Quite the contrary.
He rather liked that.
“That is because you are,” he said as the last servant left the chamber, taking the buckets with him. “It is good that you realize that. It means you will never take it for granted. You will always respect the privilege you have been given.”
Christin nodded, grinning bashfully as she realized he understood exactly what she’d been trying to verbalize. She further realized that she had taken enough of the man’s time.
“Forgive me,” she said. “I must sound foolish. A man like you has better things to do than listen to my ramblings.”
“It’s not often I hear ramblings. Coming from you, it’s not so bad.”
Her grin turned into a giggle and she looked away, absolutely mortified that her cheeks were starting to flame again.
“Well,” she said, “you have been kind, anyway. You did not have to give me your time or your attention. I am sure you would rather be with your friends downstairs.”
He shrugged, lifting those big shoulders. “I already know all there is to know about them,” he said. “Since you and I have seen action together twice, I thought I should come to know a little about you, too. If The Marshal permits you to serve him, then clearly, you are extraordinary.”
He was showing interest in her, which was thrilling. She tried not to read too much into it, telling herself that he was only being polite. She couldn’t bring herself to even consider that it might be something more.
“We are to see more action in the coming days at Norwich,” she said, changing the subject because his personal questions had her uncertain. “With the king coming, it should prove… interesting.”
Alexander’s gaze lingered on her for a moment. He couldn’t help but notice she didn’t seem to want to talk about herself more than she already had, which was disappointing. Therefore, he did the polite thing and went with her change of focus.
“Have you been around the king at all?” he asked. “I mean, have you met the man personally?”
She nodded. “When I was young,” she said. “I was with my father when we went to London and I met John then, but I have only seen him occasionally since. We’ve had no contact other than that.”
Alexander sighed faintly. “You know that he has an eye for beautiful women, don’t you?”
“Why should that concern me?”
“Because you are astonishingly beautiful. That will not escape his notice.”
She looked at him in surprise. So the man thought she was beautiful, did he? The entire conversation had been peppered with what could easily be construed as compliments and Christin was genuinely at a loss how to respond. Either Alexander was free with meaningless flattery or he truly meant what he was saying. She hoped it was the latter. Given that she had no idea how to respond, the flush in her cheeks was back with a vengeance.
“I am no one of consequence,” she said. “I do not care what he thinks.”
Alexander looked at her seriously. “You cannot possibly mean that,” he said, his voice low. “Surely you know that if the king sees a woman he fancies, he has been known to claim her. For his bed, I mean. It does not matter if the woman is married to an ally or the daughter of an enemy. If the king demands you warm his bed, there will be trouble.”
Christin had heard that, of course. She knew what Alexander meant from the beginning. But given her status as a Marshal agent, she wasn’t worried about it. Foolishly, she was confident that she would remain untouched and unnoticed.
“He will not touch me,” she said with confidence. “My father will have something to say about that and he does not wish to provoke Christopher de Lohr.”
Alexander lifted his eyebrows. “Mayhap,” he said. “The king has a healthy fear of your father and for good reason, but still… you must take precautions. Try to stay out of his sight and never allow yourself to be alone with him. This is for your safety, my lady. If the king moves for you, there is little the rest of us can do to defend you.”
“I can use a dagger. And I will.”
“On the king?” Alexander shook his head. “William Marshal has spent years keeping that man alive, so you cannot use a dagger on him. You cannot kill him. If you did… the consequences to you and your family would be unfathomable. You would destroy everything your father and uncle have worked so hard for. Do you understand me?”
She looked at him with those pale gray eyes, eyes that could easily bring a man to his knees. Perhaps she knew she had the power; perhaps not. Alexander could feel the power radiating from those eyes as surely as he could breathe air. After a moment, she simply nodded.
“I do,” she said. “But I could not surrender to him, in any case. I would not.”’
Alexander believed her implicitly. “Then that is why you must stay out of his sight,” he said. “We have much to do at the gathering in Norwich and I know you do not wish to be a distraction.”
“Not at all.”
“Good,” he said. Then, it occurred to him that those in the common room would be wondering where he was. He’d been so swept up in the conversation that he’d lost track of time and he quickly stood up. “Forgive me. I have been talking up a storm while you continue to sit in wet clothing. I will take my leave of you now. We will see you on the morrow for another thrilling day of traveling to Norwich. I am purely giddy with the thought.”
His sense of humor was droll, and quite charming, and Christin stood up with a grin on her lips. “As am I,” she said. “More wet roads and rainstorms. I can hardly stand the anticipation.”
Alexander laughed softly. “Then we understand one another.”
“We do. And Sherry?”
He paused by the door. “Aye?”
She scratched her chin nervously. “Since you have given me permission to address you informally, I must reciprocate. Please, call me Christin.”
A smile flickered on his lips. “I am deeply honored,” he said. “But I heard Peter address you as something else.”
Her brow furrowed briefly until she realized what he meant. “Oh,” she said. “That. Growing up, my younger siblings had a difficult time pronouncing Christin, so it came out as Cissy. That is what my family calls me – Cissy.”
“May I?”
The request had her heart fluttering again. “If you wish.”
“I do.”
With that, he quit the chamber and shut the door, leaving Christin standing by the hearth, biting her lip because the smile on her face threatened to split it in two. She hadn’t really been looking forward to the journey back to Norwich, but now she was.
Definitely… she was.
CHAPTER FOUR
He was trying very hard not to look at her.
They were a day out of Norwich on their journey north and Alexander had never wanted a long, insufferable trip to keep going so much in his entire life.
God, he was losing his mind.
Something both frightening and wonderful was happening to him.
Since that night at The Buck and Boar, Alexander looked at Christin differently. Or perhaps it had started even before that, when he’d entered de Vaston’s great solar and saw her covered with blood and a dead woman at her feet. Even then, she’d been as composed as any seasoned knight. Perhaps his notice of a strong young woman had started then.