“But they found each other again,” Lily finished breathlessly.
“Aye,” he said with a smile, “they did. Even after he wed my mother and she died givin’ birth to me, he still longed fer Julianna. They were designed to be together.”
She narrowed her eyes on him and cocked her mouth slightly to one side.
“Do you believe that, Elias?”
He nodded without hesitancy. “Sometimes folks are brought together under the most difficult of circumstances. They survive because of each other.”
Aye, she thought, mayhap he was correct. Some were designed to be together. But that didn’t mean she and Elias were. “I believe it for Richard and me.”
“Aye,” he said with a sincere smile. “I believe it as well. He saved yer life, lass. I believe it as well.”
Lily was surprised and thankful he did. He wouldn’t be bold with her because he respected her marriage vows. She straightened before her heart melted all over the table.
She reached for a piece of cloth and scooped the coriander into it. “’Tis always good to carry some herbs with you.”
“I will carry some, too,” Elias told her while she tied the small pouch with twine. “What shall we crush next?”
“Balm!” she said excitedly. “One can never have enough balm.” She laughed at herself and wondered if she was drunk on ale…or on him.
And what was she doing to keep herself from falling for him? Nothing! Her mood quickly changed as she began pulverizing her herbs.
If they were designed to be together, why had he arrived two years too late? She wanted to punch him and then put balm on his wound. Not that she could inflict much pain on him.
“What troubles ye suddenly, lass?
And why, when he called her lass did her knees shake and almost crumble? It didn’t have the same effect when Brother Simon called her lass.
It was because Elias said it with indulgence and tenderness and the deep baritone that resonated through her bones.
She shook her head and was careful not to crush her finger again. “The unknown.”
“The unknown could be yer greatest adventure.”
Would he be in the unknown? She wanted to ask him. “We should go to bed.” Her face went pale, her eyes wide at how what had just come from her mouth sounded. “I mean home. We should go home and go to our separate beds.”
His smile turned to soft laughter that drew her from her seat.
He feigned seriousness. “I thought I would teach ye a wee bit of defense.”
She came around the narrow table and stood near him. “Aye, then. Teach me.”
“All right.” He sobered and produced a dagger from his left boot. He crooked his finger at her. She came closer to him. He handed the hilt of the dagger to her and hurried to the back room. He retuned a few moments later with a piece of coal from her small trivet, went to the opposite wall and drew a square within a square on it.
When he was done, he went back to her and stood a little bit behind her. “It doesna matter where ye hold the dagger, by the blade or by the handle. What matters is distance. I will show ye.”
He held her wrist and at one point, her waist—until they both realized it and separated. They practiced for another hour, forgetting the time.
When they finally did end their practice, she put her balm in a pouch, tied it, and carried it and the coriander to the door. Elias was there, behind her. His fingers brushed her shoulder as he put his cloak around her, sending fire through her veins.
“Let me keep ye warm.”
His fathomless whisper set her hands to shaking.
He wrapped her in the soft wool and, leaning in, inhaled her scent. She hoped she smelled pleasant and not like the dozens of onions she’d chopped for Joan today.
He didn’t speak but moved his head an inch or two downward, toward her nape and breathed in again. She felt like a living flame, ready to set everything to ash. She wanted to turn around and stand so close that their bodies touched while they breathed against each other. She wanted to feel those strong, muscular arms she’d seen carrying four heavy sacks at a time close around her. She wanted to stare into his eyes while he prepared to kiss her…