Page 29 of A Knight’s Reward

Before she realized his intent, he touched her cheek, a caress so exquisitely tender, she wanted to weep. “Be honest with me, Gisela. Are you afraid to speak to me because your former husband knows where you live? You fear that if he learns you confided in me, he will be angry with you? That he will come here to confront you?”

How dangerously close Dominic came to the truth. While she could never tell him the truth, she refused to let him believe Ryle lived nearby and she was too weak to try and elude his influence. “He does not live in Clovebury. Neither does he know where I live.” Her voice hardened. “He will never know.”

A curious light warmed Dominic’s eyes. “With every word, Gisela, I grow more and more intrigued.”

Fear tingled in her veins like shards of ice. She’d said too much. He owed his allegiance to de Lanceau, who, if he knew she’d fled from Ryle, could well order her returned to her husband. ’Twas the law.

“Please. No more questions.” She turned away, forcing his hand to drop from her cheek.

Before she took two steps, he said very quietly, “You ran away.”

Gisela swallowed, the sound impossibly loud. Panic shrieked inside her. She froze, her mind scrambling for a reasonable explanation to undermine Dominic’s words. But, when she glanced back at him, she saw acknowledgment in his gaze. He knew he’d guessed correctly.

Oh, God!

Through a haze of shock, she heard her shop door open. Footfalls pounded on the planks.

Exhaling a sharp breath, Dominic glanced toward the inner door.

Ewan rushed into the house, his hood askew. He held up an earthenware pot. “Mama! Ada gave me some honey.”

“What a wonderful treat,” Gisela said. She glanced at Ada, plodding through the open doorway, wiping sweat from her brow. “I wanted to buy some this week, but after the farmer raised the price on his cabbages⁠—”

The older woman waved a hand. “Ye do not ’ave ta explain. I like ta make this young ’un smile.”

Ada’s grin was so infectious, Gisela smiled back. She hoped her little boy did not sense her strain. Looking back at him, she said gently, “Did you say thank you?”

Ewan swung to face Ada. “Thank you.”

“Ye are most welcome, little knight.”

Gisela cast Dominic a sidelong glance. A taut smile curved his mouth before he picked up his tunic. Ada’s narrowed gaze skimmed over his bare back, lingering where the muscles rippled at the edge of the linen strips. The bandages looked flimsy, somehow, compared to his strength.

Gisela forced down an offer to help him with the tunic. Dominic didn’t want Ewan to perceive him as weak. Unless Dominic asked for assistance, she’d let him don the garment on his own.

Scampering over, Ewan thrust the pot at Gisela. “May I have some honey on a slice of bread? Please?”

“Aye, in the morn, to break your fast.”

“Aw! Can I have some now?”

Gisela tousled his hair, much in need of a cut. Tomorrow, if she could convince him to sit still long enough, she might trim his locks. “Did you not just eat some pottage?”

“Aye, but…” His lower lip stuck out. “I am still hungry.”

Despite the strain still humming inside her, Gisela chuckled.

“He is a growing lad,” Dominic said while easing the tunic over his head. Gesturing to his untouched bowl of pottage on the table, he said, “One reason why I did not eat the portion Ada gave me. ’Twas a kind offer, but I am already a grown knight. I would rather Ewan ate it.”

The little boy grimaced. “I hate pottage.”

Dominic winked. “’Twill help you grow into a big, strong warrior.”

Ewan’s little chest puffed out. “I am a warrior. One day, I will be a knight.”

Smoothing a hand over his tunic-clad chest, Dominic paused.

Gisela sensed his astonished glance in her direction. He no doubt wondered how Ewan aspired to be a knight when he wasn’t of the privileged class.