Read Averill: Historical Romance (The Brocade Collection, Book 3) for Free Online

if distancing himself . She accepted the blanket . Was he putting her in her place? He didn’t have to worry. He was too old, too staid, and much too European. Besides...he was a man.
    The pallet was more comfortable than it looked, and it was immeasurably better than the street . She snuggled into her blanket, and felt him do the same beside her. Then, the light went out.
    I think I’ll paint him on horseback , she thought sleepily, properly dressed in his full, formal, military clothing. Actually... She yawned, interrupting her thought. He would look better astride his horse, wearing only his trousers. I wonder what he’d look like with his chest and arms bare.
    Her eyes flew open .
    She didn’t want to know what he looked like with any part of him bare . She didn’t want anything to do with him. He was a man. And men were hateful, horrid creatures who took what they wanted, and hadn’t a care to who they harmed. She pulled away from any contact with him and rolled herself into a ball, securely wrapped with her extra blanket.
    ~ ~ ~
    “I think I shall name you Pegasus.”  Averill giggled at the thought of her ugly steed being named after the creature in Greek mythology.
    “You studied Greece, too?” Captain Tennison asked.
    Averill nudged her mount . It lumbered to its feet, placing her just above the captain’s head. She didn’t know he’d followed her. “Some.”  She finally answered.
    His face darkened . “Where could you have studied it? And when?”
    She waited . She didn’t answer. She could tell he didn’t like it.
    “Just how old are you, anyway?” he asked.
    She shrugged as if she didn’t know. “How old are you, Captain Tennison?”  She asked it evenly, keeping her eyes on his.
    “Twenty- nine. And you haven’t answered me.”
    “I probably won’t, either.” 
    Averill looked beyond his shoulder to where the others were mounting up. She shied away from the glances she intercepted. She didn’t like the other men watching her, especially when she was doing her best not to be noticed. But that wasn’t going to be possible with the captain seeking her out. She frowned.
    “ More secrets? Are you trying to fascinate me on purpose? Because if you are, I must warn you in advance, it won’t work.” 
    He turned away before she could answer.
    Averill’s frown deepened as she studied him. He walked across the sand and tried to look dignified at the same time. It wasn’t possible, and the captain was proving it . Fascinate him ? She didn’t want to fascinate anyone. Insularity was her only defense. She didn’t need anyone or want anything. She didn’t want anyone thinking of her…especially not enough to call it fascination.   
    The captain had been in a bad mood since they got up, anyway . Most of the men left him alone. Averill didn’t know what to make of it, so she said nothing. He wasn’t still angry, was he? She’d taken her blanket with her to relieve herself just before daybreak, the same as she did every morning. It wasn’t her fault that he found her missing, and thought she ran away.
    Men and their anger! She’d thought in disgust. Where did the man think she would run to?
    “Oh noble Pegasus, give thy wings a try.” 
    The camel actually lumbered to its feet. And after a long wait, Captain Tennison finally gave the order to proceed. Averill wondered if he was getting touched by the sun or something. She smiled and lifted her hood over her head to make the shade last longer. Her pants were much more comfortable, although her thighs were still painful. She must remember to thank him again for the ointment.
    The white burnoose he wore flared out onto his horse’s flanks . Averill studied it for a while. The contrast in dark and light was highly interesting, and there were shades of color in the horse’s hide, too. That reminded her of her thought last night. Why had she imagined Captain Tennison bare-chested? She didn’t want to see such a thing. Such foolishness