A Knight With Grace: Book 1 of the Assassin Knights Series by Laurel O'Donnell

“It’s going to rain. I will put the horses in the cottage with you tonight.”
    “Where will you sleep?”
    “The tree will offer me enough shelter. I shall be fine there.” He put the shovel down and turned to her. “I have bread. Are you hungry?”
    She nodded and a strand of her golden hair fell forward over her cheek. She brushed it aside. “We can eat inside. I found two chairs sturdy enough to sit in.”
    He returned to Hellfire and picked up the two bags at his hooves and followed her into the cottage. He was surprised at how clean the small dwelling was. She had removed the broken furniture and swept the floors, removing the mattress. It was almost presentable. Two chairs were positioned near the cold hearth. He had half expected the room to be as it was when he had arrived. She had actually done a lot of work. It would have made a fine home. For someone. She sat in one of the chairs, he the other. He removed a loaf and handed it to her.
    She took a bite. They ate quietly. “Will they come tomorrow?” she asked after she had swallowed. “My father’s men.”
    “At the earliest, yes. If they followed the clues I did. If not it could be later, but they will come.”
    She silently ate her bread, chewing thoughtfully.
    William didn’t want to distress her, but he knew she was going home. One way or the other. Her father’s men would not dally with her as he was. They would haul her on a horse and be off for the castle within minutes of finding her.
    “You said it was your duty as a knight to help me.”
    He swallowed a bite of the bread. “I will not raise my sword against your father’s men.”
    “I would not ask you to. That would only lead to your death. But if I asked you to help me, you would be bound by your duty as a knight.”
    He narrowed his eyes. What was the little imp up to? “It would depend what you asked me to do.”
    “Would you help me escape my marriage to you?”

CHAPTER 9
    W illiam stared into Grace’s amazing blue eyes for a long moment. He wasn’t shocked by her request, but he was surprised she had asked him to help her. How could he condemn her to a marriage with him? His mission had been to bring her back to her father. He looked away from her. Knowing she did not want to marry him, he would never condemn her to a life with him. “Have you spoken to your father?”
    “Of course. He is insistent that I marry you. He wishes to honor his vow to your father to combine the lands.”
    A vow and an increase in lands were both good reasons to marry. “And that is not important to you?”
    Grace sighed. “Of course it is important. But... I think there is more to his request.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She picked at the bread for a moment delicately, thoughtfully. The light from the setting sun showered in through the open door, casting a golden glow over her. “I can’t explain it. My father loves me.” But there was no conviction in her voice. “He wants what is best for me. And yet, somehow I feel this is a punishment.”
    A punishment. Marriage to him was a punishment for her. Of course it was. Why would a woman as beautiful as Grace need to marry a knight without a future?
    She wasn’t looking at him. She gazed at the bread without really seeing it.
    A punishment for what? Maybe she had it wrong. Maybe she didn’t understand her father was telling the truth when he said she would marry him to combine the lands. Maybe... Then realization swept over him. Perhaps her father knew of her relationship with Sir Curtis and didn’t approve. “You loved Sir Curtis.”
    “No!” Grace objected. “No. We were friends. He had agreed to help me escape.”
    William took a thoughtful bite from the small loaf of bread in his hand. He chewed quietly. A punishment for what? What could she have done to merit a futureless life with him? “Perchance your father thought there was more to it.”
    “More than friendship?”
    William nodded. “And he disapproved.”
    She shook her