Page 39 of Keeper of the Flame: Orrick

He looked at the flame, then turned around with it in his hand. She couldn’t see what he did, but when the flame went out, she felt disappointed. All her dreams came to a crashing halt. She had been so sure she’d found the Eternal Flame. But now that he’d extinguished it, she could see that the torch was just a torch, like he said.

“Shall we?” he said, approaching her and holding out his arm.

Hope exited the cave first, leaving Orrick standing there by himself in the dark for a moment.

Orrick pulled a small vial out of his pocket, checking to see the Eternal Flame still burned within it. The flame didn’t need air. The flame couldn’t be extinguished. It was a close one. Hope had almost discovered the flame he guarded. But with his quick thinking, he was able to magically put the flame in the vial instead, therefore giving the illusion of the flame being snuffed.

“Damn,” he spat under his breath as he headed for his horse, slipping the Eternal Flame back into the pocket of his cloak. Being so close to the flame again had only managed to release that dark side of him that he thought he’d managed to control. And worse yet, the flame seemed to affect Lady Hope as well because he was sure that never in a million years would Hope beg a man she barely knew to couple with her in a cave of all places.

This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. For one hundred years, he’d managed to control this erratic behavior. But now, he’d unleashed the beast. And because of it, he’d basically abducted a woman who he really liked. After today, Lady Hope would hate him, and she would also hate herself.

He deserved to be hated, and he didn’t care what happened to him. But Lady Hope’s innocence was gone and it was because of him. He’d felt her virginal border break during their coupling. He’d ruined her for any man she might ever want to marry. And the worst part was that he couldn’t even step in and marry her, which would be the proper thing to do.

Nay, he could never love a woman and make her his wife just to watch her suffer, grow old and eventually die. He couldn’t even sire her children. God’s teeth, what had he just done?

He mounted his horse and rode hard and fast back to the castle. He needed to feel the cold sting of the wind against his face, because he hoped it would bring him back to his senses. He had just dragged Lady Hope into his life of turmoil and doom and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling the heat of the vial that was about to burst. He had to transfer the flame to somewhere else. He’d had no choice but to do it since the girl knew of its location. The only thing now was, he had no idea where to hide it so no one could ever find it again.

Chapter 12

“You did what?” gasped Grace, sitting in their solar later that night after the last meal of the day.

“You heard me, Grace.” Hope sauntered over to the fire in the hearth, holding out her hands to warm them. “I’m not proud of what I did and, honestly, don’t even know why I did it.”

“I know why you did it,” said Grace, plopping down on the bed and getting up on her knees. “Sir Rick is a handsome knight. I don’t blame you for wanting to make love with him. So, how was it?” she asked anxiously.

Hope turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. “What kind of a question is that?”

“One that I’d very much like to know the answer to since I’ve never had the chance to experience it myself.”

Hope let out a sigh and headed over to the bed. She’d just tell her sister enough to get her to stop asking and then change the subject. “It was . . . wonderful,” she said, feeling a thrill go through her just by thinking of the intimate time she’d spent with Sir Rick. “I know it was naught more than lust for both of us but, for some reason, it doesn’t even seem to matter. We both wanted it, and I don’t regret doing it at all.”

“You don’t?” Grace cocked her head. “What are you going to tell Lord Irwin?”

“Oh.” A sense of dread washed through her. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Hope’s smile faded to a frown and she held on to the bedpost for strength. “I don’t want him to ever find out. If so, he’d want to duel with Sir Rick and would probably fight until one of them was dead. Grace, you have to promise never to tell him.”

“Of course not. But he’ll know you aren’t a virgin when he takes you to your wedding bed.”

“Nay! That is never going to happen.” Hope started to pace the floor.

“But it will,” said Grace. “Father and Lord Irwin have made the betrothal. You have to marry him.”

“Father might have made the deal, but Lord Irwin and I have our own deal and you know it. If I can produce the Eternal Flame for him, he’ll call off the betrothal. He’s only marrying me for Father’s money. So if he has something worth more than money, he’ll be satisfied and I’ll be let off the hook.”

Grace answered with a sigh. “I hope it’s that easy. After all, we don’t even know if the Eternal Flame is real.”

“It is! I saw it in the cave today, Grace,” Hope told her, feeling filled with excitement.

“You did?” Grace bolted from the bed and grabbed on to Hope’s arm. “You found the Eternal Flame and took this long to tell me about it?”

“Well, don’t get too excited,” said Hope, trying to calm down her sister whose eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her head. “It ended up not being what I thought it was.”

“I don’t understand. Tell me what you mean.”

“I mean, I heard Orrick talking to Lord Corbett in the stables about the Eternal Flame. He said he was the Keeper and that he was going to check on it. So I followed him to the cave, and that is where I found Sir Rick.”

“Sir Rick? What happened to Orrick?”