Page 20 of Retribution

He looked at her sharply. It was a harsh thing to say, but he could also see by the look on her face that she regretted saying it, something that just came out because of the ease of the conversation. She spoke the words before she could stop herself.

Now, he was damn curious.

“Is that how you became a jewel?” he said. “Your father sold you?”

Cleodora wouldn’t look at him. “Not exactly,” she said. “Not in the literal sense. But he is an ambitious man. I am the vessel through which his ambitions are realized.”

Aidric didn’t press her. He could see that it was a difficult subject and, quite frankly, none of his business. He knew that. But he couldn’t help but feel pity for the beautiful young woman, obviously in a trap she would prefer not to be in. He couldn’t help the sense of protectiveness he felt for her, but he had to chase that feeling away. It was ridiculous and misplaced.

And it was one that would get him into trouble if he wasn’t careful.

“Then I am sorry that your life is not your own,” he said. “At least I have had a choice. I serve in a position I’ve worked hard for. I have no regrets.”

She did look at him, then. “You said you serve the king,” she said. “You are a royal knight?”

He nodded. “I am,” he said. “But I have a very special position in the royal ranks.”

“What is that?”

“I serve as one of the king’s personal protectors,” he said. “There are seven of us and I am in command. When I say I serve the king, I mean literally. I answer only to him.”

“That is very important.”

“It is.”

“Then what were you doing in Adelie’s? That does not seem like a place you would be.”

He grinned. “I went to have tunics made,” he said. “There is a great feast tomorrow at Westminster and I was going to have Adelie make tunics for my men and I to wear. I do not suppose that will happen now, unfortunately.”

“Why do you say that?”

He shrugged. “Because it sounded to me as if her stall was being torn apart,” he said. “She will have greater things to worry about than making tunics for the Guard of Six by tomorrow night.”

“Is that the group you serve in?”

“Aye.”

“What do the tunics look like?”

He stepped away from the window. “A crimson tunic with a yellow three-point shield and three blue swords that cross,” he said, gesturing the general shape and size on his own chest, indicating how the swords were placed on the shield. “When King Henry first formed the detail, he gave us our own standard, but that was put aside over the years because our duty is to be mostly unseen and those crimson tunics made us targets. And speaking of targets, I shall return to the shop and find your escort. They must be frantic by now.”

Cleodora nodded. “They will be,” she admitted. “The name of the knight in charge is Neville le Baume. I am afraid he will be very angry that I have left the shop.”

Aidric headed for the door. “Not when I explain that you were removed to save your life,” he said. “I will find him. And you will double-bolt this door when I leave. Do not open it for anyone. Not even the servants who are bringing you food. Tell them to leave it at the door and then open it when they have gone. But you keep this door locked and remain here until I return for you.”

She nodded solemnly. “I will,” she said. “And… thank you, Sir Aidric. What you have done… You have gone out of your way to assist me and I shall never forget it.”

He gazed at her, a flicker of warmth in his eyes. “It has been my honor, my lady,” he said quietly. “I am greatly honored to have met the descendant of a siren.”

She grinned, displaying straight teeth and big dimples in her cheeks. “And I have met the grandson of a demon,” she said. “Not everyone can say that.”

If Aidric had been attracted to her before, that smile very nearly threw him over the edge into smitten.

That was a very bad place to be.

His response was to chuckle and quit the room. Truthfully, he didn’t trust himself to reply because a conversation like that could very easily drift into flirtatious territory and he had no desire to do that. He might have been quickly infatuated with the woman, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew how dangerous that could be.

And how futile.