Free Darkest Knight by Cynthia Luhrs Page B

Falconburg. The Red Knight told them to do something I rather thought was impossible. He learned the saying from his wife, Melinda.”
    Robert turned to Anna. “You remind me of her. Something about the way you speak.”
    Weird. She didn’t think much of the comment until she saw the look on John’s face. He was as pale as the moon. Who on earth was Melinda? A spark of jealously flared. Anna hoped she wasn’t an old girlfriend. She didn’t want to interrupt, so as soon as she had John alone, she would ask.  
    “Do not forget, brother, we’re at war. The king is in need of gold and men. The years have been good to the Thorntons and to the bandit, from what I hear. We have plenty of both and would offer it gladly to keep you safe and back among us.”
    John quickly wiped his sleeve across his eyes. “The servants are stirring up dust. I have a bit in my eye.”
    Robert snorted. “As you will, brother.” He looked around the hall, hands on his hips. “Tomorrow we will drink and feast.”

Chapter Eighteen

    A hundred times a day or so, it seemed to Anna, she tried to wish herself home. Morning, night, inside, outside. Different days of the week, storms or sunny days. She tried every combination she could think of and nothing worked. So either being at the tower would take her back to her own time or she was stuck here. In medieval England with a man she was falling in love with and who wasn’t attracted to her at all.
    Almost a month had passed, and with every day, home seemed more of a distant memory. A place she dreamed of with a father who needed her.
    “Mistress?”
    She jerked up from the pile of hay she’d been sitting in, talking to Brown Horse and Black Horse. So they were awful names, but she hadn’t come up with good ones. If she named them, it felt like she was accepting her life here. One more block cemented to keep her here.
    “Sorry, you startled me.”
    The woman—Sara, maybe?—looked like she was in a hurry.
    “Come along. Your bath is ready and then the girls will help you dress in more…er, proper clothing.”
    The servants Robert had brought stared at her filthy jeans and shirt, but none said anything. After hearing of some of Robert’s activities, she thought they were pretty jaded to anything shocking.
    “A bath would be heavenly.”
    She patted the horses as she left the stables. They looked so much better. The men had worked on the stable first, saying there wasn’t much damage. Right now, the horses had better sleeping arrangements than she did.

    When had Robert grown up to be a man? And one so eager to bathe all the time? John was an idiot, so lost in his own problems he had given little thought to Anna wearing the same clothes for weeks. Not once had she complained. Most ladies he came into contact with would’ve have complained long and loudly until he procured what they desired. She never said a word. Washed as best she could. He chuckled. She had been vexed that he laughed when she said she smelled. Spending so much time on the road, one would have an odor. He thought she smelled nice.
    John was bewitched by the hose she called jeans. Women did not wear such garments. Mistress Waters was a fetching sight, and he’d scowled at more than one guard lingering about.
    “Thinking of the enchanting lass?” Robert smirked. “She will prefer me to you now that I brought her clothing, food, and a bathing tub. And rose-scented soap.”
    “Nay. She does not like castles. And yours looks like it is a folly the king requested.”
    “All women like pretty things. Truly she does not care for castles nor titles?” Robert stroked his chin. “She must be the only woman in all the land. I should take a closer look. A woman such as Anna would make a fine wife.”
    “Touch her and lose your hand.” John stretched out in front of the fire, grateful for the chairs his brother had thought to bring along. “You are much too picky and will never find a wife to suit you. You prefer to wager