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“Willow.” Conrad dropped the shoe, and his hand shot up to cover his eyes.
“Turn around, Brother,” Hazel instructed, helping Willow to dress quickly.
Willow looked up to see both Conrad and Toby with their backs to her, hiding their eyes with their hands.
“How dare you burst into my room unannounced!” Willow put her hands on her hips. Slowly, Conrad peeked out from between his fingers. Seeing she was dressed, he nudged Toby. They both turned around.
“Willow, can I talk to you in private?” asked Conrad.
“Whatever you have to say, you can do so with witnesses present. After all, I don’t want to be alone with you ever again.”
“Conrad, how could you have let that happen?” asked Hazel in a low voice.
“God’s eyes! Willow told you?” Conrad bent down to get his shoe, hopping on one foot trying to put it on. “Now, Hazel, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of Lady Willow. She was caught up in a moment of passion, but luckily I stopped anything from going too far. I assure you, we didn’t do anything – not really.”
“I don’t think badly about Lady Willow, Brother,” said Hazel. “’Tis you I am ashamed of since you seduced her and almost took her virginity.” She shook her head. “I never expected you to act that way.”
Conrad shook his head,thinking he had heard his sister wrong. Had Hazel just accused him of being the one to initiate the whole ordeal between him and Willow?
“Now, wait a minute, Hazel. I think you must have gotten some wrong information. That isn’t at all how it happened.”
“Then what did happen?” asked Hazel, watching him intently.
“Aye. I’d like to hear the answer to that, too,” said Willow. “Are you insinuating I am a loose woman just because I don’t always bind my hair?”
Willow’s eyes looked deeply into his, almost as if she could see straight through to his heart. If he wanted Hazel to know the truth, now was the time to tell her that Willow was the one who seduced him and he was the one to pull away. But in doing so, he would ruin Willow’s reputation. He cared about her too much to embarrass her like this. If Hazel told anyone else what really happened, Willow’s name would be tarnished throughout the castle. Not that it already wasn’t, but there would be even more rumors spreading like wildfire that she could possibly be a strumpet. After last night, he realized that wasn’t true. After all, she was still a virgin! He knew that now. She was a lady, not a strumpet. He had to make sure no one, not Hazel, Toby, any of the nobles, or even the servants thought any different.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” he said, holding back the words he really wanted to say. “I let my lust take hold of me. Can you ever forgive me, Lady Willow?”
“Well,” she said with a sigh, brushing lint from her sleeve. “I suppose it would be best if all of us kept this to ourselves, don’t you agree?”
“I do,” said Conrad.
“But Lord Conrad,” protested Toby. “I thought you said –”
“Squire, go shine my sword.” Conrad yanked his sword from his belt and handed it to Toby. “The hand-to-hand combat starts in an hour, and I want to be sure to look my best when I win.”
“Aye, my lord,” said Toby heading out the door with the blade in his hand.
“Hazel, are you feeling better?” asked Conrad.
“I am,” she said with a nod. “I think I’ll go watch the competition with Willow.”
“Please do,” said Willow, still looking angry. “I want someone with me to witness Sir Conrad losing.” She started to pass him on her way to the door, but Conrad grabbed her wrist. She turned back, scowling at him.
“Willow, we need to talk,” he whispered.
“I have nothing to say.”
“Well, I do. Please, give me a moment alone with you.”
She sighed and finally nodded. “Hazel, I forgot my crown and need to get it. Why don’t you go down to the practice yard and save me a seat near the front? I’ll be there momentarily.”
“All right.” Hazel stepped up to the doorway. “Aren’t you going to escort me, Brother?”
“Toby will do that,” said Conrad, calling out Toby’s name. His squire hurried back into the room out of breath, with Conrad’s sword in his hand.
“Was there something else, my lord?” asked Toby.
