"I have not yet had a wedding feast and I wondered if that could be arranged."

"It could. Is there anything else?"

"There is."

"And what might that be?"

She grinned and once more stood up on the horse's back. With her eyes closed, she began to turn and fall so she would land on her back in his arms. "You!"

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It was the first time she had been kissed and she hardly knew what to expect, but the minute he set her down, put his strong arms around her and touched his lips to hers, she was completely lost in the wonder of it.

He didn't hear the crowd cheering or feel his sister pat his arm before she walked away. All he could think about was how good she felt in his arms. He didn't even notice when the horse trotted off to graze and the crowd left.

He kissed her, ravished her neck, lifted her into his arms, swung her around and kissed her again. Then he remembered he meant to bathe in the loch before he saw her.

When he finally set her down, she looked into his eyes. "Did you kill him?"

"Nay, the King of England killed him."

She was astounded and couldn't quite take it in. Finally, she asked, "Did you tell him what I said?"

"Aye, right before he died."

"Good." She took his hand and walked with him toward the drawbridge.

He let go of her hand and put his arm around her instead. "Should we put your horse in the stable?"

"I doubt anyone can."

"Are you challenging us?"

"Not at all, I am protecting our property. You would not like knowing what happened to the last stable someone tried to put him in."

He couldn't stop looking at her and hadn't heard much of what she said. He was sure ten thousand men could attack and he would still be looking at her, so he had to force himself to think of something else. "How did Harold get inside the hold?" When she started to laugh, he frowned. "Anna, it is for our protection. I must know."

She sighed and gave in. "Well, Harold found Threcher. He also found my belongings and managed to recover some of them. He used what I am wearing now to tempt the horse so he would follow. It seems my horse likes purple. Threcher is nearly two hands taller than that sad thing Harold rides, so when they got here, Harold got them across the moat and used the two horses like stair steps to get over the wall and jump down. Unfortunately, he brought my clothing inside with him and Threcher was having none of it."




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