Page 36 of Anice’s Bargain

Why was Piquette not getting to his feet?

The shadow of a man stretched over the front wall, arms drawn back, hefting something upward. A sword? Or a hammer? An axe, mayhap? James did not pause to see. He flew from hiding like a beast and launched himself at Anice’s attacker with his full weight.

* * *

Anice had been expecting an attack.She had not, however, anticipated a giant to spring from the shadows, like a nightmare, to thwart the impending battle.

James sat atop the Master of the Horse’s chest with one massive fist raised to bring down upon the man’s face. Peter, for his part, was very brave in not cowering from the man who easily outweighed him twofold.

“Stop.” Anice grabbed James’s large shoulders and hauled him off the Master of the Horse.

“Peter,” she gasped. Piquette was at her side now, prancing from paw to paw with his apparent unease.

Peter slowly got to his feet and dusted off bits of hay from his clothes and shaggy dark hair. “No better practice than with an actual Graham, eh?” His full mouth lifted in a half-smile that showed a dimple in his cheek.

They all had met in the stables for years to practice: Anice and her sisters with the Master of the Guard and Peter. After the initial attack by the Grahams, when Peter had been too young to aid anyone, he vowed never to be helpless again. He wanted to be a part of their training so that he could defend not only himself, but others as well.

“Pish.” Anice regretted the phrase as soon as she said it. The word made her sound too like Marin, when she so clearly was not. After all, Marin would never have allowed James to escape his room and follow her.

In fact, how had James come to escape his guard to follow her?

She had been so careful, only reading Drake’s note after depositing James at his chamber, and then burning it. But she’d been so excited that they would finally have a serious practice after so many long months without it, when they had been too weak to expend energy on mock battle.

She spun on James. “How did you get here? Why are you here? And what has become of your guard?”

His face remained a mask. “It appears we’ve both had our trust betrayed tonight.” The mask broke, however, when he slid a stabbing glare to Peter. “With yer dallying with the stable lad.”

“I would never so disrespect one of Lord Werrick’s daughters.” Peter’s hazel eyes flashed. “And I’m the Master of the Horse.”

“James, this isn’t as it appears.” Anice kicked the padded armor she was trying to put on beneath a bit of hay.

“Ye could have told me ye had a lover.” James spat the words out and indicated Peter’s sword on the ground. “Though what ye two were about, with him coming at ye with a blade, is beyond me.” He cut his glare to her this time. “Mayhap it went beyond the boundaries of my imagination.”

Anice’s stomach flipped at her own words being flung back at her. He didn’t understand. And, of course, she couldn’t tell him about their meetings to train for battle. If he were spying like her father suspected, that knowledge could make them lose their advantage. She had to figure out a way to get him from the stable before—

Drake appeared in the doorway then with her sisters at his heels. Cat popped around behind him and took in the scene with a wide smile “Are we allowed to tell James now?”

“He isn’t supposed to know.” Ella peered around with obvious curiosity. Her mouth fell open. “Peter, are you injured?” She rushed to him at once and began fussing over him. But then, Ella had always held an affinity for Peter.

“It’s fine to tell him,” a soft voice said from behind the older siblings. Leila slowly walked around her sisters and made her way to James. She settled a small hand on his arm. “I trust him.” Her nose wrinkled. “He is not like his father.”

James tilted his head in a nonchalant show of agreement. “The lass is a wise one.” While less angry, he did not appear any less confused. “What is all this about?”

Geordie entered the stable with a sword buckled at his hip and glanced around. The young man had been squire to Sir Richard, but now awaited a station with another knight somewhere in England to conclude his training. In the meantime, he could always be found with Cat, same as when they were children. His gaze fixed on her, and an affable grin stretched over his wide mouth in his usual lovestruck manner. Cat, as always, was completely oblivious.

Anice sighed, at the sisters, at James, at the ridiculous situation. Leila said they could trust him, but Anice had her doubts. He was, after all, a Graham.

Leila met Anice’s gaze and nodded slowly.

“We intended to train,” Anice said slowly. “Though we anticipated doing so without your knowledge.”

“Train?” James frowned and looked at Anice and her sisters, as if seeing them for the first time. She could understand how they appeared from his eyes: her with a sword propped behind her, the daggers shoved in Leila’s belt, a bow and quiver slung over Cat’s back and the battle axe propped at Ella’s shoulder. “Ye mean in weaponry?”

“Of course.” Cat bounced on her toes. “We haven’t been able to do it for half an age because we had to conserve our energy, or so Isla said. Now that we have had enough food again, she’s told us we can resume our practice.”

James indicated Anice’s sword where it was propped against the wall. “I can show ye a bit, if ye like.”

“I’ve already been trained.” Anice couldn’t help the note of pride in her voice.