“Oh, so pretty,” Amber cooed as she chased it through the garden.
“That’s far enough now,” Lavina called.
But when she glanced up, she found Amber gone.
Panic surged through her. She jumped to her feet to peer over the hedges in the garden. She spotted Amber not far, frozen as if she had stumbled upon Medusa.
“Nay! Get away!” Amber pleaded. “Get away.”
The panic in her voice rattled Lavina to her core.
“Amber!” Lavina called, darting for the girl.
A feral hiss caught her attention. She froze as she spotted the very thing that caused Amber to freeze.
“Amber, ye need to come to me—slowly.”
“But he’ll bite,” Amber whimpered as the fox stalked her as if she were prey.
“Oh, ye wee devil! I’ll nae have ye scarin’ me girls like that,” Theo’s voice suddenly growled.
Lavina whipped her head around to see him charging at Amber and the fox. Before the fox knew what happened, Theo jumped before it, startling the creature back into the shadows and wild.
“I dinnae think he’ll be comin’ back here again,” he said, dusting his hands triumphantly.
“Ye saved me,” Amber whispered, staring at him in awe and wonder.
In a flash, Lavina was at her side. But then Amber extricated herself from her embrace and, to everyone’s surprise, threw her arms around Theo’s leg.
“Thank ye!”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“All right now, lass,” Theo said, trying to pry Amber off his leg. He glanced at Lavina for help.
She darted to him in an instant and dropped to her knees.
“Ye can let go, darling,” she crooned.
Her voice was like bells to his ears. He could listen to her all day and never tire of the harmony in her tone.
Amber’s grip tightened on his leg, and she shook her head defiantly.
“Come now, the fox is gone. Ye can let him go.”
The sound of the dinner gong rang through the keep and spilled out into the garden. Theo’s stomach growled with hunger as he glared playfully at the girl.
“Looks like I’ve got a growth,” he grunted, shaking out his leg.
Amber burst into giggles; they sounded like gentle chimes.
Resigned to having her clinging to his leg, Theo proceeded to the kitchen. One leg in front of the other, he trudged up the garden path. Every step was a struggle, but the smile on her face made it all worthwhile.
He found comfort in their little game, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lavina smile. She beamed so brightly that it could have put the sun to shame.
“What do ye think about that?” she asked as he pulled the kitchen door open.
“Ask me again later,” he replied.
