Free Heart of the Flame by Lara Adrián Page A

her at a cautious distance as he would any stranger, Kenrick found there was a stronger part of him that wanted to know her better, to examine her as he would any puzzle.
    Haven affected him simply by being, just as she did now, walking silently at his side as he led her past the bustle of the courtyard.
    "I trust you are being provided with everything you need," he said, his inquiry sounding stiff and formal, almost stern.
    "Yes," she answered. "I am."
    "Your wound is being looked after?"
    Haven nodded, sliding him a wary look that seemed to say she was less comfortable with his attempt at politeness than she might be with his gruff mistrust of the days before.
    "And you are being well fed?"
    At his further questioning, she paused, tilting her head to look at him. A small frown creased her brow. "Yes. I am regularly given more food and drink than I can consume."
    "Very good. Your health is important to me, Haven. I want you to see that I am taking good care of you."
    "Because you need something from me," she surmised, a note of challenge sparking in her eyes.
    He did not confirm or deny his reasons, for he saw little point in it. Not that Haven awaited his response. She crossed her arms before her and faced him squarely where they stood in the center of the sun-filled bailey. As she spoke, her voice rose with the spark of her ire.
    "Well then, my lord, let me assure you that I want for nothing. I am regularly bathed and fed. My chamber is never without a fire on the grate and fresh rushes on the floor. Lady Ariana has provided me with this fine gown and slippers...Why, every prisoner should know such fine treatment."
    Kenrick scowled, noting the furtive, curious glances tossed their way by some of the folk yet milling about the yard. None of Clairmont's subjects would dare such boldness, for since his return from captivity, Kenrick was regarded with a measure of caution--and not a little fear.
    It was a situation that suited him fine when his days and nights were spent in solitude and secret study of the treasure that consumed his every waking hour.
    Most everyone in the keep thought him bedeviled and best avoided, a fact that had not been entirely without design.
    It would have been easy to exploit his mad reputation in that moment, when he stood as good as publicly confronted by the fiery brazenness of his injured female charge. He could feel the eyes on him, the ears trained to hear their broody lord unleash an unholy wrath on the hapless fool who dared to pique him.
    For one tempting instant, he considered doing just that. But anger was never his way, and to his surprise he found that Haven's challenge intrigued him more than anything else.
    Let the servants think it just another unpredictable facet of his nature that he allowed this woman to take him to task over an imagined slight. She had no cause to be angry with him, and he saw no need to goad her unnecessarily.
    Kenrick lowered his voice to a private level, holding her impertinent glare.
    "You are not a prisoner, Haven. I told you that not a couple of days ago, when I disposed of the bar on your door. I have not confined you to your chamber, have I?"
    "No," she replied archly. "My cage is a bit larger than that. Though not much, I expect."
    He stepped closer to her, until his tall shadow blotted the sun from her sparkling green eyes. "Is that truly what you think?"
    She gave him no immediate answer, holding her ground in stubborn silence.
    "I realize I might have treated you somewhat harshly at first, Haven. But you may trust me when I tell you that it was not my intention."
    Her pretty lips pursed in a moment of haughty consideration. "I find it a wiser thing to trust deeds over words, my lord."
    Kenrick smiled, taken aback. "As do I, my lady," he replied, in full agreement and amused in spite of his own defense.
    He flicked a glance over her burnished auburn head, his gaze searching the bailey for one of the young squires who served him.
    He found one of the boys