area as before.’
‘Shall I refrain from employing that on you?’
He released Isabel and turned, walking away from her. ‘I’ll be grateful if you didn’t, my lady,’ he said with a spark of amusement.
What was he thinking?
These rather unconventional defensive moves that he’d once shown his mother and his sisters were a good idea, an astute idea but really… Did he have to start with such a move? The mere mention of that part of a man’s body was making all the blood in his body swoop there, making him feel exceedingly uncomfortable.
Hell! He should not be thinking about the soft curves of her glorious body, the freckles on her neck or her delicious scent. It was all highly unseemly.
‘I’ll try to remember that,’ she muttered. ‘Is that it?’
He cleared his throat, turning to walk towards the stream. ‘No, I shall give you further instruction every day if you wish, my lady, but I really do believe that we should continue moving now.’
‘Yes, of course…are you well?’
‘Perfectly, we’ll pack up and leave after I drag myself to the stream and fill up the flagons. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Lady Isabel.’ He ambled along, conscious that he also needed the water to douse all of these pent-up feelings about Isabel de Clancey. It damn well would not do!
/> * * *
After many hours of riding had passed, Will acknowledged that despite his attempts to keep their exchanges light and friendly, he couldn’t simply ignore the lady he was travelling with, just because he was reckless and misguided enough to feel the stirrings of attraction for her. He would just have to suppress and ignore these unwarranted feelings.
Will had a job to do and it would be best to put all his efforts into accomplishing that, especially since Rolleston was bent on dishonouring their agreement. But then, men like him seldom had any honour.
‘Do you wish to rest soon, my lady?’
‘I’m not fatigued, if that is your concern. We could continue for a while longer in the hope that there won’t be any more disruptions along the way.’
‘And if there are, Isabel, we will overcome them.’
‘Having witnessed what you are capable of, Will, I am in no doubt, of that. And…now that I know I would only need to crush a man’s…private area as though they were mere plums, I hope to rise to that challenge.’
‘Oh, God, Isabel, what have I done!’ He snapped his head around to meet her amused gaze. ‘Promise me you’ll forget everything I’ve taught you once you’re back home?’
‘Once I am the lady I am expected to be?’
‘Precisely.’ He rubbed his brow, not knowing how to put this into words.
She looked ahead. ‘I’m just happy you have consented to teach me how to protect myself properly. I value and appreciate that immensely.’
‘As long as it gives you some peace of mind. But remember, Rolleston won’t want to harm you as the reason he is trying to capture you is merely so that he can renege on our agreement.’
‘I see,’ she said stiffly.
‘You don’t believe me?’
She didn’t respond. Will noticed the way she sat on the horse, the way her jaw was set and how she clenched the reins of her young palfrey so tightly, that her knuckles were white. It seemed to Will that she was grappling with something that preoccupied her, or possibly scared her…
He pulled on the reins, bringing his horse to a gradual halt, making Isabel do the same.
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