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“Turn on you?” I shook my head. “This is to protect you. Giles said—”
“Oh, the two of you are best friends now, is that it? He offers you what your father never would and you just jump at it, don’t you?”
“Why are you being like this? I never wanted to be king, I still don’t. Is this what you came here to discuss? Because it can wait until I’m properly awake, don’t you think?”
For a moment—just for a moment—I saw her lips curl, displaying glistening white teeth that looked in the gray light like razors. Almost instantly, it was gone, and a tear formed at the corner of her eye as she shook her head, her chest rising with a sob.
“I came here for you,” she murmured, and I felt compelled to go to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. She clasped her own fingers over mine, drawing a deep breath. “I came to warn you, I—I just heard. I can barely believe it myself, but…the milkmaid you’ve been seeing.”
“What?” My skin prickled as I snatched my hand away. “Iris? What about her? Why didn’t you…”
My mind was racing. Did everyone in the whole castle know my secret? Did I walk in my sleep and broadcast it like a town crier from the battlements? Hear ye, hear ye, I, the bastard prince, have been sneaking off to spend time with the daughter of a tenant farmer, who makes me feel things I’ve never dreamed.
“She’s in danger, Randal,” Patara continued. “Giles Aaron thinks she weakens your position. A future king and a milkmaid? No, he won’t allow it. He’s dispatched assassins early this morning. They’re on their way to her now.”
“Assassins? I have to… Fuck, Patara, if anything happens to her…” I clutched at my bare chest as she plucked a discarded shirt from the floor.
“Here,” she said, handing it to me. “If you go now you might be able to catch them. Please hurry, Randal. The last thing I want is to see you unhappy, no matter what you’ve done to me.”
I snatched the shirt from her hand as I turned to leave, ignoring her last words. I could explain everything to Patara later, and we could come up with a proper way to pay Giles Aaron back for what he’d done.
But right now, Iris needed me, and I would not let her down.
Chapter 11
Iris
I woke with a start, my heart pounding for some reason I didn’t understand. Staying still, I listened and thought I heard…
No. It was too early for Randal to be here, too early even for him. The sun wasn’t even starting to light the sky. It was just my imagination playing tricks on me.
Closing my eyes and letting the smile spread over my face, I snuggled down under my sheets, enjoying the warmth of my bed for a few more minutes before I had to rise. Randal’s face, scars and all, came into my head, and I blew out a sigh of contentment.
We’d kissed. I’d actually been kissed by the man I’d fallen for. What did it mean? That he wanted me as I wanted him? That there were wedding bells in our future? That I was finally loved and not just a chattel for my father?
Randal would be a force of nature when we made love, I knew that for certain. I could imagine it right now. He wouldn’t be gentle and I wouldn’t want him to be. He was power and strength, and when he took me for his own I would know that I was safe, that I belonged, that he would always protect me and cherish me and give me love.
My belly tingled at the memory of his hand between my legs. God, it had felt divine. Such pleasure as I’d never imagined.
He’s promised today we would take time in the afternoon to go fishing together. Finally, someone that wanted to share in the little joys of life I’d found. Maybe, there by the water, we would kiss again. And, maybe more…
There was a faint low bellow from the old cowshed near the house, followed by a much more distressed cry. Nellie had calved not three days ago. But she’d been exhausted from the awkward birthing and I’d moved her to the near barn to keep her close.
Reluctantly dragging myself out of the thoughts of Randal, I pulled on some clothes and headed out to see what was the matter. And when I went inside the shed it was clear.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding it from me,” my father slurred, holding up a bottle of cider from my personal stash.
He’d been gone for days, and truth be told I’d been glad to see the back of him. Without him here, the farm was mine and Randal’s, and it had been like a fairytale. Why was he back?
