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“Aye, she would like that, since she admires the trees and birds and considers them her friends.”
“Then she toils in the soil with enjoyment?” Thomas asked as they walked toward their horses.
“She loves digging, planting and growing, and she is an excellent cook.” Reena spoke loud enough for Magnus to hear, since he walked a few feet in front of them.
“I already have an excellent cook,” Magnus called back to her.
“Then that gives her time to stitch, since she is an artist with needle and thread.”
“Is there anything she cannot do?” Magnus nearly shouted.
Reena was quick. “Defend herself.”
Magnus shot back just as quickly, “A weakness in all women.”
Reena bristled at his remark. “I can defend myself well enough.”
“Can you now?”
Before Reena could blink, Magnus had turned and was upon her in an instant. He grabbed her by the shoulders and just as quickly took her to the ground, his legs straddling her while his hands had her shoulders pinned against the hard earth.
“Now can you defend yourself?”
“Aye, I can,” she said with a calmness that belied her quivering stomach.
He laughed.
“I only need to ask you to remove yourself from me.”
She forever startled him, whether in action or words. “And you think a foe would honor your request?”
“You are not a foe. I would not be so foolish as to ask a foe, but then I would not be so foolish as to place myself in a position of defending myself against someone more capable than me.”
“She defends herself well,” Thomas said with a laugh.
Begrudgingly Magnus agreed. “Aye, she does; she uses her intelligence and does not waste her strength in battling someone she cannot defend against.” He stood and offered his hand to her.
She took it and got to her feet, brushing off her cloak. “If I had no choice I would give a foe a worthy battle, though knowing full well victory would not be mine. I would not meet my demise without a fight.”
The thought that Reena would be in such a helpless situation and in need of defending herself infuriated Magnus. “You are under my protection now.”
The three continued toward the horses.
“I am grateful to know that, but I also know that each day can bring the unexpected and I must remain aware and keep my eyes wide and my ears alert.”
Magnus reached out suddenly, grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her up onto her mare. “You do that, but know that anyone who dares to harm one of mine will suffer my wrath.”
He walked over to his horse, mounted, and reached out to take his helmet from one of his men, who held it up to him.
Reena watched as the thoughtful and gentle Magnus disappeared and the fearsome Legend returned, and she shivered from the darkness that appeared to consume him.
A sharp yapping sound broke through her musing, and she looked to see plump little Horace running toward them. He stopped near her, plopped down on the ground for a second, then jumped up and down barking.
Magnus rode over. “Sit, Horace.”
The puppy jumped up and down several more times before he sat, his plump body leaning to the side and his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth.
“I did not know you brought him along,” Reena said, delighted. She favored the pup, for he had followed her around yesterday like a dutiful guardian.
