the last thing he wanted to do. He was angry. She saw the tightness in his jaw, the flash in his startling blue eyes. He wanted to hurt her, she realized, but he was too honorable to do so.
They stood there, scowling at one another, until a lute player began a cheerful tune in the main hall. Alexandre finally removed his hand from her mouth.
“Release me at once, you dog,” she said without heat. She did not bother to struggle or scream in protest. She would not give him the satisfaction. Nor did she want to risk injuring her arm again.
“I would speak with you first, my lady. And calling me names will not distract me from getting answers.” He cocked his head and looked at her for a long moment. “You know, you are cleverer than I originally thought.”
“You will forgive me if I do not thank you for the compliment.”
The arrogance of the man! She held herself as far away from him as she could, but still his taut, muscular body pressed into her. An inviting heat emanated from him. She tried to concentrate on the stone wall behind her and the way it dug into her body. It was no use.
All at once, the danger of Alexandre d’Évreux became astonishingly clear. How could such a hateful man have this effect on her?
* * * *
Lady Isabel looked down at his hands holding her in place before she met his gaze. “At least this time you have not hurt my injury,” she said, not bothering to hide a sneer.
Alex felt a brief stab of guilt but pushed it aside. “A terrible accident, my lady. You already have my apologies.” The girl frowned when he did not lessen his hold on her. So she would play games with him? He swallowed the blind anger rearing up inside him once more. He leaned into her face, holding her gaze. “You know I mean you no harm. Why can you not trust me? With all of your secrets?”
Isabel sniffed and twisted away from him. “What secrets? I have told you all you need to know.”
“But not what I want to know. Why did you forbid your servants to speak with us?”
“I gave no such order.”
Alex growled and squeezed her harder. “My patience grows thin, my lady.”
She faced him this time, eyes dark with anger. “I most assuredly did not give that command. If you remember, I was not here to do so.”
His grip on her lessened slightly. “Ah, yes. I still find it hard to believe you would willingly leave the safety of your home to fight the Welsh.”
“I told you we were following up reports of raids,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Yes, but why did you feel the need to be involved? Surely you could rely on your men to handle the situation.”
Her mouth worked silently before she found her voice. “In my father’s absence it falls to me to see to the safety of our lands. How could I stay behind and order my men into danger?”
“Because you are a woman, with no business being in battle.”
She scowled. “Then you are a bigger fool than I thought. If I had not provided cover with my arrows, we might not have taken the day.”
Jesú! What kind of woman had William promised him? One who would not cower at his greater strength and would boast of her exploits at the same time. He tried not to get lost in the self-righteous gleam in her eyes. “But even your efforts were not enough,” he said, with a nod to her wounded arm. “That is how you received your injury, no?”
“I would not want to bore you with the details.”
“Curse you, girl! Tell me what happened.”
A quiet fury puckered her brow. “I cannot remember such things as I am only a simple girl.”
“You are not,” Alex said tightly.
“What is this, more praise? Indeed, sir, you overwhelm me.”
He clapped a hand to his forehead. “Impossible woman! I wonder how you have not sent your father to the grave before now.”
Isabel went completely rigid, her features stricken. Alex let go of her. What now?
She stood tall, anger mottling her lovely face. “How dare you! How dare you treat me thus! You come into my home and make demands. You stand here and expect me to tell you everything.” She advanced toward him, and he found himself taking a step back. “There is nothing about you that would inspire me to share anything with you! If I am impossible, then you have been patronizing, arrogant and disrespectful.”
With each word, she jabbed her index finger into his chest. He tensed at the wild and fearless look in her eyes.
“You talk of trust when you are but a stranger to me and to this land. You expect me to welcome you and your men with open arms, expect me to act like a foolish noblewoman. I may be a woman, but I am certainly not foolish! I—”
“My lady! What has happened?”
Likely drawn by their shouts, Captain Thomas entered the hallway. Alex simultaneously welcomed and cursed the interruption for he was dangerously close to taking Isabel over his knee and teaching her a lesson. Fists balled at her side, she continued to glare at him. He could not look away from her, from the way her chest heaved with each breath.
Isabel closed her mouth and fixed her angry stare on Captain Thomas once he reached them. They shared a few words in English. The old man’s gaze flickered toward Alex, but he could not decipher the look. Isabel opened her mouth to argue some more with Captain Thomas but shut it as she looked back at Alex. Muttering to herself, she gave them a swift curtsy and strode away, her footsteps echoing off the slate floor.
Alex watched her until she disappeared. He took a deep breath and tried to ease the tension that had rushed through his body during their conversation. He was not usually so quick-tempered, but the girl fired his blood. And he did not like it.
“Sir, you must excuse Isabel. She is always in bad humor after an illness.”
He turned his gaze on Captain Thomas. “I would thank you for your intervention, but I am disappointed I was not able to respond to her charges.”
The older man shook his head. “I must apologize for her behavior. She is used to her independence, which is threatened by your presence here. She needs time to adjust to her new situation. I ask you to be understanding.”
“Understanding? What that girl needs is a flogging.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath as they returned to the main hall.
Alex gave Captain Thomas a pointed look. “When her father returns, he had better keep her in check, for I will not tolerate any more of her temper tantrums.”
Captain Thomas cleared his throat. “Yes, well. You may find her father will not be of much help.”
“What do you mean?”
Captain Thomas hastily looked away. “I mean only Lord Bernard has granted her a good deal of freedom growing up. She can do no wrong in his eyes.”
Alex
