A Defiant Maiden’s Knight by Melissa Oliver
A
knight’s protection…That she
doesn’t want…or need?
Joan
Lovent may be losing her sight but she refuses to lose her
independence too. So when Sir Warin de Talmont tells her it’s too
perilous to be out alone in the city, she doesn’t pay him any heed.
But with threats surrounding them, she begins to value his protection
and helps with his dangerous work in return. If only the powerful
connection between them wasn’t so impossible to ignore!
Introduction
to extract- Warin de Talmont takes Joan Lovent to Smythfeld on market
day, where she is delighted to find all manner of livestock being
traded.
Joan
could see from the man’s bemused expression that he did not quite
comprehend her.
‘Horses…I have always adored horses. From the first time that I
was put on the back of the animal as a child, I have revelled in
every aspect of horseback riding—a pursuit that used to afford me a
huge amount of pleasure.’
Warin
frowned. ‘It used to?’
She
nodded. ‘Yes. I have often been told that I learnt to ride before I
could even walk. And in time my enjoyment was derived from the
dizzying speed that I would put my horse through.’ She smiled at
that long-ago memory. ‘The faster I rode the more thrilling and
unfettered the feeling was. Yet…yet it was more than just the
riding that enchanted me—I loved everything about those big,
majestic creatures.’ She inhaled before continuing. Not that this
part of her story was easy to revisit. ‘Then one day, when I was
eleven years or so, my horse jumped clear of a bushel that hid an
uneven ditch behind it. I took a bad tumble, which may or may not
have attributed to my poor eyesight, as I was bedridden for more than
a sennight, slipping in and out of cognizance.’
‘God’s
breath, Joan, that’s dreadful.’
‘Indeed.’
Along with everything else that she had faced.
‘And
yet you rode on horseback when I escorted you two years ago?’
She
took a sip of ale and nodded. ‘I did, but that was the beginning of
the end unfortunately.’
Even
to her own ears she sounded a little unmoved by these circumstances,
when the reality had been quite different—the very opposite had
been true. It had devastated Joan when she had been resigned to
forsake the one thing that had given her so much pleasure. And it was
the first of many, with many more changes that she would eventually
be forced to accept as her condition would worsen.
‘I
am sorry, Joan,’ he murmured, shaking his head. ‘That could not
have been easy to accept.’
‘No,’
she muttered, unable to say more. Her life had not been easy and she
had sacrificed many things. She exhaled and even managed a smile as
she lifted her head. ‘But this is welcome, so I thank you.’
‘No
need to thank me.’
‘Of
course I do! I practically forced my company on you.’ She chuckled.
In all honesty, her behaviour had been quite unbecoming even if the
sentiment behind it was a good one.
‘Never
mind that.’ He took her empty mug from her, setting it back down on
the cart, and held out his hand. ‘I have an idea. Something that I
hope might also be equally welcome. Come.’
Joan
took his offered hand as it closed around hers, strong, warm and
strangely intimate. Warin led Joan along the path that wound through
the area where horses were being traded.
‘Where
are you taking me?’
‘You
shall find out soon enough.’ He continued leading her away from the
main area of the market until he stopped in front of the last horse
trader and possibly the most inconspicuous, tucked away as he was at
the periphery.
‘If
it ain’t Sir Warin of Talmont, as I live and breathe. I ’aven’t
laid eyes on yer since Lent, my good man. What brings you ’ere?’
‘Same
as always, Asa of Bath. Same as always.’
‘If
that be the case, then I might or might not have information that you
might be searchin’ fer.’
‘Good
to know, Asa, we shall discuss that
later.
I come bent on a very different matter altogether.
The
other man nodded, clearly understanding Warin. ‘’Appy to oblige.
What can I do fer yer?’
‘Well,
I was wondering whether you might just happen to have a young, docile
palfrey suitable for a lady.’
The
trader grinned a toothless smile and made a single nod. ‘I might
have just the thing, as it ’appens.’
In
no time at all, Joan was amazed to find herself atop the very young,
docile palfrey Warin had requested, while he led the young horse at
the rein as they gently ambled away from the crowd. In truth, it felt
wonderful to be on horseback again—something Joan had never
believed she would ever experience. again.
And she had Warin de Talmont to thank for that.
‘I
hope you realise how much this means to me.’ She beamed down at him
as he led the horse at a slightly quicker pace.
‘And
I hope you
realise that I do it, with pleasure.’
She
held on with one hand on the pommel of the saddle and the other
holding the reins. It felt just as it had ever done, simply
stupendous. Something as ordinary as riding. ‘Well, it is certainly
a day that I will never forget.’
‘Glad
to hear it.’ He slowed the animal to an eventual stop. ‘Shall we
make it all the more memorable?’
‘What
do you propose?’
What
Warin de Talmont suggested was made evident in the following moment
when the man managed to mount the horse, swinging his leg, so that he
was now sat behind her.
‘Are
you ready to go a little faster?’ The warmth of his breath from
behind brushed against her skin.
She
felt a little hot. A little breathless being this close to him.
‘It
is your choice, Joan, but know that I have you. I will never let you
fall.’ Warin’s hand came round her waist, anchoring her to him.
‘So, the question is whether you would like to ride like the wind
again?’
UK Harper
Collins- https://bit.ly/3isA6ng
Harlequin US
https://bit.ly/3Jwt397
Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09N1RD4D2/
Amazon US https://amzn.to/3udgZmC
Melissa
Oliver is from south-west London where she writes historical romance
novels. She lives with her lovely husband and daughters, who share
her passion for decrepit, old castles, palaces and all things
historical.
Melissa
is the WINNER of The Romantic Novelist Association’s Joan Hessayon
Award for new writers 2020 for her debut, The Rebel Heiress and the
Knight.
When
she's not writing she loves to travel for inspiration, paint, and
visit museums & art galleries.
Instagram
@melissaoliverauthor
Twitter
@melissaoauthor
Facebook
@melissaoliverauthor
www.melissaoliverauthor.com
