Read Knight's Captive for Free Online Page B

be
injured somewhere and he had her believing she could take her time to eat some
food, clean up and get dressed. He had lied to her with such ease. How dare he?
Her heart beat in her chest so quickly that she struggled to draw breath.
    “I am distressed now, does that please you?”
    His scowl deepened. “Why would it please me? I
thought it best you did not know yet.”
    “Why should you—” she jabbed his chest again and
his gaze darkened “—decide what is best for me? What say do you have over me?”
    He folded his arms, preventing her from poking
him again. Antonia gulped and remembered the size of this man. He towered over
her, forcing her to crane her neck and the way he crossed his arms made his
muscles bulge against the seams of his shirt. The quick pounding in her chest
grew heavier, almost sickening.
    “I am in charge of your welfare. I am...” He
gave a huff of annoyance as if reluctant to say whatever it was that was coming
next. “I am your captor and you are on enemy land. I have no wish to treat you
ill but you would do well to behave yourself.”
    She tried not to cringe at those words. Had
Lorenzo not uttered those words to her many times before striking out? She
attempted to remain firm in her stance. Behave, Antonia. Why can you not
behave? Why do you make me hurt you? But no matter how much she tried to be
the wife he wanted, she always failed.
    “Asking for the truth is not misbehaving,” she
said breathily, having to push the words past a heavy chest.
    Henry gave a grunt. “I shall find your father,
fear not. Return to the house.”
    With that, he turned, effectively dismissing
her. The memories swirling through her mind vanished and hot annoyance rushed
back through her. She would not let him keep her apart from her father. If he
needed her, she had to go to him. ¡Dios mío! , she hoped he was alive.
What would she do without him? He was the only man she could trust.
    Antonia followed after him as he marched across
the path leading through the rear gardens and to a door in the back of the
house. She hadn’t had a chance to explore the house and had she been in a
better mood, she might have admired the formal arrangement of the herbs and
attractive flowers.
    He ignored her though she imagined that was
easily done for a man of his size. A slender woman like her would never
normally pass his notice. After all, a man of his stature and power need never
look upon a mere woman. Like with so many men she had encountered, she was
merely an annoyance to him.
    He strode into the house and she entered what
turned out to be an armoury. Blades, axes, spears and shields covered the walls
and several muskets sat in a glass cabinet. She gulped. This man fit well in
such a room. She could imagine him at war, cutting down his enemies with ease.
After all, she had already seen his bravery on the Rosario . There were
not many men who would face down fire and a sinking ship with such courage.
    Courage that she could almost
admire. After all, he had entered the burning ship to rescue her father.
But his current treatment of her made her forget his actions. She couldn’t very
well judge him on one act. Did she not know how changeable men were? How they
could swing from charming and brave to angry and dishonourable in but a moment?
    He glanced over his shoulder at her, barely
giving her a look—a reminder of her insignificance perhaps—then retrieved a
sword belt. He strapped it around his hips and drew her attention to that part
of him. Her stomach tumbled wildly at the sight of those steady fingers
expertly tying up his belt. But from nerves or from something
else? She was a fool if she was swayed by his attractiveness. A handsome
face meant nothing and she would never let herself by influenced by something so fragile as good looks.
    “Sir Henry,” she pleaded.
    He ignored her and reached for a long blade.
Steel glinted in the meagre light slipping through the long windows on one side
of the room.
    She