“I will send one of my friends to fetch her,” she said, tearing her eyes off him long enough to send one of the hovering girls running for Lady Hensingham. “You have been very kind, my lord. You did not have to help me.”
Somewhere over in the pile of young men, Percy emitted a cry for mercy that was quickly silenced. Gar grinned at the sound of it.
“Of course I did,” he said. “You were set upon by a foul beast, who is now more than likely wishing he’d not been so dastardly. We do not take kindly to men who mistreat women.”
“That is very chivalrous.”
He shrugged. “It is the right thing to do,” he said. “Women are weaker creatures. They must be protected.”
He was regurgitating what he’d been taught, but he sounded as if he meant it. Meanwhile, over in the skirmish, two of the de Wolfe brothers were hauling Percy to his feet and shoving him onto the nearest bench. He couldn’t stay upright, however, and toppled onto the ground.
The de Wolfe boys simply stood there and looked at him.
Maksim, however, didn’t care about his victim. He came over to his sister, rubbing at his bloodied knuckles, and looked at her with concern.
“Did he hurt you badly?” he asked.
Mattie shook her head. “Not too badly,” she said. “Whoishe, Max?”
Maksim wasn’t convinced that she didn’t have one foot in the grave. He peered down at her, looking at her eyes, which were already starting to darken underneath with the starting of a bruise. He sighed sharply, with displeasure.
“That’s Percy de Vries,” he said. “I heard Papa speaking with his father earlier today when he asked if you were betrothed to anyone. Papa said you were too young and Lord de Vries seemed to take that personally.”
Mattie peered around her brother, at the body still on the ground as the de Wolfe men kicked at him. One of them was even kicking dirt on him, trying to bury him like a dog burying a bone.
“He… he is angry with me for being young?” she said, confused. “But Mama says that I almost a woman. Why would Papa say such a thing?”
Maksim scowled. “Because he does not want you to marry Percy de Vries,” he said, stating the obvious. “You do not want any part of that family. They are mean and stupid, and I should think what Percy just did to you would be proof of that.”
Mattie wasn’t quite sure what to say after that. She looked at Gar, who simply nodded. “’Tis true,” he said. “Everyone knows that the de Vries family behave like lowborn.”
“But they are nobles.”
“They live like pigs,” Gar said. “The only reason they’re here is because they have a big army, or so my father says.”
“Who is your father?”
“Troy de Wolfe.”
Maksim pointed at Gar. “Thatis the kind of betrothed you want,” he told his sister. “A de Wolfe is the most sought-out husband in the north. You do not want a de Vries, Mattie, trust me.”
Mattie peered around her brother again in time to see the de Wolfe men heaving Percy onto the end of the table. The young man was so beaten that he couldn’t sit up, so they simply laid him on the table. Gingerly, Mattie touched her nose, realizing that it was beginning to throb. The events of the day had alreadytaken a toll on her and the day wasn’t even over yet. Her focus returned to Gar.
“You have been very kind, my lord,” she said with appreciation. “I do not think I want to wait for my mother to attend me. I will retreat to the keep, if you will excuse me.”
Gar stood up as Maksim helped his sister to her feet. “I’ll take you,” Maksim said, grasping her by the arm. “Can you walk well enough?”
Mattie could have been honest with him. She felt well enough, but she could also see Gar out of the corner of her eye and she wasn’t quite yet willing to part with him. He’d touched her with his chivalry, which wasn’t difficult at her age. She spent her time being harassed by Maksim when he wasn’t defending her, so a gentle and kind young man had her little heart fluttering.
“I… I think if both you and Gar help me, I shall make it,” she said. “I feel a little faint.”
That brought Gar. He took her left arm, as Maksim had her right, and they began to walk her very slowly back toward the keep. All the while, Mattie feigned weakness and, at one point, even pretended to stumble so Gar would hold her arm more tightly. It worked, because he did.
Smiling to herself, she let Gar and Maksim take her all the way to the keep steps.
At that point, Gar had to let her go. She thanked him again and Maksim helped her inside, all the way to her bed, where she wearily lay down. Maksim wandered off to find a servant to help her remove her shoes and make her comfortable, so Mattie had plenty of time to lie there, staring at the ceiling and dreaming warm, little dreams about Gar de Wolfe.
That is the kind of betrothed you want.
