Free Heart of a Knight by Barbara Samuel Page A

nowhere to be seen, and Robert was busily polishing spurs. She smiled when she saw him, but did not draw his attention from his task. It was only a beginning, after all. She would not expect him to find a kind word for she who'd allowed his humiliation.
    She had a particular basket in mind, one woven tightly of river reeds. It was missing. None of the kitchen maids had seen it, and she went to the hall to look in the aumbrey. It was meant to hold only masers and the like, but things had been shuffled about some during her exile.
    It wasn't there, either, but when she straightened, she spied a neat stack of various baskets piled on a shelf behind the hearth, and she cried out happily. "At last!"
    "Such glee for a simple basket."
    Lyssa turned, a swell of something rising in her chest at the sound of Lord Thomas's voice. He had come from the bailey, and stood at ease in a simple tunic, belted around his lean waist. She thought of all the turmoil he'd caused this morning in her solar and hardened her heart against him. "'Tis my favorite for berrying," she said. "They should be ripe now. I awoke with a taste for them."
    "You must not go to the forest alone, my lady. It has become the homeland of thieves."
    "I will not go far."
    He crossed his arms and gave her a half-smile. "Then I will go not far with you."
    She had told herself she was not prey to the foolishness that so enraged Isobel this morning, but as he smiled, she knew she had lied to herself. He was a magnificent creature, so tall and strong, with that pelt of thick hair falling over his shoulders and the glint of such blue eyes. He seemed easy to approach, and that made him all the more dangerous.
    With as much coolness as she was able to muster, she said, "I have gone out to seek berries in these woods since I was a small child. I know where the thieves lie, and how to defend myself. You need not trouble yourself."
    As if he knew her thoughts, he smiled all the more. "Twould be no trouble, my lady. I would count it an honor to walk with one so fair."
    "You do have a nimble tongue, sir." She narrowed her eyes. "But I am no village maid or romantic girl. You needn't waste your flattery upon me."
    "Aye." He stiffened. "And you are cousin to the king, while I'm a lowly knight with no land worth claiming and only my sword to make my way." There was no smile on that mobile, beautiful mouth now. "Forgive me, my lady. I forgot myself." With an oddly formal bow, he turned to leave her, then paused. "You should not go to the forest alone. I will send a guard to go with you."
    Lyssa imagined dull Harry trudging along behind her. "Oh, wait," she said with no small irritation. She lifted her skirts and hurried after him, shoving the basket into his hands. "I have spent a year with only Robert, Isobel, and Nurse." She cocked a brow and wryly looked at him. "You'll do."
    His face was still.
    Lyssa shook her head with a smile. "I jest, sir. You think yourself a lowly knight, but I think you a pleasant companion." She sighed. "I've spent the morning with a bevy of women who sang your praises to the heavens, and even had two storm away from my solar in fits of jealousy. I blamed you for ruining the peace." She inclined her head. "I suppose you cannot help it if besotted women swoon behind you at every turn."
    "'Tis a curse not all men could bear," he said mockingly.
    She tucked her hand at the bend of his arm, forcing herself to ignore the hard round of muscle that made her fingers feel like tiny twigs. "Let us go, then, before the light fades."
    As they took a path from the south wall into the forest, Thomas said, "Tell me, Lady Elizabeth, how it was to grow up in this place, with the king as your cousin. Did he ever come here?"
    Lyssa smiled. "He did. I loved him greatly." She stepped over a pronged branch, lifting her skirts to keep them free. "He is very handsome, and I thought he was made from the sun when I was small, so noble and proud on his horse, and all the pipes and fanfare