Page 154

“M-my lady, we do neither gape nor leer at Lady Jordan,” he said. “ ’Tis our sworn duty to protect her; always.”

Aloria glared at him when Marc took a step forward. “Whether or not you like it, my fine court lady, we are Lady Jordan’s shadows,” he said quietly. He had a very deep and authoritative voice. “You cannot get rid of us, so you might as well become accustomed to our presence.”

Aloria’s chin jutted up. “We’ll just see about that.”

He nodded readily. “Aye, we will,” he countered with equal firmness. Marc could rile very quickly. “Obviously, you have not been advised that there have been attempts on Lady Jordan’s life or you would not make such a ridiculous statement.”

Aloria looked at Jordan in surprise. No, she had not been told, and now she felt a bit embarrassed. Swallowing, she turned back to the knights.

“Then I stand corrected,” she said with forced humility. “I will not demand that my lady be rid of you, but I will ask that you keep a proper distance. Now, if you would like to accompany us, my lady wishes to go for a walk.”

The knights silently fell in behind the two women and made it to the stairs when they were confronted by Jemma and Kieran. Jemma’s amber eyes immediately flashed malevolently at Aloria.

“Ah, so this is yer court wench, is it?” Jemma was in Aloria’s face, daring her to respond to the insult. She was always particularly brave with Kieran behind her.

Aloria cocked a blond eyebrow. “I am her lady-in-waiting if that is what you were trying to say.”

Jemma. Sassy Jemma. She put her hands on her hips and looked Aloria over as if inspecting a side of beef.

“Ye’re a big one,” she observed, not at all nicely. “Why did the queen pick ye? Is it because if Jordan has trouble learning English customs, ye can beat the lesson into her?”

The knights didn’t know whether to pull them apart or laugh at the whole thing. They were, for once, glad of Jemma’s aggressive behavior. She went after the new English wench like a bulldog. They didn’t like Aloria, either, and it bothered them that she was to be so close to Jordan.

“I have no intention of laying a hand on Lady Jordan,” Aloria stated, eyeing Jemma. “You, however, are another matter.”

Jordan’s eyes widened. It was a challenge, and Jemma never backed down from a challenge.

Jemma laughed loudly. “Ye think so, do ye? For yer information, court wench, I am Lady Jordan’s cousin and her first lady-in-waiting. We dunna need ye, nor do we want ye here, so ye can just go back to yer precious queen and tell her so.”

She was bordering on blasphemy. Jordan passed a glance at the ever cool Kieran, and saw that even he looked concerned with Jemma’s body language. She wondered if he were going to intervene.

Aloria put her hands on her big hips. She was finished being tolerant. “You little bug,” she snarled. “Somebody should have squashed you long ago. What you want or need is of no concern to me, and if you want to get rid of me, then you’ll have to tell the queen yourself.”

Jemma matched her frown. “Dunna call me a bug, ye big cow.”

“Cow?” Aloria raged.

“Aye.” Jemma yelled. “Ye’re as fat as one and just as ugly.”

Aloria’s mouth went into a flat angry line and she clenched her fists. Just as she took a step, Kieran went between the two women and fixed his hard stare on Aloria. Jordan was shocked; she’d never seen that particular expression on Kieran’s face and he suddenly looked most frightening to her.

“I do not think that would be a wise move,” he said, taking the top step as Aloria stepped back. He had been standing two stairs below Jemma, and now that he was on level ground, Aloria could see that he was absolutely massive.

Aloria eyed him but she was far from backing down. “And just who are you, sir knight?”

“Sir Kieran Hage, third-in-command of Northwood’s army,” he said evenly, his eyes glittering with rare temper. “And this woman you were about to advance on belongs to me.”

Aloria took a calming breath, realizing that she was in a no-win situation. “Then she should learn to control her mouth, my lord,” she said as respectfully as she could manage.

“As you should learn to control your temper, speaking from one large-boned person to another,” he replied. “Now, continue with Lady Jordan and I do not want to hear that you have so much as spit in Lady Jemma’s direction or my retribution will be swift. Is that clear?”

Aloria swallowed and moved around him. Jordan, surprised to see Kieran’s anger and furthermore thinking he had been a bit harsh on her new lady-in-waiting, eyed Jemma reprovingly as she moved down the stairs. The knights followed the two women, leaving Kieran and Jemma alone in the hall.

Jemma frowned at Kieran. “Why did ye do that? I can handle myself.”

He focused on her and she was surprised to see his eyes dark and angry. “She was right, Jemma. You need to learn to control your mouth, for I will not always be around to get you out of trouble.”

Jemma blinked at the reprimand and lowered her gaze. She wanted to say something, anything, but she could not think of the proper words. She didn’t want to fight with him, mostly because she knew he was right. With a frustrated shrug, she moved to a small window seat and sat.