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hired protection?"
    "It is.. .complicated," she said, looking down at her clenched fingers. "The king must not know his gift is causing me problems."
    "Are you afraid he'll take the gifts back?" He didn't even look at her as he said such cold words.
    "No, I'm afraid he'll make me come to court, where he could watch over me personally. All of my freedom would be gone then."
    Margery forced herself to look into his penetrating eyes. "Will you do it, Gareth? It will only be for a few months' time. I can begin your payment now."
    "No, at the end you can pay me what you think I've earned." He hesitated. "Or maybe your husband can pay me."
    "Fine," she said crisply, holding out her hand. "Then we have an agreement?"
    He looked down at her hand, but didn't touch it. "Not yet. As a guard, I would be with you at all dmes. Yet you complicate matters by insisting this be kept private between us. What reason will you give your servants and guests for my presence at your side?"
    Gareth couldn't miss the panic in Margery's eyes. She was a desperate woman, and hadn't thought through this new plan. He had a hard time believing that all she was frightened of were suitors pressing their courtship a bit too far. Glancing down her body, he reluctantly thought that he couldn't blame the men.
    She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Can you come up with a reason, Gareth? Let me know what you feel would be best."
    "Very well. I have another suggestion to protect you. Wallace Desmond will become your new captain of the guard."
    She stiffened. "I already have a captain."
    "A youngster, is he not?" he asked.
    "Well—"
    "I'm sure he will be honored to train under Desmond."
    She hesitated, and he could almost read her thoughts. He could tell she agreed with his assessment, but she didn't like being told what to do. That would have to change.
    "Very well, Gareth. I accept the offer—if you're certain Sir Wallace doesn't mind."
    "He doesn't mind."
    "But please allow me to introduce him to the soldiers tomorrow. Then he and I can discuss his payment with my steward."
    "Very well."
    She got to her feet and Gareth leaned back on his hands to look up at her. He kept his pose relaxed, casual, though he felt anything but. He told himself this was just another task he was being paid to do. So why did some deep part of him relish looking up at her in the sunlight? He flustered her, perturbed her, and the feeling was not unpleasant.
    "Come inside when you like," Margery said. "A juggling troupe arrived today."
    "Oh, I'll be inside soon enough. You will no longer be alone much, remember?"
    He deliberately reminded her of the consequences of her request. Her face stiffened as she gave him a polite nod and walked away.
    Gareth told himself he was beyond the anger that had consumed him for years after Margery's family had dispensed with him. He was at Hawksbury to do a task, then leave. Yet he took such grim pleasure in annoying her.
    He sat in the stillness of the early evening and came up with the perfect way to stay near her. She would not like it, but she would learn soon enough that he would rule this business between them.
    While the jugglers were performing, Margery bit her lip and stared into the distance. What had she done by inviting Gareth into her life? She could barely get him to speak to her, and now he would be following her about indefinitely, a large, unsettling shadow at her back.
    He entered the great hall, and though he was dressed as the plainest of knights, his good looks attracted every eye. But beneath that was a cold man, warped by whatever experiences he'd had.
    When he approached the head table she was sitting across from her two suitors, who were desperately trying to win her attention on this last night of their visit.
    Gareth sat down beside her, so close her skirts were caught beneath him. Before she could ask him to move, he suddenly slid his hand over hers. Margery gaped at their fingers, then looked up into his face. His hot