Page 17 of Hooked

He gave me a cocky grin. “Are you saying I am arrogant?” he asked, and some of the teasing I’d seen him use on the children slipped into his voice and features.

“You were the one that called yourself arrogant,” I argued. “As for me, no, I wouldn’t call you arrogant, just…self-assured. You are, after all, the one who told me you had a gift for reading people.” I turned my face away. “And I’ve witnessed your talents myself. In fact, you’re trying to use them now.” I shifted in the saddle, trying to hide my discomfort.

“Yes, I am,” he admitted without shame.

“Why? Why use them on me?”

“You don’t think you might be an intriguing creature?”

Worry fluttered in my heart, but I managed to look him in the eye when I said, “I don’t want to be.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”

I looked away, hoping that wasn’t true. Intriguing meant I would stand out. Standing out meant I could more easily be found.

“Now,” Falstone said as he pulled his horse a little closer to mine, leaning in conspiratorially. “Are you finally going to show me what you’re capable of?” he challenged. “You galloped this horse yesterday like you were born to it.”

I laughed. “Perhaps I was born to it and I’ve simply forgotten my past life as a lady.” Better to tease about the truth than let him see through lies.

“That would actually answer many of my questions,” he muttered, and I decided to act as if I hadn’t heard.

“I will happily accept your challenge. I believe I’m ready.” And I was itching to truly ride.

“Good,” he said with a curve of his mouth. “Then go ahead. Think pretty thoughts, and perhaps you’ll feel what it’s like to fly.”

His reference to something I’d said during one of my stories caught me off guard, but the way he raised his eyebrows gave me all the encouragement I needed.

I let a grin slip over my mouth then urged my horse into a gallop, laughing as the breeze pulled at my hair and whipped past my skirts. I breathed deep, filling my lungs to capacity as I flew with the horse. I’d almost forgotten how exhilarating it could be. The air rushing past me, almost making me believe that it would lift me into the sky. The sheer power of the animal beneath me. The speed and the pounding of hooves. It was easy to forget that anyone was with me as I lost myself in the joy of it.

Falstone pulled up alongside me, grinning like a little boy as he bent over the neck of his mount, racing ahead.

We didn’t go far, but when we slowed our horses, we were both laughing. “You ride like you’re still eleven years old,” Falstone commented, his eyes sparkling with delight.

Nine, I corrected silently as I tilted my head back, letting the dappled sunlight dance across my face through the leaves overhead. That was the last time I’d ridden free with my father racing beside me. “I suppose I’ve never quite grown up.”

“Do we ever truly grow up?” he mused.

I looked back at him. “What do you mean?”

“I always thought I would feel old at some point, that I would feel markedly different in personality and temperament than I was as a child, but…” He shook his head and shrugged. “Maybe another reason I wanted to join the guard was so that I would never have to truly grow up. I could play at being a soldier my entire life. I’d never have to worry that I would have a family and then be tempted to abandon them like my father did me.” His gaze was suddenly distant, like he’d let slip a private thought that wasn’t meant to be spoken out loud.

“But you take your protection of Marilee so seriously,” I reminded, trying to make what he’d just said and what I knew of him fit together. “Do you resent it?”

He smiled. “Not at all. I can do my job fully, sacrifice my life for her knowing that if I am killed, I won’t be leaving behind anyone who relies on me. It would be a hero’s death. A fitting end to an adventurous life.”

His gaze drifted again and I realized his guard was down. For some reason, here with me, he was letting himself just be Falstone the man, instead of the soldier.

“You would be missed, certainly,” I pointed out.

He shrugged off my words. “Perhaps a little, by a few. But a guard can be easily replaced.” He turned to look at me. “A husband and father cannot.”

I choked a little at his words. “Yes, that does make a difference…” I shoved down the lingering loss and betrayal and considered his reasoning. It was an intriguing principle by which to live one’s life. “Even so, how is it that I’ve never seen that side of you until recently? The side that never wants to grow up? The side that plays make-believe with children? You were never like this before. At Bridgefield, you were never carefree, always serious.”

He leaned forward, resting his forearm on the pommel of his saddle. “When Master Damian’s brother was around, things were more serious. And during that time, Marilee was worried, constantly. To counteract her fear of Edmund, it was important that we all not only look confident and stalwart, but that we really took our jobs seriously. She needed that reassurance.” He turned to look at me, a bit of sheepishness stealing over his features. “And it may seem strange, but I love playing that role.”

“Playing a role?” I asked, intrigued. “Is that how you see it?”

He shrugged. “I know it’s not a game. I know the threats are real. I am committed to keeping the princess safe. But at the same time, yes, I do see it as a role. A great acting game where I play the most formidable person in the room.” His cocky grin was back and it was clear he truly saw it that way. An adventure. A lark. A game.