Page 18 of Lord of Deception

“I shall do neither.”

He leaned closer, fixing her with his dark brown gaze. “I had one too many passionate embroilments with young women.”

She felt a blush steal over her cheeks but steadfastly refused to remove her hand from his mesmerizing caress. “So, you hope to impress the queen by learning gardening skills, sleeping in a hut, and avoiding women?”

“That’s the sum of it.”

She wasn’t convinced he was telling her everything. “Then you haven’t succeeded yet, have you? What will happen now? Will you go on to some other household next week, and try and take them all for fools?”

“Mayhap when the queen sees the blisters upon my hands and hears my knees creak in damp weather, her heart will melt a little, and my punishment will be over.”

He must be a favorite, if that was the only penance she required of him. “A lady who rules as firmly as Elizabeth has a heart well beyond danger of melting.”

“We shall see. They say fortune favors the brave, or perhaps the brash in my case. I am glad the masque is over. I have not enjoyed deceiving you.”

She steeled herself against the tenderness in his voice. She now knew Kit to be both a liar and a seasoned seducer—one needed to be careful around such men.

“Have you learned your lesson?”

“I have certainly learned to take Bess at her word.”

He looked so forlorn at this, she couldn’t help but chuckle, earning herself a reproachful glare.

“While I’m delighted to discover you do have a sense of humor, Alys Barchard, I’m not pleased to be the butt of it.”

“Wasn’t that the idea, that you should be humiliated? I’m helping with that.”

“No, the idea was that I should be humbled, not humiliated. In my book, they’re not the same thing at all. I wonder how you can be so cruel when I have looked after you so well.”

This last was true, even if he had taken advantage and kissed her. She withdrew her hand from his grasp—now that she knew who and what he was, she ought to allow him no more liberties. He’d been exiled from court for his licentiousness, and she should have nothing to do with such a man.

Yet, he was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in her secluded existence.

And it amused her to think how he’d taken everybody in—Kate, Sir Thomas, even the servants. Everyone but herself.

“You said you’d speak of it to no one,” Kit reminded her, so forcefully the amusement vanished. There was more to this story than he was prepared to admit. There had to be.

“So, what woman caught your eye so irresistibly, you were prepared to risk your good name?” Womanizer he might be, but he didn’t strike her as a fool.

“I’ll name no names, for the lady’s sake.”

She thought his mouth flickered with distaste. Whoever the lady had been, she’d not been worth the sacrifice. “So, I am not to know her name, or yours?” She let out a huff of annoyance. “Then answer me this—how came you to be banished to Selwood Manor. Only Sir Thomas Kirlham has a connection at court—is it with his contrivance you come to be here?”

Kit’s eyebrows shot up. “Most certainly not.” He glanced around the pavilion, frowning slightly, before his gaze came back to hers. “Nay. ’Twas the lady’s father who advised the queen on my place of exile. He chose Selwood as being dull and obscure—pardon my frankness. He knew it would thoroughly frustrate me.”

“And has it?”

His eyes sparkled and a smile played about his lips. “Not so much as I feared.”

She thrust away the pull of attraction—he was merely trying to divert her from her questioning. “If Selwood is so obscure, how came anyone at court to think of it? Unless, of course, the lady you toyed with has some connection with us.”

Was it someone who had known Kate’s late husband? It was infuriating that Kit wasn’t prepared to speak out—she didn’t like mysteries. Until he gave her those names and connections, it would be rash to trust him. There was a stubborn set to his jaw now, hinting that any further questions would not be answered.

At that moment, there was a jingle of bells beyond the tent flap, and a loud drumbeat started up. Alys sucked in a breath. “It’s the Mummers.” A welcome escape from the taut atmosphere that now flooded the wise woman’s pavilion. “Shall you mind if we go and watch?”

Kit nodded, his smile warming her. “You are very polite, now that you know my true status. Even if you do despise the man beneath.”

“If you’re fishing for compliments, you’re wasting your time.” She wasn’t going to admit that she liked him, was fascinated by him, even. In fact, God forbid, she was sinfully attracted to him.

He held the flap aside for her, and they followed the colorful troupe.

The rest of the visit was spent watching a hilarious performance of the play Mankind and exploring the rest of the market. With Kit’s tall figure by her side, Alys felt safe and protected, enjoying the truce that had settled between them. He bought his seeds, she, her ribbons, they ate sweet pastries, listened to the ballad singer, and applauded the dances of the tinkers—and she dreaded the moment she’d have to return home. Never before had she felt so free of her usual constraints.

When she’d run out of reasons to linger—and remembered how vicious Kate might be if she didn’t hurry home—Kit offered to escort her back to the manor. It was almost dusk by the time he lifted her onto her horse, and the crowds had dispersed. The high road leading back towards Selwood Manor and the neighboring villages was virtually empty.

The peace of the evening descended over Alys as the horse slowly trotted its way homeward. Night birds had awakened and soared noiselessly overhead, bats chirruped faintly, and small insects began their relentless cacophony from the wayside grasses. She watched Kit’s back as he walked her mare, Pennyroyal, enjoying his confident stride, the upright fluidity of his lean, well-shaped body and the swing of his over-long hair.

Thus she couldn’t help but notice, the closer they got to the manor, the more his shoulders drooped, the slower his step. He looked for all the world like a down-trodden estate worker straggling home to his rest—for the benefit of the Selwood household, mayhap?

Suddenly, she noticed he’d left his hat behind.

“Kit—” Her words died in her mouth.

Up ahead, the roadway was occupied by three stocky men, all looking decidedly unsteady on their feet. Kit pulled the horse to a stop, and gazed intently ahead.

Footpads? Surely not even Kit could hold off three of them?