Timestruck (9 page)

“Really?” His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Well, now you know how well I can use a sword.”

“Correction: If I understood anything about
sword fighting, I would know how good you are. Unfortunately, I’m
too ignorant on the subject to offer a serious opinion.”

“I do not consider you ignorant on any
subject,” he said. With that, he picked up his sword and strode
away.

“Now, what did you mean by that?” Gina asked,
glaring at his back. “Was it an insult or a compliment? I wish I
could figure you out.”

The conclusion she reached after thinking
about it for a while was that Dominick didn’t trust her. Therefore,
he wasn’t likely to provide any more information to her, even if
she asked specific questions. If he was actually planning to take
her to Regensburg as Hedwiga claimed, it was probably for the
purpose of turning her over to the king. , Aside from the
complications to her life that surely awaited her in Regensburg
once it became clear that she didn’t have any credible reason for
being in Francia, she didn’t want to leave Feldbruck. It was the
place where she had arrived in the eighth century, and she believed
it was the place from which she must depart when she returned to
her own century; specifically, from Dominick’s bedchamber. With her
bedroom only two doors away from his and no one else sleeping on
the upper level of the house, she would be free after bedtime to
examine Dominick’s room inch by inch if necessary, if only he were
gone.

She began to think of excuses to keep her at
Feldbruck when Dominick went to court.

“Can you ride?” he asked her the morning
after she had observed his demonstration of swordplay. They were in
the great hall, breaking the overnight fast with brown bread and
cheese.

“I have never been on a horse in my life,”
she said. “Why do you want to know?”

“You will have to learn to ride before we
leave for Regensburg,” he responded. “I should have asked sooner. I
made the mistake of assuming that you came here on horseback,
though the men I sent out to search for evidence of your arrival
found no sign of a horse.”

“I didn’t ride to Feldbruck. I’m afraid of
horses.” She didn’t know if she was or wasn’t -she had never been
close enough to a horse to find out – but Dominick had just
provided her with the excuse she needed to keep her at Feldbruck
and away from court. She didn’t think her inability to ride would
seem strange to him; it would simply be added to the growing list
of other ordinary female accomplishments in which she was
lacking.

Of course, if Dominick went to Regensburg
without her, and she stayed at Feldbruck and got into his bedroom
and finally figured out how to reach the twentieth century, then
she would never see him again.

“Don’t look so unhappy,” he said. “It’s a
problem that’s easily solved. I’ll start you on a gentle mare. I
have no pressing business today, so we will make a tour of
Feldbruck lands.”

“No, please, I can’t.”

“Nonsense.” He smiled encouragement at her.
“Anyone can learn to ride. Once you are used to being on a horse,
you’ll see how unnecessary your fears are.”

“I don’t want to learn to ride.”

“I didn’t ask whether you wanted to learn,”
he said, still smiling at her. “I told you that you are going to
learn.”

She could see he had made up his mind. She
took comfort in the hope that she would be a complete failure at
handling a horse. Perhaps she could manage to fall off without
hurting herself. Afterward, she’d make a huge fuss and insist that
she couldn’t ride, and maybe he’d agree to leave her at Feldbruck.
Then again, she thought, maybe he’d just tell her to get back on
the horse and try once more.

Harulf was right about Dominick being a good
teacher. As they walked to the stable, he explained a few basic
facts about riding. The horse he selected for her was a passive
creature that nudged Gina’s shoulder and let her rub its nose and
feed it a carrot when Dominick told her to make friends with it. He
was remarkably relaxed about her ability to stay on the horse.

“Cela won’t throw you,” he said. “There is
nothing for you to worry about.”

“Easy for you to say,” Gina muttered under
her breath.

Until Dominick boosted her into the saddle,
she hadn’t realized just how high off the ground a horse’s back
was. The saddle didn’t make her feel secure, either. It was smaller
than those she’d seen in western movies, no more than a padded
leather seat with a slight rise in front and back. There weren’t
any stirrups, either. Her skirt was hiked up to her knees, and her
bare legs hung loosely down on either side. At least Dominick
wasn’t making her ride sidesaddle. She supposed she ought to be
grateful for that.

Dominick leapt onto his horse as if no effort
was involved, providing further proof of the physical agility Gina
had already witnessed. The animal was much larger than Gina’s
mount, and, unused to horses though she was, she could see that the
creature had fire in its eyes. Guiding his horse with his knees and
a light hand on the reins, Dominick headed for the palisade
gate.

“Don’t leave me alone!” Gina yelled after
him. “What do I do now?”

“Just follow me,” he said, turning his head
to favor her with one of his incredible smiles.

Actually, Gina didn’t have to do much at all.
Without any urging on her part, Cela began to follow Dominick’s
horse. Within a few paces Gina discovered she was too frightened to
fall off as she had planned to do. With her luck, and from this
altitude, if she dared a tumble, she’d probably break her neck. As
she rode through the gate behind Dominick, she decided to postpone
any “accidents” in favor of allowing him to show her his
property.

They proceeded slowly until Gina felt a
little more secure in the saddle. After watching the way Dominick
rode, she straightened her back and began to use her knee and thigh
muscles to keep her seat.

Gina already knew that Dominick was proud of
his estate, and it didn’t take long for her to see why. Feldbruck
was an enormous holding, including vast tracts of untouched
woodlands that sloped upward to the foothills of the Alps. The
cultivated fields were on the level areas near the stream. Gina
listened politely while Dominick explained how water from the
stream was used for irrigation and pointed out fields of wheat,
barley, and rye, then showed her row upon row of cabbage, peas, and
root vegetables.

The tenants who worked the fields greeted
Dominick with such familiar ease that Gina knew she’d been right to
call him a good landlord. No mean or cruel master could elicit so
many spontaneous smiles.

They rode for hours, until Gina’s thighs and
knees and lower back were aching with the strain of staying on her
horse. When Dominick suggested they stop to rest for a little
while, she assented gladly. Almost at once she regretted having
agreed, for he slid off his horse and came to her, reaching up to
help her to the ground. She didn’t want to go into his embrace.
Still, she didn’t have much choice, unless she wanted to take the
fall she had decided to postpone.

She could barely swing her leg over the
horse’s back, and she tumbled backward out of the saddle and into
Dominick’s arms. Laughter rumbled in his chest, though when he
turned her to face him, he looked solemn.

“You will be stiff,” he said, steadying her
until she found her balance. “You made no complaint, so I forgot
that you are new to riding.”

“Or were you testing me?” she snapped at him.
“Did you think I really did know how to ride?”

“When I am dealing with you, I never know
what to think,” he replied.

His arms were still around her, keeping her
so close that Gina could feel the warmth of his body through his
woolen clothes. His cheek brushed against hers. His arms tightened,
and Gina’s face was pressed into his shoulder. A lock of his hair
tickled her nose. His lips were on her forehead, then on her cheek
and her chin. She held her breath, wanting his mouth on hers and
knowing she shouldn’t want it. Her lips parted, waiting....

“Walk for a while,” he said, taking her by
the shoulders and setting her apart from him. “You’ll find movement
relieves your aching legs. I will see to the horses and lay out our
meal.”

“What meal?” She couldn’t see his face. His
back was toward her. What was he trying to do to her, holding her
so close and almost kissing her, then shoving her away like
that?

They were in a clearing near the stream, in a
spot where moss grew right down to the water’s edge. It was a
pretty place, with the sunlight shining gold and green through the
shimmering tree leaves. The stream was wider than she’d thought,
and it tumbled over half-submerged rocks, breaking into sparkling
foam interspersed with dark whirlpools. Above the sound of rushing
water Gina could hear birds singing.

Had Dominick brought her to this isolated
woodland glade to seduce her? He wasn’t paying any attention to her
at the moment. He led the horses to the stream, then looped both
pairs of reins over a bush. Gina watched him guardedly, frowning
when he removed saddlebags from his horse.

“What meal?” she repeated.

“The midday meal,” he said. “I brought it
with me.”

“Why?” She was afraid of his effect on her
emotions, but she wasn’t going to let him know it.

“We are too far from the manor to return for
a meal, so I carried it for the sake of convenience,” Dominick
said. “There’s cheese, bread freshly baked this morning, a small
skin of wine, some nuts and apples. That should be enough.”

“You planned this.” She confronted him with
her fists planted on the hips of her green woolen gown. Her hair
was growing out, and the breeze caught at it and blew a curl across
her forehead. She lifted one hand to push the hair aside, then put
her fist on her hip again, watching him unpack the food and spread
it on the moss.

“Of course I planned it,” Dominick said.
“Only a fool would set out on a long ride with no provisions.”

“You arranged a long ride knowing I’ve never
been on a horse before today? How thoughtful of you. What else have
you arranged?”

“Join me,” he said, holding out a hand.

She just stared at him, knowing he was bigger
and stronger than she, knowing he’d catch her easily if she tried
to run away.

Dominick’s outstretched hand fell to his
side. He watched her as if he didn’t know what to make of her.

“You are the most suspicious, untrusting
person I have ever known,” he said. “Even at the royal court, even
in these days of Queen Fastrada spinning endless webs of intrigue,
still, women there speak more freely than you do.”

“I don’t have anything to say.”

“Liar.” His voice was soft, almost turning
the word into a verbal caress. “Sweet liar. Beautiful Gina, how I
wish you would tell me who you really are.”

She was rooted to the spot where she stood.
In spite of all the warning bells going off in her mind, she
couldn’t move to save herself, couldn’t flee when he approached her
and laid a finger on her lips.

“Do not repeat your name again,” he ordered.
“It may or may not be your true name. I want to know who lives
behind the name, behind those lovely green eyes. You are a
tantalizing mystery, Gina. For what purpose did you come to
Feldbruck?”

“If you ask me that one more time, I will go
mad!” she cried. “What’s the matter with you? Talk about me being
suspicious! Do you imagine I’m some kind of spy?”

“Are you?”

“How can you talk like that when I don’t know
anyone in this time and place except you and your buddies here at
Feldbruck? What are you afraid of, Dominick?”

“What do you mean, ‘in this time and place’?
“

“I’m a stranger here. That’s all I meant.”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Will you please stop
interrogating me? Let’s eat.” She wasn’t the least bit hungry, but
she had to do something to divert him. She decided to rearrange the
food he’d piled on the moss and try to act as if she was enjoying
the picnic. She’d take care to keep her distance from him, too.

She wasn’t used to tramping around in
woodlands, so the first thing she did while attempting to stay away
from Dominick was catch her foot on a tree root. She went sprawling
onto the ground.

“Gina!” Dominick gathered her into his arms.
“Are you hurt?”

“Let me go!” She wasn’t hurt, but she was
breathless, and the warmth she felt with his arms around her was
enough to scare her silly. She pushed against his shoulders, then
began to pound at him with both fists.

“Go where?” he asked, completely unaffected
by her puny assault.

“I’ll walk back to the house on my own.” She
continued to try to push him away.

“Have I mentioned the dangerous wild boars
who live in the forest? Or the wolves?”

“There’s a bore imprisoning me right here,”
she said, and she saw by the sudden laughter dancing in his eyes
that he appreciated the play on words, though the terms were
slightly different in his language. “You’re a wolf, too,” she
added.

“Am I?” He was still chuckling.

“A mean predator.”

“Understand this,” he said, turning from
humor to seriousness so quickly that she was shocked into wary
silence. “If I were truly a predator, if I wanted to ravish you,
I’d have done so when we first met in my bed. If I wanted to kill
you, I could have whenever I pleased. No one at Feldbruck will
question any decision I make, and since you claim to be alone in
the world, I don’t even have to consider the possibility of revenge
by your male relatives. I suggest you stop acting like a fool,
Gina. It is insulting to be host to a lady who refuses to trust me.
It is even more insulting when I am honestly trying to help
you.”

“You’re right. I have been rude.” She was no
longer trying to push her way out of his arms. She sat quietly,
letting him hold her. “I learned early in life not to trust men.
Females will say and do spiteful things behind your back. Sometimes
they’ll slap you or pull your hair. A man will break your heart.”
She couldn’t look at him. She just put her head down on his
shoulder and wrapped her fingers around his strong upper arm.