Page 62 of Lord of the Forest

“Why so angry? I may have found the solution to our troubles.” Not even his dark demeanor could dint her relief that she’d made an ally of Mistress Wentworth.

Pulling the door closed behind him, Lancelot took her shoulders between his hands and brought his face close to hers. For one joyous moment, she thought he would kiss her.

“We have worried ourselves to death over you. What were you thinking, leaving Clairbourne without an escort?”

“It was better to go alone. To take anyone else might have intimidated her, and made her flee.”

“Who? Who have you been to see?” His hot breath seared her face. The anticipation of a kiss heightened.

“Why, Mistress Wentworth, of course. I felt sure I could persuade her to join our cause.”

He gave her a shake. “Mistress Wentworth? Walter’s former lover? The woman who created a distraction for him so he could poison me?”

She jutted her chin at him. Why was he being so bullheaded?

“Aye. I could see no chance of failure. If she hated him, she’d denounce him, or if she still cared for him, she’d speak out and try and mitigate his punishment.” Especially when he wasn’t prepared to pursue a charge of murder, so he could preserve his precious family name.

“It matters not why you left here alone, but the fact that you did. My enemies are your enemies now, Clemence. Your mother and father have been beside themselves with worry.”

She lowered her chin. “I am sorry for it. But had I told them, they would have prevented me from going.”

“Quite rightly.”

The grip of his fingers was becoming painful. It looked as if the kiss was out of the question.

“Just because Walter is safely locked away does not mean he has no influence, no friends beyond his cell walls. You were abducted on the road once before—who are you to judge that it couldn’t happen again?”

She shook his hands from her shoulders. “I did it for you—for us.”

“Little fool. You might have been killed—we all know now how unforgiving a creature Walter de Glanville is.”

“Aye. As unforgiving as you.” Her temper rose like acid in her throat. Why could he not see her quest had ended in triumph? Her eyes were becoming accustomed to the gloom now, and she could tell from the upright rigidity of his body how furious he was. All because she’d left without telling him—because she’d gone riding without an escort.

“Are we come to this, Clemence? Trading insults?” His tone had softened. But it was he who had begun this quarrel, not she.

“Apparently, we are come to this. What has happened to that wild, carefree fellow I found in the forest, who understood nothing of propriety or social mores? As your memory has returned, so has your desire to govern, to curtail my behavior. What manner of marriage will that be for me?”

“A normal one, as I understand it.” His voice became a low growl. “Although, I had hoped we would make an exceptional pairing, not a conventional one.”

Pain jolted through her. Were all her hopes about to be torn asunder, like wisps of smoke on a windy day?

Lancelot raised his hand and rubbed the back of his head. Then he turned away and paced to the other side of the room. His feet made no sound on the hardpacked earth floor, and she realized he must be barefoot again. Not entirely compliant with the rules of gentlefolk as yet, then.

“I thought you’d been taken, Clemence. I was beside myself. If Walter were to harm you in any way, I’d take him apart piece by piece and feed him to the fishes.”

She ignored the plea in his voice—her anger was too great. “And how would that have helped, you idiotic man? It would have made you no better than he is, as I’ve said before.”

Ye gods, how she detested Lancelot at this moment! Only she didn’t—she loved him. Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes.

“I don’t want to control you. I don’t want to command you. But there are some situations best dealt with by men, not young females, no matter how clever or courageous they might be.”

She clenched her fists. “You think Queen Elizabeth not fit to rule, then? Treacherous talk.”

He tugged at his hair and paced the room again. “I did not say that. I find it hard to put into words how I felt when I found you gone.”

“How do you imagine I felt when you went into the woods alone with Walter?”

He was by her side again, reaching for her hands, but she evaded him.