Page 71 of The Mercenary

“I would speak to Conrad for a moment.” Although she didn’t wish to leave, she was swayed by the plaintive tone in Guy’s voice. He released her hand, and she stood and left.

“Do not venture far,” he said as she walked through the door. “We need to talk.”

* * *

“Where are we going?”

Since emerging from Conrad’s solar, Guy had been acting . . . odd. She’d assumed he would want to speak to her at once, but instead he’d disappeared, leaving her with the earl. Who had promptly led her out of the solar, their destination unknown.

“I’m sworn to secrecy.”

Sabine rolled her eyes.

“And I suppose you’d never break an oath with a member of the order.”

Conrad smiled at her as they made their way across the small courtyard, making her scowl in return. The man had refused to tell her anything.

Where Guy had disappeared to.

Where they were going now.

Why Guy had asked for her to leave.

She wondered if his other friends were equally infuriating.

“But supper . . . ,” she started, reminding him that the rest of Licheford was even now preparing for the meal. One they could not begin without the earl.

“Can wait.”

Sabine stopped trying. She did not fully understand Guy’s bond with the other men of the order. Although she’d always wished for a sibling, it had never happened, and her friendships had never been as close as the brotherhood shared by these four men.

To her surprise, Conrad led her into a building she immediately recognized as the smithy. Guy stood there next to a bulky man who was presumably Licheford’s master smith. Wielding the smith’s iron hammer had given him much the same physique as the two much younger men.

“A woman?”

Both Conrad and Guy gave the man a look that had him staring down at his feet.

“Master Irwin, will you pardon us a moment before we begin?” Guy asked. Although it was not really a question. When the older man walked out, Conrad left them too.

“’Tis not where I’d imagined our reunion,” Sabine said.

He reached her so quickly, she had no time to react. His kiss was unlike any of the others they’d shared. It was both strong and soft. Passionate and loving. It answered the question she’d had since Guy returned. And well before that, really.

Sabine kissed him back, only to find herself bereft of his company once more.

“I love you, Sabine.”

She hadn’t known what to expect, walking in here with Conrad, but it had never occurred to her that he might profess his love.

But she would accept it nonetheless.

“I am so sorry for the answer I gave that day. I should have told you the truth. That I do not want to part with you ever again. That I would be proud to call you my lady wife for the rest of my days. But”—he swallowed—“I’ve little to offer you. The life of a mercenary . . .” He shook his head. “Conrad has agreed for us to remain here. If we are still alive when this is done.”

He looked at her with such expectation, but Sabine knew what her answer had to be.

“No.”

His stricken expression prompted her to clarify her answer.