His Runaway Maiden Read Online Free PDF Page B

If so, what was he doing in England, far away from his own country?
     
    It took some searching, but at last Alex found an opening and called her over. He soon discovered that he had to bend himself almost in half to get inside. The cave was pitch-black, but at least it was out of the wind; as his hands searched the rock face, he realised that the wall was gaining in height and soon he was able to stand upright. When he turned and looked towards the opening, he could see a faint light.
    ‘Shall I come inside?’ called Rosamund.
    ‘No, wait there. I will need to come out.’ His voice seemed to bounce off the walls, causing an echo.
    He felt his way to the outside and stretched. ‘We need a fire,’ he said.
    ‘You have flint and steel?’
    ‘Aye. And tinder. But we will need more kindling and twigs,’ he said.
    ‘There are plenty of them around,’ said Rosamund. ‘I will gather some up.’
    ‘Good man,’ he said, squeezing her shoulder and thinking how slender were the bones. ‘This cave will do us for the night.’
    She was warmed by his praise—she’d had little of that in her life—and set about gathering twigs. In the meantime he unfastened his saddlebags before removing his saddle and throwing a blanket over his horse. He carried both saddle and saddlebags into the cave and dumped them there before going back outside and helping gather firewood.
    When they had collected great armfuls, he told her to take her bundle inside. She obeyed him and was glad to be out of the wind despite the intense velvet blackness insidethe cave. She looked towards the faint strip of light and waited for him to follow her. Feeling close to exhaustion, she sank to the ground.
    Rosamund did not have long to wait before she heard the sound of flint against steel. She saw sparks and then a flicker of light in the cave close to the entrance. Tiny flames began to curl about the tinder and she could smell burning. Then the flames grew and eventually there came the crackling of wood. Not long after, it was light enough in the cave for her to see the rosy colour of the sandstone.
    ‘You’ve done it,’ she said, relieved.
    He darted her a glance. ‘Come closer to the fire. I have a pot here and a flagon of ale that I can heat up.’
    ‘I don’t suppose you have any nutmeg and honey?’ she asked wistfully, pushing back her hood, the better to keep an eye on him. Now she could see more clearly his expression and the attractive planes and angles of his face by the light of the fire.
    ‘Then you suppose wrong,’ he said. ‘I once worked for a spice merchant and he paid me in cinnamon and nutmeg. You can have no idea how that pleased my grandmother.’ He took several items from one of the saddlebags.
    So he had a grandmother. ‘You say you once worked for a spice merchant—what do you do now to earn a living?’ she asked.
    ‘You could say that I am a jack of all trades. I enjoy travelling and turn my hand to any task to support myself,’ said Alex smoothly. ‘Are you hungry?’
    ‘Extremely so. But I had resigned myself to go hungry and thirsty this night.’
    ‘I have a little salted pork, a couple of apples and a hunkof wheaten bread and cheese.’ He smiled good humouredly. ‘A meal fit for a king if one is hungry.’
    His smile took her by surprise and she found herself returning his with one of her own and agreeing with him. He seemed less frightening, more approachable than he had done earlier. ‘If I had some money, I would buy some food from you,’ she said. ‘As it is, I left home in some haste, as I told you.’
    ‘I deem you have well earned a meal, so let us not talk of payment. We would still be out in that freezing wind if you had not remembered about this cave.’
    Rosamund flushed with pleasure at this second dose of praise. ‘We have both contributed to the comfortable place we now find ourselves in,’ she said shyly.
    The hand holding an apple in mid-air hovered there. ‘You consider this