Lara gnashed her teeth.“You think metroublesome?For defending myself against a drunken soldier whothought it his right to take whatever he wanted from me?Againstpossible rape?Should I have simply lain down in the straw andtaken it?Do you truly believe it fair that I’m held prisonerhere,” she waved her arm, “in your chamber, until the count deemsto hold Mallus?”
“This is tsafest,” he saidwith maddening calm.“For you and everyone else.”
“You must think me verydangerous.”
He held up his bandaged hand and gavea lopsided grin.“Now why would I think that?”
Lara glanced around the chamber forsomething to throw at him.
“I’ll send a man to thecount tomorrow to find out when Mallus will be heldnext.”
Lara snorted.As if finding out whenshe was to be tried by Count Nithard would make her feel anybetter.
“Until then,” hecontinued, “the bed is yours, if you so choose.”
“Let us have a rightunderstanding, Captain.”Lara strode over to Wolf and plopped downbeside him.“I may be your prisoner, but I will not be your whore.I will never share your bed.”
“Aye, well, as much as theidea intrigues me,” he said, giving a low chuckle, “it wasn’t whatI meant.Besides—” He rubbed his hands up and down the nicks andscrapes on his bare arms and grinned at her from across thechamber, his teeth showing white against the black of his shortbeard.“—I don’t think I could spare that much blood.”
***
Warmth and light played around theedges of Lara’s lids as she stretched her sore, stiff body.A wetnose stuffed into her ear, and she let out a sigh of relief to seeWolf’s big, brown eyes staring into hers, full of life andawareness.“Morning, boy.”She kissed his nose and ruffled hisfur.
“Noon’s more likeit.”
Lara sat up and followed Sophie’svoice to the table where she sat, along with a platter of bread andfruit and cheese.
“How fared you the night,child?”
Child.Lara pushed herself up off thefloor with a groan.She was twenty-two years old, an old maid bymost people’s estimations, but to Sophie she would always be achild.
“I passed the night safelyand comfortably enough,” she said as she took a seat at the tableand tore off a chunk of bread.
Sophie’s gaze went to the unruffledbed, and Lara nodded toward the pelts piled neatly to the side ofthe door, her cheeks flushing hot as she recalled how unchildlikeher reaction to the captain had been.
“I slept on the floor withWolf, as you found me,” she told Sophie.“The captain slept on thepelts by the door.”The furrow between Sophie’s brow lessened, butthe shadows beneath her eyes remained.“Were you up all night withthe wounded soldier?”
Sophie shook her head.“Not all night.Berta took a turn watching over him, as did thecaptain.”
“The captain?”
Sophie nodded.“Early thismorn.”
“Why would…?”The dooropened, and Lara went quiet as the captain walked in, nodding toher and Sophie as he strolled over to the chests at the foot of thebed.She lowered her voice.“Why would he do that?”
“He said he wanted to bethere when the man came to.”
Lara glanced over at the captain, whowas rummaging through the chest that held his clothes.“No doubt toget the man’s account of what he will say happenedfirst.”
“What did happen,Lara?”
“I went to the stables towait for you.The soldier, Fulrad, must have already been there,sleeping his drunk off in an empty stall, because I never saw orheard him until he was right behind me.”
Sophie’s brows knitted together.“Whatwere you so distracted by that you let a drunkard sneak up on youand catch you unawares?”
Lara shrugged for ananswer.
“Where wasWolf?”