Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“A good husband like you.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I almost gagged. She must be daft thinking you’re a good husband. You stink and you’re fat.”
Hennie squeezed her lips together, fighting back laughter and Birdie shot her a grateful look.
“You don’t disrespect a man that way,” Seth warned, his voice low with menace.
Dru let out a deliberate chuckle. “If there was a man present, I’d agree with you.”
Seth lunged across the table, but she was quicker, slipping out of his reach with ease.
Dru couldn’t just let it go and scurry away. Instead, she grinned. “You missed, which proves me right. You’re nothing more than a load of lard.”
Seth’s cheeks didn’t only burn red, his whole face did, and his eyes ignited in rage. “You need what most women need… a good beating.”
She wiggled her fingers at him. “Come on, load of lard, try and catch me.”
She turned and bolted, laughter on her lips. Until something hard struck her, knocking her off her feet. The ground came up hard and fast, stealing breath from her lungs.
Before she could scramble up, a beefy hand clamped around her arm and wrenched her upright. Seth’s other hand was already swinging for her face.
Dru ducked.
His fist caught his jaw, and he stumbled,
His grip loosened, and she wasted no time. She tore free and ran.
Dru darted through the village, weaving between carts and startled villagers, the sound of Seth’s thudding footsteps pounding behind her.
“Get back here, you little rat!” he bellowed.
“Why?” she called over her shoulder, grinning. “You’ll only miss again.”
A curse flew from his lips, but he was too busy dodging a flock of squawking hens to respond. Dru laughed and kept running.
She leapt over a pile of firewood, skidded past a trio of old women balancing baskets on their hips, and ducked under a clothesline, sending a row of damp tunics flapping in her wake.
Seth barreled right through them. One got tangled around his face.
His rapid-fire oaths had her glancing back and seeing him battling tunics no way near triumphantly, she nearly tripped laughing.
“You’re dead when I catch you!” he roared, finally ripping the cloth free.
“Oh, please, you can barely catch your breath,” she shot back, narrowly missing a cart piled high with turnips. She reached for the edge, yanking a handful free and tossing them over her shoulder.
One hit him square in the chest.
Seth let out a strangled growl. “You’re done for, Dru!”
She picked up her pace, but her laughter nearly cost her. She turned at the end of a merchant’s table too fast, slipped, and slammed into something solid.
No—not something—someone.
A steel grip caught her before she hit the ground, and when she looked up, her heart jolted.
Knox.
His dark eyes flicked to her, then past her. “Trouble?”
“Not at all,” she said, breathless.
He kept his voice low so only she would hear him. “I forgot. You can take care of yourself.”
“Exactly,” she said, though she couldn’t deny, to herself at least, that she was glad to see him.
Seth was upon them soon enough, panting and red-faced, his fury reignited at the sight of Knox gripping her arm. “Step aside. She’s mine to deal with.”
Knox didn’t move. Didn’t so much as blink. “She’s mine.”
The quiet, deadly way he said it sent a shiver through Dru.
Seth hesitated, but pride pushed him forward. “She insulted me!”
Knox cocked his head. “And?”
“And she—” Seth’s mouth opened, closed. He waved his arms like a man drowning. “She threw turnips at me!”
Knox exhaled sharply through his nose. If Dru didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying not to laugh.
He released her arm and stepped forward, slow and deliberate. Seth stepped backward as he did until they were in full view of everyone. Voices softened, glances shifted, and Dru wisely edged aside.
“Walk away, or else,” Knox said, his voice low and even.
Seth puffed out his chest. “Or else what?”
Knox moved so fast it was a blur. One second Seth was standing tall, the next he was flat on his back in a pile of turnips.
The village went silent.
Knox dusted his hands. “Or that.”
Dru folded her arms and looked down at Seth, sprawled and groaning. “The difference between a man and a load of lard.”
Knox shot her a sharp look. “And you.” He reached out, catching her chin between his fingers and tilting her face to examine her. “Are you hurt?”
She grinned. “Nay. I’m good.”
“Get on then,” Knox said.
He hesitated, reluctant to let her go. He wasn’t sure if she had gotten the information that he needed, though he doubted anyone would bother her now—not after he had come to her defense. Still, leaving her on her own unsettled him. Dru had a way of attracting trouble like bees to honey.
“Urchin!” Knox called out.
She turned, hands on her hips. “The name is Dru—” Her grin widened. “Giant.”
“Knox,” he corrected her, loud enough for the whole village to hear. A ripple of gasps followed. His name carried weight, and now that everyone knew who he was, a few, if any, would risk crossing him. Just what he wanted.