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“He’s right that a lady shouldn’t be acting like a man,” said Willow, fussing with her hair. She was too feminine at times and the exact opposite of Maira.
Fia spoke up next. “Remember, Maira, ye need to let men think that way. I hope ye didna do anythin’ to make him suspicious.”
“Nay.” Maira looked down and played with the reins in her grip. “Not really.”
“Maira, ye didna use yer weapons around him, did ye?” asked Fia. “We are supposed to keep our skills a secret and no’ alert anyone by usin’ them openly.”
“Fia, ever since you got married and had a baby you worry like an old hen,” snapped Maira. “I may have used my sword but it was only to protect myself, I assure you.”
“It didn’t look to me like you were in any danger from him,” said Willow.
“Aye,” agree Morag. “Ye two were standin’ very close, like lovers.”
“Lovers?” This interested Willow. “Maira, you almost had me believing that you didn’t like men. I guess it was all an act after all. I knew it!” Willow thrust her chin in the air and pushed back a lock of her long, ebony hair.
“Ye’d better stop kissin’ the men since ye are leavin’ on the morrow to get married,” added the meddlesome Morag.
“I wasn’t kissing him and I’m not marrying anyone, no matter what my father and the earl think.” Maira wanted this nonsense to stop. She wouldn’t be swayed by anyone to wed a man against her will.
“Then who will ye marry?” asked Morag.
“No one!” she snapped. “Don’t you understand? I’m a warrior, not a feeble noblewoman that will sit at her husband’s side like an obedient dog. Besides, no man would want a lady warrior for a wife, just like that man said.”
Her eyes roamed over to the gate. Something about the stranger intrigued her yet she couldn’t put a finger on why he kept her interest. This man was nothing but a peasant – a mere commoner. He shouldn’t have even been talking to her since she was a descendant of the crown. Her thoughts went back to the way his hand felt pressed against hers, and the strong muscles she felt under his tunic when she’d laid her hands on his chest to steady herself. Why did she like it? She’d never felt this way before. And she shouldn’t be feeling this way since she was now betrothed to someone else.
An alliance with the High Sheriff of Durham would be a smart move. Her father and the earl were right about that. But this didn’t interest her in the least. Instead, all she could think about was the stranger who had held her in his arms so intimately. It was wrong, but Maira now felt like her flirtatious cousin, Willow. Part of her wanted, once again, to be in the stranger’s arms even though he was naught but a common thief in the night.
