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Excitement filled him at the contact and the taste of her sweet lips. It was like spring filled the autumn day, bringing with it a sense of rebirth.
The kiss lingered, and her head fell back as if she enjoyed it. When he pulled away, he noticed her eyes were closed.
“Conrad?” came Hazel’s voice from behind him. He jerked upright and dropped his hands to his sides. Then Willow’s eyes opened and just when he thought she was going to kiss him back, she slapped him instead!
“How dare you kiss me as if you had the right to?”
“Conrad?” Hazel spoke to him once again.
“Just a minute, Hazel,” he said, holding up his hand, not bothering to turn around to look at his sister. Instead, his gaze was fastened to Willow. “You wanted me to kiss you, just admit it. If not, you wouldn’t have been looking at my mouth.”
Willow’s brows arched high in surprise. “Why, Conrad the Cur, I see some things never change. You are no different than when I first met you when I was a child!”
“What?” He didn’t understand what that was supposed to mean.
“Conrad?” asked Hazel once again.
“What is it, Hazel?” He spun around with his hands in the air. His sister was at the door with a worried look on her face. In the open doorway stood not only Lord Beaufort, but also Earl Alnwick, the barons George and Chester, and Sir Bedivere. “My lords!” he said, abruptly moving away from Willow, feeling like a damned fool.
“What’s going on here, Lochwood?” growled Beaufort. “Lady Willow is my ward, and I don’t like what I just saw.”
“What did you see?” asked Conrad, dragging a hand through his hair. His back had been to the men, and he hoped they hadn’t actually seen the kiss.
“I saw Lady Willow slapping an honored and revered knight.”
“Y-you did?” he asked, not sure if he saw the kiss or not. It didn’t sound like it.
“Lady Willow, what do you have to say for yourself?” asked Beaufort.
“My lord.” Willow stepped forward, straightening her gown. “I had an excellent reason for slapping him. It was because he –”
“I had a mosquito on my face, and she smashed it,” said Conrad, stepping forward. “Was there something that you wanted, my lords?”
“Aye,” said Earl Alnwick. “Lady Willow’s words made sense to me. I’ve decided to show all of you the ruby.”
“I did that?” asked Willow, sounding surprised. “And you’re going to let all of us see it?”
“He is, my dear,” said Lord Beaufort. “Since you pointed out that the earl has the gem guarded securely, he decided to show the stone to some of us.”
“You, too, Lochwood,” said Earl Alnwick. “And I’m guessing that is the sister you spoke of, so bring her to my solar as well.”
“Aye, my lord,” said Conrad as the men headed down the corridor. Conrad turned back to the women. “Hazel, you’ll join us,” he said to his sister. Then he took Willow by the elbow and leaned over and whispered into her ear. “For a girl who calls me a cur and supposedly hates me, you sure seemed to like the kiss.”
“Get away from me or I’ll slap you again. And this time, the earl will know it wasn’t a bug.” She hurried through the door, not waiting for Conrad to escort her.
“Conrad, I tried to warn you they were here,” said Hazel in her ever-so-soft, timid voice.
“Well, next time something like this happens, do me a favor and stop me from kissing her in the first place.”
“Don’t you like her?” Hazel looked up curiously and waited. It was a question he didn’t know how to answer. He thought he despised Willow just as much as she did him. But now she had him all confused because all he wanted to do was kiss her again, even if he received a slap in return.
“Sometimes a man gets confused and does things without even knowing why he did them.”
“She doesn’t seem very friendly. Lady Willow hasn’t even spoken a word to me. I don’t think she likes me.”
“Don’t take it to heart, dear sister.” Conrad put his arm around Hazel’s shoulders and guided her out the door. “Lady Willow doesn’t seem to notice anyone unless they are a man.”
