Page 82 of The Silent Songbird

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Lady le Wyse.”

He dropped her braid and leaned away.

She laughed at his insulted expression. She reached out and took his hand. Then she looped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. She sighed, her heart dancing inside her chest.

They sat together, holding hands and not saying anything. Evangeline did not want the moment to end, the feeling that Westley enjoyed being with her, that he liked her, that he was even thinking of marrying her.

He finally pulled away enough to gaze into her eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Ready?”

“To sing?”

Westley brushed her hair back from her eyes, then let his fingers trail down her cheek—and she was no longer thinking about singing. Her breathing shallowed. They were alone. No one was watching as his blue eyes focused on her lips.

He bent lower, his eyes nearly closing.

She lifted her hand and touched his face. Her stomach did a flip. He touched his lips to hers, and she pressed in closer, bringing her lips flush against his.

His hand on her cheek, he kissed her firmly and boldly, stealing every thought from her mind except how it felt to kiss Westley le Wyse.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Evangeline’s eyes fluttered open to see Westley’s handsome face only inches from hers.

“You are the most beautiful archer in England. Thank you for saving my life. Again.”

Pure, delicious joy welled up inside her as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

Westley thought she was beautiful! Westleykissed her. The only thing keeping her from floating up to the clouds was her arms around him.

“Where is Eva of Glynval?” a woman asked just before someone pulled the curtain aside.

“Yes?”

“It is almost time for the contest. The other singers are waiting in front of the stage. You shall be the second one to sing.” The woman, whose eyes were as wide as her smile, turned and opened the front curtain the rest of the way.

Evangeline and Westley stood as the woman motioned with her hand to a young woman. They both climbed the three steps to the stage. Then the woman faced the crowd and announced, “Maud Waldgrave of Caversdown shall be our first singer. Our four judges here in front of the stage shall decide which of our singers shall be crowned the winner of the Harvest Festival singing contest.”

The older woman left the stage and the young woman began to sing.

Westley and Evangeline stood in front of the stage. He kept hold of her hand, and she found herself completely unable to listen to the singer on the stage representing Caversdown village. All she could think about was Westley’s kiss . . .

Suddenly the woman was motioning to Evangeline. Westley let go of her hand and nudged her forward. She hurried toward the woman and climbed the steps with her.

“And now we have Eva . . .” She paused, waiting for her to supply her surname. When she did not, the woman continued. “Eva of Glynval.”

Evangeline turned to face the meadow full of people, some of them looking up at her, some talking or otherwise not paying attention to her. But a small group of people in front of the stage seemed to be attentively waiting for her to sing.

The woman left her all alone on the stage.

Evangeline was surprised not to feel nervous. Instead, her mind and senses were still filled with Westley’s kiss. She closed her eyes for a moment.

She opened her eyes and started to sing the song she had planned, a song she had sung several times already to Westley and his family. She concentrated on the words and the sound coming out of her mouth as the buoyancy lingered. She even smiled as she sang.