Ensnared (Knights of Brethren #3)(9)
“No need to worry, Frans.” Gunnar closed the gap between us and peeled a wet strand of my hair away from my cheek, his fingers brushing against my cold skin and sending warmth tingling across every nerve ending. “I was with Mikaela and taking care of her just fine.”
Like always, Gunnar’s voice held the hint of innuendo and teasing. From the sidelong look he slanted at Frans, I got the distinct impression he was baiting the burly man, as though he was just as eager as Frans for an opportunity to spar and prove his dominance.
“I can take care of Mikaela and don’t need your help.” Frans took several menacing steps forward. Gunnar stiffened, but thankfully his knife, which had made a brief appearance, was already well out of sight and back in its sheath.
I stepped into the middle of the path and held out a hand as if that would stop Frans if he decided to barrel ahead. “I don’t need either one of you watching over me.”
Frans jerked his head at Gunnar. “Knew from the minute he left the others that he’d decided to come out here hunting after what doesn’t belong to him.”
“From what I understand, she doesn’t belong to you yet either.”
“She’s mine.” Frans’s tone dropped. “And I want you to stay away from her this time.”
This time? Had Frans noticed Gunnar paying me attention during his visit home five years ago? Back then, Frans and I had been nothing more than friends—at least, that’s what I’d assumed. Was it possible Frans had aspired after me, and I hadn’t known it? Perhaps he’d been jealous of Gunnar coming home and so effortlessly winning my heart. After all, shortly after Gunnar left, Frans had expressed his feelings for me. I’d been angry and hurt at the time and had relished knowing someone wanted me.
Gunnar and Frans locked eyes. As Frans’s fists balled, Gunnar visibly tensed, the muscles in his jaw flexing.
I had to put an end to whatever this was. Surely Frans knew he had nothing to worry about. I’d only ever spoken negatively about Gunnar. And while I hadn’t shared the details of Gunnar’s rejection, I’d told Frans enough for him to know my friendship with Gunnar had ended badly.
Besides, Gunnar’s reputation as a womanizer had grown over recent years along with his fame as a Knight of Brethren. Rumors abounded about his wooing and winning women only to break their hearts. Why would Frans think I wanted anything to do with a man like that?
Maybe I’d once been na?ve and easily charmed by a handsome face and winning smile. But I’d learned my lesson and had turned into a strong, independent woman. Couldn’t Frans see that? He ought to know Gunnar was the last man I’d want to be with. If I hadn’t made that apparent, I needed to.
I started toward Frans. “The good news is that we’ll be able to get married very soon.”
My declaration worked like magic. Frans halted, and his attention jumped from Gunnar to me. “How?”
I gave him what I hoped was my most comely smile. “Gunnar has offered to pay the bride price for us so that we might wed.”
I’d assumed the news would continue the magic and make everything better. But I was wrong. Frans’s thick brows only dropped into another deep scowl that he tossed at Gunnar. “I’m not taking money from him.”
“It doesn’t matter where the money comes from, so long as we can be married.”
“It matters to me.” The frustration radiating from Frans’s muscular frame rolled in waves down the path. “I refuse to be beholden to a man like him.”
Gunnar didn’t respond except to narrow his eyes.
I understood Frans needed to retain a measure of his pride and earn his own way. He didn’t want charity and didn’t want to be indebted in any way to Gunnar. But he had to see that this was different. “Gunnar realizes you were cheated out of your money, and this is his way of trying to right a wrong.”
Though Gunnar hadn’t said so, I’d sensed it. Underneath all the layers of defense Gunnar had erected over the years, I still saw the kind-hearted, giving, and sensitive person he was at his core. No, he wasn’t a perfect man, had been influenced by Bernhard, and had hurt me. But ultimately, he was a good man, good enough that King Ansgar had wanted him to be part of his closest group of knights. Surely that testified to his character.
“If Gunnar wants to right the wrong,” Frans tossed the words like a gauntlet, “then have him go to his brother and get my money back.”
Gunnar remained where he was, all arrogance now gone. “Doing so would only draw Bernhard’s attention upon your situation and upon Mikaela. I would do anything—anything at all—to keep that from happening. Would you not agree?”
I needed only to think of Lola toppling from the cliff to know what happened when Bernhard set his attention upon someone. From the loosening of Frans’s fists, I could tell he was remembering the same.
Silence hung heavy in the air, giving way to the rushing of a waterfall on the cliffs below as well as the distant call of a hawk. The cloudy sky above was beginning to turn a shade darker, and Frans and I would soon need to be within the castle gates for curfew or face punishment.
Frans eyed Gunnar as if searching for an answer to a riddle. “What do you stand to gain from making such an offer?”
“Mikaela’s happiness.” Gunnar’s response was quiet and sincere.