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William glanced at him, trying to remain totally impassive but failing. He attempted to match Paris’ knowing gaze but could not maintain it; the man was right and they both knew it.

“Paris, if you breathe one word of this conversation, I shall….”

Paris threw up his hands. “Say no more, my lord,” he said. “I know exactly what will happen to me, and by your own hand. Your secret is safe with me.”

“I have no secret,” William insisted weakly.

Paris cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at him. “Of course not.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

When William finally did go into his tent later that evening, he was surprised to see that Jordan was still awake, sitting on a small collapsible chair.

He dismissed the two knights he had placed there for her benefit. Marc Fitz Gerald, a knight who had fostered with William, had long reddish hair that gave him the look like a Viking. He had taken his captain’s orders literally and never left Lady Jordan alone for a moment, whereas Lewis Arnsworth, young and taken with her beauty, had spoken to the lady in broken Gaelic and generally acted the part of an eager puppy. Once, she had asked for some water and he had spilled it all over himself in his haste to pour it for her.

Marc put a firm, fatherly hand on Lewis’ shoulder as William moved into the tent and all but shoved him out. The young knight would have been fully content to stay there all night. If William noticed the foolish behavior, he didn’t let on. When his knights had gone, he eyed Jordan curiously.

“I thought you said you were tired,” he said. “Why did you not go to sleep?”

She frowned at him. “Do ye think that I could sleep with my two watchdogs scrutinizing every move I made? Nay, sir knight, I was content to sit right here until I could go to sleep privately.”

He nodded silently, unlatching the leg armor he still wore and letting it fall to the floor. His squire, from nowhere, surged into the tent and began to pick it up.

Jordan watched the young boy. He moved eagerly and efficiently, but she thought he looked more like a frightened rabbit. The boy eventually scurried out, leaving William clad only in his quilted linen tunic and snug breeches that clung to his muscular legs. Jordan was a little taken aback at the sheer size of the man; she had seen those legs, once, but had failed to remember just how big they really were. He was intimidating, but she was not frightened of him. It was a strange, giddy sort of intimidation.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, still standing over by the tent flap.

She shook her head. “Nay, my lord. I am exceedingly tired.”

“As you wish,” he replied, walking towards her. “I apologize for the tent. ’Tis quite barbaric for a lady. But at least we will be dry should it rain.”

It took a moment for his words to sink in. Slowly, she looked up at him.

“We?” she repeated suspiciously. “We?”

He fixed her with a firm gaze. “I promised Lord de Longley that I would protect you always, day or night.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Then ye are saying that…ye plan to sleep in the same tent as me?”

“Not only in the same tent, my lady, in the same bed,” he replied, pouring himself a cup of wine.

It was ridiculous and completely improper. Her mouth opened in astonishment. “In the same be…?” she gasped in outrage. “I will sleep alone, sir knight. I am not here for yer convenience, to warm yer bed.”

He gave her a wry scowl. “Do not flatter yourself. I am simply following orders.”

Now she was deeply insulted as well as angry. So she was not good enough to warm his bed, eh? But, then again, why should she care? The more she tried to fight off the snub, the angrier she became at herself and at him.

“Then, pray, what else do ye plan to do with me?” she demanded. “May I at least relieve myself in private, or must ye tend me that as well?”

Her anger left him unfazed. “Nay, my lady, I will not tend you so long as I can see the top of your head.”

“Oh.” she gasped furiously. “I do not know much of English women’s habits, but we Scots find that there are certain tasks that we must complete in private.”

He faced her. “My lady, I will allow you all the privacy you desire so long as it does not compromise your safety.”

She eyed him, visibly calming. She looked down at her hands, turning them over in her lap and he could tell that she was not finished with her tirade. He wondered what was going on in that lovely blond head.

“So yer men would kill me at the first opportunity, then,” she stated quietly. “They know that I am their enemy.”