Free Claire Delacroix by My Ladys Desire Page A

him.
    And likely only because she chose to deny it to him. Gabrielle knew full well that a man like Yves de Sant-Roux would never pursue a plain woman like herself of his own volition.
    That was what she had to remember.
    “I should fetch the meal, my lord.”
    Yves nodded dismissal and the boy scampered away, leaving knight and lady alone together. Methuselah eyed the knight with some of the suspicion Gabrielle was feeling. The steady beat of the rain on the roof, the distant sound of squires working and the swish of the horses’ tails filled the silence between them.
    The shadows were such that Gabrielle could not see Yves’ expression clearly, and she disliked how much that troubledher. She kneaded Methuselah’s heavy leather reins between her fingers and could not find a thing to say to this taciturn knight.
    Gabrielle wondered whether his cheek still burned from her blow.
    Her own lips felt swollen and she barely restrained herself from raising a finger to touch them anew. Gabrielle heard her pulse hammering in her ears and wished suddenly that Yves would seek out his own steed.
    “We have only to await your staff, then,” he said finally. The practical words stood in such marked contrast to the turmoil of Gabrielle’s thoughts that she felt her cheeks flush scarlet.
    “I have no staff,” she said with a proud lift of her chin. “There is only Chevalier Leon who accompanies me, and I am certain he is already somewhere within the stables. His squire will be with him.”
    The knight folded his arms across his chest. “No maids?”
    “Not a one.” Gabrielle shook her head, well aware of the unconventionality of her choice, and deliberately kept her voice haughty. “I have no need of such luxury, especially in these times.” She reached for her saddle, but the knight was quickly beside her.
    Once again, she could smell the heady masculinity of his skin, and nervous butterflies took up residence in her belly as a result. Curse the man for the way he unsettled her!
    “Is something amiss?” she asked as coldly as she could manage.
    Yves stiffened immediately, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at her. He looked as though he might say something, but then shook his head and knotted his fingers together. Gabrielle saw now that he had already donned his leather gauntlets.
    His glance flicked to hers and she caught her breath at the brightness of his amber gaze. “Might I have the honor of giving you a hand up?”
    Oh, he had charm, that much was certain! Though Gabrielle’s heart lurched to find him so close, never mind to have his handsome features etched with concern apparently for her, it was time to end his attempts to charm her.
    “No!” she retorted, more firmly than was certainly warranted under the circumstance. “No, you will not touch me again!”
    His lips thinned briefly before his features were composed once more. “Perhaps you mistake my meaning,” he said with dangerous calm. “I merely offer you assistance to mount.”
    Gabrielle snorted. “My point exactly, sir, though I doubt we have the same manner of mounting in mind.”
    Yves straightened abruptly. “There is nothing inappropriate in my offer.”
    “And I should say that there is!” Gabrielle snapped. “Indeed, I shall have your promise, sir, and have it this very morning, that you will never endeavor to lay a hand upon me again!”
    “Not even for common courtesy?”
    “Not for any reason whatsoever!”
    The knight folded his arms across his chest and glared down at her. He was too close by far, but there was no room within the stall for Gabrielle to back away. “It is long indeed since a lady found me so offensive that she would not even let me aid her to mount her steed.”
    Oh, he would not fool her with his pretty words! This touch would be but the first of many, and if she ceded in this, she had no doubt his sensory assault would be relentless.
    “And it is long indeed since I met a man reputedly of honor who moved to break