Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell Page B

my purloined food to a squirrel.
    “If he does not want it, may I have it?”
    I turned toward the sound of his voice and extended my offering.
    He took it from me, spread the napkin on the log beside him, and ate in silence. Then he withdrew a flask from his doublet and held it to his lips, drinking with great gulps.
    “Do you think . . . are we safe?” Though the meadow was lit by stars, darkness had fallen in the wood, and I could see little within the shelter of the trees.
    “Safe as a babe in a cradle. I have not heard nor seen anything this day.”
    “At all?”
    “Not one thing.”
    I wished that I had not been so hasty in bringing the captain his supper. Wished I had not brought him supper at all. I sent a glance into the wood. “Well . . . I will leave you, then.”
    “Wait a moment, and I will send you back with the cloth.” He wiped his mouth upon it and folded it. “How is it that a woman such as yourself was sent to bring me food? Why not your brother?”
    “Because he is foolhardy and prone to shrink at shadows.” And besides, no one knew that I had come.
    “Many thanks. The young John Prescotte sits watch just the other side of me.”
    “I did not know it.” Why did the captain’s presence always seem to provoke me to lie? If souls are judged by their fruit, then surely he was a devil.
    “Go over to him. Make him feel better about the scandalous wink I gave you earlier.”
    “There shall be no more talk of winks between us.”
    “Go on. ’Tis a night for courting. A waxing moon. No savages on the prowl.”
    “ ’Tis also a night for ruining reputations. And I will not squander mine.” I had done enough damage to it already. I reached out to retrieve the cloth from his hand. It should have been an easy task, but he held on to his end.
    “You cannot tell me you are so virtuous a woman as that.”
    “I am.”
    “When your beloved sits just there, in the shadow of the night? Alone?”
    “What would you have me do?”
    “Bestow one kiss upon the poor boy, at least. Perhaps two.”
    Kiss him? I only wished to marry him, not entice him to seduction like some immoral woman. “And distract him from the watch?”
    He considered me for a long moment. “I will tell you a secret.
    From here I can watch both his position and my own. Go on.” He said it as if he were doing me some great favor.
    His words made me feel very young. And they raised up an obstinate spirit within me. “I do not wish to.”
    His sigh sounded of exasperation. “I will tell no one.”
    “ ’Tis not that you will tell or not. ’Tis simply that it must not be done.”
    “Do you love the boy or not?”
    “Lust is better left unprovoked until the marriage bed.”
    “Have you never kissed him?”
    I could not lie again. “Nay.”
    “And he has never tried to kiss you?”
    “Truly, I must decline to—”
    “Were you mine, I would be well familiar with your sweet ways by now.”
    I did not like what he was insinuating. And the thought of it, of him, sent a not unpleasant sensation through my belly, as if I were sliding into some deliciously cool stream. Why should the thought of kissing the captain provoke such a feeling when the thought of kissing John provided no reaction at all? He was a devil indeed! I gave one last rather violent tug on the cloth.
    He let go, and I fell sprawling onto my backside in the brush.
    “Oh, pity! Here.” He extended a hand to help me.
    “Captain Holcombe?” The voice was followed by a snapping of twigs and limbs.
    Frustration and resentment vied for control of the captain’s face.
    “Captain?” The voice was louder. I could identify it now as John’s.
    “Oh, for—!” He let go my hand and stood with indecision for a moment. And then he pressed me to the ground, throwing his cloak over me. Scrambling to sit beside me, he propped an elbow between my ribs, leaning against me as if I might have been a log.
    “Ow! Could you—”
    “If you do not want that boy to accuse you of