Page 58 of Keeper of the Flame: Orrick

“Oh, look, here comes the food,” said Hope, trying to stop a confrontation between the men before it started. “I am starving. How about you two?”

“Starving for attention is what you are,” grumbled Irwin. “Why did you agree to sit next to Sir Rick when you are betrothed to me?”

“Mayhap because she knows between us there is only one who is chivalric and that is me.” Sir Rick raised the goblet of wine to his mouth, glaring at the man over the rim of the cup.

“It’s a nice, sunny day today, isn’t it?” Hope broke in. “I didn’t expect that after that storm last night.”

Both the men grumbled and instead of answering, looked in opposite directions.

“Did you have any luck finding the boy?” Corbett asked Sir Rick in a low voice.

“I did, but he slipped away,” said Sir Rick. “Noah is a hard one to keep in one place.”

“Did you find the Eternal Flame or does he still have it?” Corbett continued.

“What did you say?” Lord Irwin leaned forward, making himself part of the conversation. “Did I hear you say the boy named Noah has the Eternal Flame?”

Neither Corbett nor Sir Rick said anything. Hope knew she had to do something, but wasn’t sure what. So, she did the only thing she could think of. She accidentally, on purpose, spilled her wine on Lord Irwin.

“You stupid wench! Look what you’ve done.” Irwin jumped up, trying to brush away the spot of wine on his white tunic.

“Lord Irwin, calling ladies names will not be tolerated at my table,” Corbett warned him.

“Good, then I’ll leave.” Lord Irwin stormed away and, for that, Hope was glad.

Without Irwin next to her, Hope now would share a trencher of food with Sir Rick.

“Would you like some venison, my lady?” asked Sir Rick, being ever so polite.

“Oh, thank you,” she said as he sliced a piece off of the platter and gently dropped it on the trencher, an old stale crust of bread, that they used for a plate. “And some root vegetables with a little brown sauce atop it all?”

“Of course,” she said, answering with a smile, thinking how handsome he was in his younger self. It made her want to kiss him again. He turned his head and winked at her, making her heart jump into her throat. And when he placed the root vegetables on the trencher, his hand gently grazed hers, making a shudder of desire shoot through her.

She supposed it was because she was immortal now and the Keeper of the Flame that she was feeling such intense emotions and desires. Still, she was very attracted to Sir Rick. But when she thought of Orrick – the way he looked as an old man – it made her wonder if he would someday look that way. He would be old and she wouldn’t age at all now that she was immortal. Hope had so many questions that were unanswered and no one to ask them to. If she started questioning Orrick about these things, he was going to figure out what she had done.

Taking a bite of food, she thought of Lord Irwin and wondered what to tell him. If she gave him the flame, he’d be happy and hopefully keep his promise of breaking the betrothal. Then again, if the flame brought out the dark side of mortals, it might make him into a very dangerous man. He, she was sure, had a lot of darkness within him. She wasn’t in a hurry to see it come out.

After the meal finished, the trestle tables were cleared away and the minstrels started up a lively tune. Sir Rick turned to her and held out his hand.

“May I have this dance, my lady?”

“Well, I . . .” She looked back at the door of the great hall, wondering what would happen if Lord Irwin saw her dancing with him. Then, she realized she didn’t care. She was no longer afraid of Lord Irwin or what he might do. She was invincible so it wouldn’t matter even if he tried to hurt her. “Yes, I think I would like that, Orrick,” she said with confidence, placing her hand atop his.

He cleared his throat and motioned with his eyes to the rest of the occupants of the great hall.

“Oh, I mean, Sir Rick,” she corrected herself with a giggle, realizing that no one else, except mayhap Corbett, her sister, and perhaps Noah knew his true identity. She didn’t want to ruin it for him.

Sir Rick held her loosely as they danced, almost as if he were afraid that she’d be hurt.

“You are not going to break me,” she told him with a smile.

“I’m sorry, my lady. It’s just been so long since I danced with a beautiful woman that I feel at a disadvantage.”

“You’ve had some hard times, but now you can forget about them since they are behind you.” They continued to dance.

“I’ll never forget about my wife. She meant the world to me.” He suddenly seemed very sad, and she hadn’t meant to bring up those memories.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure it must have been awful.”