The more time John spent with Anna, the more he yearned to keep her by his side forever. After the close call with soldiers, they rode hard the rest of the day, stopping only when it was too dark.
She helped him make camp. He couldn’t resist. “Tell me about the snakes.”
Her face burned. “You mean the solider?” She gave him an odd look, and he realized she had called the man’s member a snake.
He responded with a rude jest, though in Norman French so she wouldn’t think him uncouth. John grinned. “The lady has a wicked mind. Not that snake. The beasties you said live in Florida.”
Pink spread across her neck and face, making her eyes sparkle.
“Oh, I knew that.”
He resisted the urge to tease, instead waiting for her to tell him about the creatures.
“In Florida, there’s a large swampy area.” She shuddered. “Not unlike a bog with shallow water hiding all kinds of things. There are more than a million alligators in Florida alone. Many other warm states now have alligators in bodies of fresh water.”
“So many. And they can eat a man? Are they hunted and eaten?”
She wrinkled up her nose, which he noticed she did whenever she was thinking. How this woman could think she wasn’t beautiful was beyond his reasoning. She had the clearest green eyes, reminding him of a summer meadow, and her skin was so soft and smooth that he constantly found himself aching to touch her.
“They’re usually shy creatures. But yes, some have eaten humans. And if someone’s pet gets too close to the water, an alligator will snatch it. I rather like them. I always have, ever since I was a child. So I wish they weren’t hunted, though I understand why they are. Yes, people do eat them. I never have. To me it would be like eating your pet, though people say they taste like chicken. And shoes, belts, wallets, and purses are made from their hides.”
She turned a deeper shade of pink, making him wonder what she was going to say.
“I told you I used to sing to them when I was little. And I fed them marshmallows.”
“What did you sing?”
He could imagine Anna as a small child, her shimmering hair blowing in the breeze as she sang to the beast. The animals would be so enchanted by her voice that they would not eat her.
“And what are marshmallows?”
“My voice isn’t very good, but I love to sing when I’m alone. It’s one of the things I miss about being here. I used to get in my car, turn up the radio, and sing. When I was little, I didn’t have a favorite song; I would sing whatever song I liked at the moment. Though I mostly made up really silly songs to sing to the alligators. We had a dock that went out over the water and I used to sit on the edge, my legs crossed, and stare into the water, singing as if I could conjure them up from the depths. And it always seemed within a few minutes, one of the alligators would surface. He would sort of rock back and forth in the water, listening to me. He would come almost to the dock and what I know now about them…”
She shuddered, as if remembering something unpleasant.
“What do you know now?”
“Alligators can jump their length. And many of the alligators in the water behind our house were between six and fourteen feet long. So any of them could have easily jumped up and snatched me off the dock to eat me.”
“But none of the beasts ever did. They were so enchanted by your voice. Knew you loved them so they would not eat you. Even if you fell in, they would not eat you. One of the great creatures would let you climb on his back and take you to safety.”
She laughed. “And I thought I was the one with the fanciful imagination. I used to like to think that’s what would happen. You don’t know how desperately I wished I could swim with them. That they would let me ride on their back. I… Oh my.” Anna covered her mouth, trying to hold in her laughter.
“What?”
“Promise you won’t tell him?”
“Aye. Who?”
“Henry.”
John was perplexed. What did Henry have to do with alligators?
“I had a favorite alligator. He was twelve feet long and only had one eye. When I sang to him sometimes he would roll, showing me his belly, and he’d come up to the edge of the dock. But the funny part is…I named him Henry.”
John grinned. “Your secret is safe with me. Henry is getting fat now he’s married.”
She handed him a peach and sat close to the fire he’d built up.
Before he took a bite, he looked at the fruit. He’d seen her arse when she undressed. It reminded him of a peach. John shifted from foot to foot.
“What are marshmallows?”
“They’re hard to explain.” She looked around, picked up a rock, and held it in her palm. “The big ones are about this big, and white in color. The little ones, more like the size of a pebble.”
Anna tossed the rock aside. “When you bite into a marshmallow, well, it’s sort of like biting into a cloud. Airy and sweet. It’s really hard to explain. I’d try to make them for you, but I don’t think I could re-create them, especially since I’m a terrible cook.”
She snorted. “They don’t have much of a taste, but for some reason the alligators loved them. Marshmallows float. So I would throw one into the water, and when alligator surfaced he would slowly swim over…then snap, the marshmallow was gone in a second. It was the most amazing sight to a child, and I would laugh and clap my hands every time they ate one.”
When she was talking about something that made her happy, she lit up from within. He knew there was no woman in the whole of England more beautiful than she.
“If we ran out of the big marshmallows, I’d have to take the small ones.” Her face turned sad. “My mother used to get so mad at me for taking all the marshmallows. She played cards and always took a dessert with marshmallows. And I was always taking them. We bought bagfuls.”
He was trying to imagine what the food tasted like. “Are marshmallows served for dinner?”
“You don’t eat them as a meal. They are more of a garnish. Like adding carrots to stew. The carrot isn’t the whole meal…bad example. For some people carrots are a meal. The marshmallow is a topping. And the little ones, the alligators would eat them, but I don’t think they liked them as much because it was more work for them to chomp all the little pieces.”
John wanted to ask her more about alligators and the large snakes she said were in Florida. Before he could ask, he sensed movement.
John threw Anna to the ground, covering her with his body. Pressed against her, he felt the length of her against him. For a moment he wanted to stay like this forever. He said quietly, “We are not alone. Stay still.”
He drew the dagger from his boot and rolled to his feet, the other hand on the sword at his hip, crouched in front of her, to protect her with his body. They had stone at their back. The enemy would have to meet him first.
“Show yourself, whoreson.”
The old woman stepping out into the firelight could not have surprised him more.
“You live. Rabbie said all perished in the fire.”
Magda’s eyes gleamed. When she grinned, he could see she was now missing a tooth on the side of her mouth. She cackled as she said, “’Tis not so easy as all that to kill me.”
She turned to gaze upon Anna. “Who have we here?”
Chapter Thirty
Magda eased herself down by the fire as Anna watched the old woman’s every move. John’s healer and friend looked like she stepped out of a fairy tale. She was a healer—some would say witch, others demon. The woman was skilled in herbs and he had no fear of her.
“It will take more than idiot soldiers men to kill me.” She wiped her eyes. “We lost so many. All those too sick to travel. I could not save them. I should have listened to you and moved them sooner.”
He laid a hand on her arm, the skin soft as velvet and wrinkled with age.
“You were right not to move them, you cannot have known we would be betrayed. ’Twas Archie.”
“He will get what he deserves in the next life. ’Tis said you took him down with one strike of your blade.”
“Denby’s blade. I thought it fitting. I will kill Denby and every man who was there. I will track down and find them all.”
“After you are safe.” She patted his knee. “Forty are safe and in hiding.” Magda paused, making John wonder what was coming next.
“The ones who survived. They all know who you are. That you are one of the Thornton brothers.”
“Do they despise me?”
“Why would you say such a thing?”
“Why? A noble who pretends to be like them, who kills, ransoms, and steals from other nobles? They must think me a hypocrite.”
“They love you more. That you would give up your birthright to live among them. They consider you one of them.”
John ran his hands through his hair. The feelings within made it hard to speak. He pretended to wipe dust from his hose to give himself a moment to trust his voice would not waver.
“Wearing the mask let me be another person. The bandit of the wood. Now…I am simply John Thornton. A man with no title. My presence puts those around me in grave danger. I no longer have anything to offer.”
Anna and Magda protested at the same time.
John held up a hand. “Let me wallow for a while.”
“There is no need,” Anna said. “You are a good person. I can think of so many people who would not have done anything to help those less fortunate. People who walk by and pretend not to see what is right in front of them. I am proud of you.” Anna leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
He pulled her into his lap, twining her hair through his fingers. He never tired of looking at the colors, feeling the silkiness against his skin. John needed to see his people with his own eyes to know they were unharmed. Needed to hear each one say they wanted him by their side. If they would accept, he would bring each one to Blackmoor to rebuild their lives.
“Where are they?”
Magda looked to Anna, who met her gaze without flinching.
“I trust her with my life.”
The old woman nodded. “We are in hiding near the border.”
“Nay, Magda. ’Tis too close to the fighting. Send them to Edward. He will take them in.”
She scowled. “You cannot. You have been gone, not wishing to hear of your brothers. I respected your wishes. But you do not understand. Your brother will take Denby’s place as advisor to the king. He cannot harbor outlaws even if one of them is his brother.”
“How do you know this?”
“You ask me this after all our years together?” She turned her palms up, looking at the lines. “I know. Heed my words, John Thornton. Your brother will become even more important than he is now.”
He blew out a breath. “Then send them to Blackmoor. Unless you have foreseen my death and the destruction of my home?”
She squinted at him, a crafty look in her eye as she took his and Anna’s hand in hers.
“You will be a great leader to your people. They will make a life at Blackmoor.” Magda turned her gaze to Anna. “You have lost much, child. You are young. The child should not be the parent.”
The old woman stared into the fire. John saw the questions on Anna’s face as she watched every move Magda made.
The healer came back to herself. “The choices you both make will determine your destiny.” She pressed her palm to his cheek. “Blackmoor will stand with you as its lord.”
“Will you come? Live at Blackmoor and be its healer?”
“Aye. I’m getting too old to sleep in the woods.”
They continued to talk, Anna sitting there quietly, listening. When John looked over later, she had fallen asleep. Magda caught his look.
“She is not of our world.”
“Nay. She is from the future. I believe her. The tales she has told me.”
“There is someone waiting who she cares for a great deal. A man she yearns to go home to. The only reason she wishes to leave you.”
“Her father. He is very ill, and without her wages, he will be homeless.” John wasn’t sure he wanted to know: “Can she go back?”
“Who knows what the fates decide? You love her.” Sharp, piercing eyes looked into his heart. “She is the first woman you have ever truly loved.”
John gave her a sharp look.
“She sleeps. Do not worry; she does not hear us.”
“I do love her. More than my own life. But I cannot tell her. She must make her own decision to go back or to stay. If she could go back and did not because of me, she would grow to hate me later.”
Magda patted his face as if he were a small child.
“You are a good man. And you are well matched for each other.”
Magda rolled up in her cloak and went to sleep. John didn’t know how long he stayed up staring into the fire. When he woke in the morning, she was gone.
Anna rolled over, stretching. When she sat up and looked around, she said, “Where is she?”
“She’ll go to the others. And a few at a time will make their way to Blackmoor.”
“Will they be in danger?”
“They are used to being unseen.”
“I can relate.”
Chapter Thirty-One
If Anna never had to get on another horse, she’d be happy. The first few days had been fine, but now she was tired of riding. Tired of traveling. All she wanted was a bed, a hot bath, and a semi-warm meal.
Didn’t it just figure she had to go to the bathroom? Again. After squirming for a while, she finally broke down.
“Can we stop for a couple minutes?”
He seemed distracted. “I thought we would eat while we rode. We should continue on.”
Well, that was all nice and good for him, but she had to go now. She tried thinking of deserts and airplane bathrooms, which were the worst. Anna would rather hold it than use the restroom on a plane. She always worried something would happen and she’d get sucked down the hole and ejected into thin air. It was no use.
“I’m really sorry, but I need to stop. You know, womanly things.” Heat blossomed across her chest and sweat trickled down her side. Everyone went to the bathroom. Why was she embarrassed? And yet something about telling the man you were falling for that you needed to go pee just took any possible romance out of the situation.
“My apologies. I should have looked to your needs earlier.”
He led the horses off the path. As he lifted her down, she was aware of everything about him. Up close, she could see flecks of gold in the brown of his eyes. He had amazing, thick lashes. Talk about envious. Why did men get the lush eyelashes when women had to spend a fortune over their lifetime on mascara?
He held her in front of him, her feet dangling several inches off the ground. Everything around them went still. Just when she thought he’d kiss her again, instead he dropped her to the ground.
John’s hand went to the hilt at his side. “Listen.”
What now? She knew the drill. Be quiet. Don’t make a sound. He closed his eyes, listening. After several minutes he opened his eyes. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, he traced her lips with his thumb.
“’Tis nothing. But make haste; I do not wish to linger.”
Anna looked around for a place to conceal herself. Off to her right she saw a clump of trees and brush.
“I’m going over there.”
“Quickly, Anna.”
The man was half camel. She swore he could ride all day without stopping. How did he manage? Did it come with living life on the run? From being a warrior? Or was it just that he had the bladder of a camel?
She found a spot, lifted her dress, and squatted. She had washed out the tunic and hose and changed into the dress. As they got closer to London they’d see more people, and she didn’t want to stick out as the woman in men’s clothing.
Toilet paper. Boy, that was another thing she missed. Anna wiggled and shook a bit. Turning to her left, she caught a fla
sh of green behind a tree.
Anna didn’t even have a chance to scream before she found herself surrounded by four men. The fifth one hauled her roughly against him, his hand covering her mouth and part of her nose. She couldn’t breathe. Anna struggled and kicked. The man squeezed her wrist so hard, she heard the bones crack.
“Shut yer mouth, before I gut ye like a pig.”
Instead of obeying, she stomped on his foot. He cursed but didn’t let her go. There was a sharp prick at the base of her ear.
“You may not be much to look at, but when I’m finished with you, no one will look at you.”
There was an odd smell in the air. Something coppery. It took her a moment to sink in. It was blood. Her blood, trickling down her neck.
Just like an afternoon thunderstorm in Florida, the skies opened up. The wind blowing and all hell broke loose. Anna watched the first man fall to the ground. What was happening? A flash caught her eye. John’s blade flashed again. He was moving so fast she could hardly see the sword. Another man screamed and went down, clutching his midsection. She saw red and had to turn away.
The rational part of her brain knew the skirmish hadn’t lasted that long, but she’d swear it had gone on forever. The sheets of rain made it hard to see. She thought there were four men on the ground. The man holding her was shaking, the knife at her throat wiggling, making her so nervous she was afraid to swallow. Afraid it would slip and she would die.
John was soaking wet, looking like some mythical warrior appearing out of the mist. The look on his face was so frightening, if she had seen the same look when she was in the tower, she would have never set him free. Seeing him like this? She could see why he had deserved his outlaw title and why so many feared him.
His voice cut across the storm, so calm she knew there must be an incredible amount of rage behind it. He did not meet her gaze, as if he could not spare an ounce of kindness while in full battle mode.
“Anna. I need you to listen to my voice.”
The knife tightened against her throat. “Don’t talk to her. Shut your mouth. We was paid well to take you. Dead or alive, my lord does not care.”
Darkest Knight Page 12