Page 30 of Tempting the Maiden

Best horse… my lion reminded me.

I detoured to Snow’s stall, then called to the stableboy. “Geoffrey, move this beauty to the last stall. Abbot’s orders,” I bluffed.

“The one that opens to its own paddock?” he asked.

Exactly. If worse came to worst, it would be easier for Marian to make a quick getaway.

“Yes.” Then I called to Rita and Rosie while saddling Malachi. “Sorry, girls. No outing today,”

“Psst.”

I waved away the fly nagging at my ear.

“Psst. Tuck.”

I whirled. Oh. Not a fly. Quite the opposite — it was hulking John Little, plus his mate, Willa, hidden in an empty stall.

I glanced around, checking that the stableboy was nowhere in sight, then stepped closer.

“Boy, am I glad to see you,” I whispered.

“We came as fast as we could,” John said.

“How is Marian?” Willa asked, clearly worried.

I glanced in the direction of the library and shook my head. “She says she’s fine, but…”

When I trailed off, John sighed and glanced at his partner. “That sounds familiar.”

She elbowed him. “We need to get her out. It’s not safe.”

“It isn’t, but Marian has a different plan,” I said, then explained.

John looked shocked, but Marian’s crazy plan somehow made sense to Willa.

“All right. How do I get in?” she asked.

“Whoa. Wait. No,” John protested.

Willa glowered. “I said, how do I get in?”

I sketched a map in the dust of the floor, indicating the safest route to the library.

“You’ll have to wait until everyone is called to Sext.”

John raised an eyebrow, tempting me to tell one of the many dirty jokes I’d come up with for that prayer time. But no. Gone was the joker and dreamer I’d been when I’d arrived at the abbey. Now, I felt much more like a warrior heading off on a mission. A real-life, dangerous mission, because my true love’s life was on the line.

I gulped at the realization. True love? How could I be sure?

I’m sure, my lion growled. It’s destiny.

How that worked with the monk thing, I had no clue. But that didn’t matter right now.

“When is Sext?” John asked.

“In about two hours.”

Willa’s eyes went wide. “Two hours?”

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